Today is dyingread’s 2nd anniversary. Two years ago, I distinctly remember feeling nervous about our first blog post—I couldn’t sleep, I re-read it about a hundred times to make sure it was as great as it could be, and I really hoped people liked it (both literally, and in a Facebook kinda way.)
Fast forward 2 years later, and I barely realized in time that my anniversary was today so I had to scramble and throw something together really quick. Blogs are a lot like relationships, I guess.
We’re not the world’s biggest or best blog, and I’m not the world’s most creative person, but over the past two years, I’ve learned a lot about creativity and thought I’d share five nuggets of information for you to dip in some ranch dressing and digest. (Get it? That was me being creative.)
1. Making stuff is hard. The best thing to do is just get started
There was a time (in college, when I did absolutely nothing all day) that cranking out 2 or 3 blog posts a week was pretty easy. Now, as the saying goes, the struggle is real. It’s difficult now to post just once a month, and I may or may not have reconsidered the actual value of writing something on our anniversary approximately 28 times. Creative block is a very real thing.
I think if I’ve learned anything about the creative process, it’s that if you sit there and dream about all the possibilities something could be (and not be), you’ll never actually get around to making it. Start making, and see what happens.
2. Be original
What’s the sense in being creative if you’re not being original? In the world of blogging, there are a lot of articles about “How to be a good 20something” “The 10 types of exes you have” or “5 reasons you should travel” Most of these articles are pretty similar and don’t say much, but they garner tons of reads. (Wow, thanks Thoughtcatalog! I didn’t know that if I’m in my twenties, I should get plenty of rest and eat healthy! Incredible!)
It’s a lot easier to copy what others are doing, but it’s a lot more fun to do things your own way. You’ll feel more accomplished, and prouder of your work.
3. Popularity isn’t everything
Sometimes I write things that I’m really proud of and spend months on. Other times, I spend an hour writing a post making fun of the Great Gatsby movie. Somehow, the latter caught on better. It always feels good to make something others enjoy and even feel compelled to share, but it feels even better to create something you’re totally satisfied with.
4. People are lazy
This isn’t so much of a critique as it is a word of caution, you need to do some serious work if you want to create something, and you need to do some serious work to get people to pay attention to it. That probably means shamelessly sharing your stuff across all your social media accounts, begging your friends to share it with their friends, and going for low hanging fruit like making dumb jokes about blogs being similar to dating relationships on your anniversary. If you want to be heard or seen, you need to be persistent.
5. Find what fuels you
There are certain things that fuel me to be creative. Usually it’s some combination of thinking about girls and listening to sad music. (Profound, I know.) That doesn’t mean what I produce comes out sad or depressing, but it helps me tap into a mood that’s less cerebral, and more emotional. (I watch videos of cats and amazing sports moments for the same effect, but truthfully, nothing gets me like da ladies and some Dashboard Confessional)
Find whatever helps you focus and get stuff done, and use that to push through when you feel like you’re out of gas (or it’s really late at night and you’re trying to finish a stupid blog post for your anniversary.)
As always, thanks for reading.
Hoping for at least 2 more years… and at least 2 more writers.
…no, seriously. Contact us if you’re interested.
image by goodforthepalette
