A Tour Through My Blogland

I’ve been “nominated” by my wonderful fellow blogger Erica over at Looking to the Stars to give a tour through my blogland. Thanks, Erica! So let’s get started.If you’re new to A Thought and a Half, welcome, and thanks for stopping by! My blog is just over 3 years old–its birthday was back in August–and I’m really looking forward to 3 more years doing what I love and sharing it with all y’all. 

What are you working on now?

I’m constantly working on improving my blog and making it the best it can be, for me and my audience. This includes design, branding, content, social media, SEO, engaging with readers in the comments, anything and everything in between.

One of my biggest goals for next year is to grow my readership and my blog’s reach. It sounds really daunting right now, but I know if I set small goals for myself and build off those, then I’ll be able to grow and expand just fine. Sometimes I feel like I treat my blog like a full-time job, and I’m perfectly okay with that!

How does your work differ from others in the genre?

My work is different because I bring a new voice to the world of lifestyle bloggers. Sure I may write about some of the same or similar topics, but no one says it the same way I do, with the same words. Everyone has a unique voice, perspective, and experience to share.

I call myself a “lifestyle blogger” because I really don’t consider myself any other kind of blogger. Fashion isn’t my thing, and even though I post recipes, kitchen experiments, or DIYs/crafts on here occasionally, that doesn’t make me a food or craft blogger. I write about what resonates with or has meaning to me, whether it be a fun linkup or a reflection on something that’s been on my mind lately. Can I just be a “me” blogger?

Why do you write/create what you do?

Anything that makes it onto my blog does so because it means something to me. I want my voice to be heard and I want to hear others’ voices. Conversation is what keeps the wheels turning. I really try not to post about the exact same topic more than once, or sometimes twice. The “lifestyle blogger” label (although I hesitate to call it a label) doesn’t really limit what I can blog about; anything can be “lifestyle”-related if you want it to be. Variety is the spice of lifestyle blogging. Is that how it goes?

The truth is, I just have a lot of thoughts and ideas floating around in my head, and I need/want a place to share them. Hence my blog’s title, “A Thought and a Half.” I try to be honest, candid, open, and “real” with what I share here. It goes back to my own voice and perspective.

How does your writing/creative process work?

Oh goodness, my writing process is…well, there’s a method to my madness, let’s put it that way. I’m an outliner, but not a super specific one. I’ll write up what I want to address and convey in my posts in varying degrees of detail, come up with an idea for some kind of image or picture to go with it, and then leave it alone and come back to it later. I like having “objectives” for what to cover in my posts.I do this in non-blog writing, too. Like this week, I’ve been working on a report for a school project, and I went through the document and made little notes to myself about what to write in certain places, or just jotted down thoughts to expand upon later. My partners weren’t exactly sure what to do with them at first, but we got the report done, so that’s all good.

Lately I’ve gotten into a habit of devoting an hour or two each day of the weekends to planning, writing, and scheduling blog content, and it has helped so much. If I have an idea of what I want to write about that week in advance, producing quality content is much easier. Also, if I get an idea for a post, but can’t devote time to write it right then, I’ll open a new post, make a few notes and thoughts, and save it as a draft for later.

It’s not really a “process,” per se, but it works…somehow.

What’s your blogland like? What would you say in your own tour through blogland?