Reasons to Start a Blog

by: Gretchen Decuir (Guest Writer)

Interested in writing, blogging, words, in general?  Got something to say?  Well dear, a blog is what you need!  With a bachelor's degree in English, words are my thing.  (Shameless plug in 3,2,1…..~~>> www.gm1123.wordpress.com) .  I recently created this blog this past year and early on I knew what subject matter I wanted to feature.  Through the several months that I've had it, that subject matter has switched from a basic photo blog of some of my favorite shots to a mix of subjects of my choice.

Over the past several years I see blogs becoming popular and very much the 'in' thing.  I began this blog, not because I wanted to be popular, and not that I even care about what is new, hip, or 'in.' I began writing a blog because it's something inside of me that must escape via the written word.  So, how do you plant a seed, watch it flourish and have that seed put the reader in a literary head-lock with no want to tap out?  You write about something that compels you, something that you know very much about or something that you WANT to know more about.   

If I could go back and talk to my English 101 freshman self back in the fall of 1999, I’d say, "Self: you should write through whatever experience you have, no matter the subject at hand.  Write until the fire inside is extinguished."  It is, in my opinion, a head start if you can relate to the material given to you.  And if you want to capture an audience, use the experience or knowledge you have to peak the reader’s attention.  Use your love for writing, your love for 'what' it is you are writing about to leave them not knowing where that character or story ends and they, the reader, begin. 

My blog first began with different pictures I snapped from a (borrowed) camera.  Seeing them, most of my favorites ones, grouped together made me happy and proud.  And this blog made me want to continue to shoot pictures anywhere and everywhere.  A row of sugarcane fields as I'm slowly driving down the road.  I zoomed in on a beautiful flower from my sister's landscape, some lily pads down the bayou Teche, a beautiful church lit up with lights and tinsel for the Christmas season.  I've used my family as models; my beautiful nieces and nephews chubby cheeks and perfect grins as my muse.  Sadly, when I had to return the camera to its owner, I began more of the writing aspect of my blog.  For me, it is so much easier to write on a subject I love, one I am familiar with, and one I can relate to. 

Still a little shy and not so confident about my words, I slowly am beginning to add more to my blog.  I can definitely feel it when I am writing about something I love.  I have written about happenings in my life, whatever I am feeling at the moment--my emotions come at me pretty fierce at times, and going with the theme, I must expel them onto paper.  At times like those, when I wake from my writer’s coma the end result is me, the real me. 

What you should hope to deliver via your online journal is your audience getting a sneak peek of you, your heart, to the inside of your mind, to see your emotions via electronic script.  Good luck and enjoy!