I’m going to write quite a personal post today. Not personal in the fact that I’m going to be talking about my family or my day to day life or anything like that, but personal in that I’m talking about something that’s a big part of my life and I just want to talk about how I’m feeling.
I’ve been blogging since April 2012 and, in that time, I’ve done some amazing things: I’ve met the best people ever who I love to pieces, I’ve read some of my favourite books in the world, and I’ve had a lot of fun whilst doing it. But, sometimes, I fall out of love with blogging. Sometimes this is down to pressure, and sometimes it’s due to something I can’t identify. Whatever it is, it gets me down and then I get put off blogging.
To explain how this feels, I must first talk about how being in love with blogging feels. When I’m in love with my blog and blogging, all I want to do is write reviews and discussions and feature posts. I want to read more and more, and then write reviews for all the books. I also comment on every single blog in my feed and then I’ll go hunt for more posts. It’s terribly time-consuming, but I don’t tend to notice and if I do I’ll just dismiss it and go back to wanting to marry my blog, or however I feel.
When I don’t love blogging, it is the complete opposite. It feels like a creature dragging me down into a deep, dark pit: I can’t seem to get out, and all the lights have been turned off. I’m scrabbling around in the dark. I don’t want to read, I don’t want to write posts, and I certainly don’t want to comment on blogs, even though I love reading them. Eventually I become so accustomed to the deep, dark pit that I want to stay there and never come out again. That’s how I feel at the moment.
I think it’s important to be straight with you all. I don’t want to stop blogging all together, and I can feel myself slowly climbing out of the pit as I write this, which makes me very happy.
I’m not going to promise that I’ll stick to my schedule every single week without fail and I won’t even promise that I’ll post every week, but I do promise that I won’t give up on my blog and I won’t give up on you all because I’ve come to consider you all as some of my best friends now. When I started blogging, I did it because I wanted to talk about books and I’d like to go back to that and have fun because, to me, that’s one of the most important things.
I’m going to try and spice things up over here – I’ve been planning a big re-design for months now and I’m also going to be doing a few more features, as well as the usual reviews and discussions.
If you’d like to have an input, I’d really appreciate it if you could fill out this survey that I’ve put together. It doesn’t take long, and you don’t have to answer every question. Even a few will earn you a massive virtual hug from me.
Now I’m going to congratulate myself for getting through a blog post for the first time in weeks, and comment on a few blogs. I’m taking things slowly, but I am back, and hopefully for good.
21 Comments
Maya @ The Book Nook
27 October, 2013 at 9:16 pmI know what you mean. I’m currently out of love with blogging, I think. I moved house recently so I stopped blogging for a little while because I was so busy, and now I just haven’t started again. I’m just not in the mood for it at the moment… Sometimes I think about quitting, but then I fall back in love with blogging, so The Book Nook lives another day!
Maya @ The Book Nook recently posted…REVIEW: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Lucy Powrie
30 October, 2013 at 5:47 pmYes, I could never quit because I love it so much and I’d miss everyone.
Hopefully you’ll feel more into it soon, Maya!
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Falling out (and in) love with blogging…
Leanna
27 October, 2013 at 9:32 pmYou are not alone! I think every blogger goes through this at some point. Certainly a lot of the bloggers I know have quit or taken extended breaks when they feel like blogging has become a chore or has taken the fun out of reading for them. I think the best thing to do when that happens is just to take a break. Blogging is meant to be fun, so if it ever stops being fun it’s time to mix things up a bit. Usually when it happens to me, I take a break from reading/twitter etc and just gorge on TV shows. 😀
Leanna recently posted…Reviewed by Arianne: Invisibility by Andrea Cremer & David Levithan.
Lucy Powrie
30 October, 2013 at 5:48 pmI’ve taken a break now and I’m feeling more enthusiastic and am actually in the process of writing a few reviews, so I think I’m back on track again.
Thanks for stopping by, Leanna!
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Falling out (and in) love with blogging…
Emily (bookw0rmtales)
27 October, 2013 at 9:46 pmI love it when I find a post that explains everything I felt and didn’t even realise I wanted to say!
This was one of those posts! I know exactly how you feel! Sometimes I want to write 400 posts everyday and run around screaming ‘I LOVE BLOGGING!’ and then the next day I just want to delete my blog and go hide in a cave. I think it’s completely natural! I’m all for taking a few weeks off when you feel everything getting too much. So go for it I say! x
Jesse Owen
27 October, 2013 at 10:08 pmI completely understand – at the end of the day (gah! I just avoided writing that in a review and now I’ve put it here) like Leanna said blogging is supposed to be fun – it is a hobby! If it ever becomes something of a chore or something that’s dragging you down, there’s no harm in taking a short (or longer) break, coming back refreshed and spicing things up a bit.
Do what feels right for you – we’ll still be here 🙂
Jesse Owen recently posted…Review: The Dead Of Winter By Chris Priestley
Nikki
28 October, 2013 at 12:06 amOh God yes. THIS all the time. I love blogging–I really do. It’s been two amazing years. But at the same time, I just want to quit. BUT HOW CAN I LEAVE SUCH AN AMAZING COMMUNITY?
Jasmine @ Flip That Page
28 October, 2013 at 5:05 amAww I hope you get through this blogger burnout of yours! :O I myself haven’t gone through anything like this, but it’s definitely scary to feel as if something you love doing is suddenly a chore. I can’t say much more than I’m glad you’re back and you have motivation! 😀 I don’t think I can leave the blog alone either after everything that it’s done for me and all the people I’ve met from it. So yeah, welcome back to the planet 🙂
Jasmine @ Flip That Page recently posted…Day of Debate: Topics For YA To Explore
Sunny A
28 October, 2013 at 5:24 amTwitter: A_SunnySpot
I so get this post! Sometimes all I want to do is re-design my blog or write posts, for no apparent reason other than I just love it. It’s great when that happens because blogging is something I love to love! But sometimes like you said, that pit opens up and swallows you and it takes ages to get out. Luckily I’ve just come out of that hole and it’s hard, but Lucy I just wanted to let you know, that you do so much for the blogging community and it’s really appreciated and I’m really glad to have become friends with you. You should feel happy for writing this because it’s already a step in the right direction. Off to fill in the survey 🙂
Sunny A recently posted…2 Diva’s Bookish Discussions (7): Allegiant Launch Party Recap!
Charli @ To Another World
28 October, 2013 at 9:17 amI’ve never had one during book blogging, but when I started To Another World I had less enthusiasm for Life Through Rose-Tinted SunGlasses, my general blog, so I ended up closing that. I was sad, but I haven’t looked back. I didn’t and don’t have time to run 3 blogs! So I kinda know what you mean. Don’t worry about it and post for yourself not for anyone else 🙂 I’ve done your survey, not very well though :/
Charli x
Charli @ To Another World recently posted…Author Spotlight #8: Jack Croxall on Halloween
Iona
28 October, 2013 at 9:27 amI fall in and out of love with blogging quite regularly. I fell quite lucky to have a small blog because it means that I am not really under pressure to blog as regularly as those with much bigger blogs but I also know it’s a toss up because my blog will never get much recognition while I’m still slightly sporadic with posts. I think as with every hobby it’s probably something you just have to push through with until you love it again.
Iona recently posted…Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman | Video Review
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads)
28 October, 2013 at 9:34 amYeah, I sometimes feel a little like ‘why do I waste my time on this’ but then again, it’s just one of my bad days. I’m having a haitus coming up so I can just break away from blogging for a week and hopefully come but refreshed
Great post, Lucy! <33
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads) recently posted…Blog Tour: Jump
Francoise
28 October, 2013 at 10:08 amI understand, that’s been me lately and I haven’t been reading much. Sometimes I think you have to take a break and then come back to it because it’ll seem fresh and new again. I think it’s coming up to that time of year where everyone’s busy with things, I’m on a hiatus because I have exams soon and I recently changed school which is hard! But all I can say is that you’re not the only one.
Francoise recently posted…2 Diva’s Bookish Discussion – Allegiant Release Party
Georgia Walters
28 October, 2013 at 11:06 amThis is SUCH a true post. Most of the time, I love my blog, but it is time consuming,. Sometimes I don’t like it. I agree, pressure is a big thing. The publishers sending you so many books, and then you’ve got schoolwork on top of everything… but this post has summed up what I think every blogger feels!
Georgia Walters recently posted…New Books! #29
Caroline Taylor
28 October, 2013 at 10:30 pmI can’t speak from experience as I have never blogged but with anything you have a passion for it will peak and dip from time to time and I think its just being able to accept that when you don’t feel like blogging. You know it will come back eventually so just wait for it to happen naturally and don’t force anything.
Sonia
29 October, 2013 at 3:46 amI’m with you 100%! I think it’s pretty obvious from my posting history that I’m sporadic at best lately and while I hate that, I don’t want to force myself to blog if I’m not loving it. I don’t really know what the secret to me being in love/out of love with blogging is and there doesn’t really seem to be any major pattern. Finding time to blog is always a struggle for me but when I’m enjoying it, it’s so worth it. Hope that you’re bitten by the blogging bug again, thanks for the amazing post! Really appreciate you sharing your personal feelings on the subject 🙂
Sonia recently posted…The Crown of Embers/The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
Rita @ Weaving Pages
29 October, 2013 at 10:28 amAw, Lucy! I know how you feel! Before the summer, I was in a terrible blogging slump where I didn’t want to do anything. I still get like that too! It’s pretty awful, but I’m sure it won’t last soon. At the moment, just post when you feel like it and basically do what you want to do- take it easy! That way, you’ll be back in the swing of things in no time, at all!
Rita @ Weaving Pages recently posted…Top Ten Character Names I Love
Angie Y.
31 October, 2013 at 1:58 pmThank you so much for this post. As a beginning blogger it’s nice to hear how more experienced bloggers deal with times when they just don’t want to deal with their blog.
Annie
1 November, 2013 at 1:44 pmHi Lucy. I blog when and where I feel like it, sometime I do a meme, sometimes I don’t. It’s possible to be a blogger and not live on a schedule – no worries there. Don’t stress yourself out about this, just GO out and enjoy your life honey, it’s there to be lived. 🙂
Annie recently posted…NaNoWriMo: Writing Software
Cambrie
11 November, 2013 at 6:50 pmGreat post girl 🙂
I have to say, that I agree that pressure can get in the way of enjoying blogging. I know that my blog is NO WHERE near your blogs popularity, but I can relate. I’m busy with cheer at night, figure skating in the morning, school during the day, that it gets to the point where I just don’t have the time to blog. Then I make myself write up (sometimes a random) post, just so there’s something on my blog.
It can get pressuring!
But I’m glad that your enjoying it again, and I love reading your posts!
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Lindsey
13 April, 2015 at 12:44 pmΤhis info is priceless. How can I find out more?
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