How to start blogging? Trials and tribulations expressed by a blogger

Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” ~ Swami Vivekananda.

I swear by this quote, it is placed right above my writing desk and I believe in each word this quote states.

It took longer than usual, but yes, I made it. I made my way to the blogging world. I created my personal blog, in 2016, before that I used to write in my daily diary, yes, I still have it with me. I am a moderate English speaker.

Also Read: Preeti Shenoy on the art of writing

I love to read and started writing when I was in high school. I used to submit my poems in college and teachers loved reading them and stuck it on the office notice board for others to read. I felt motivated.

I was not aware of the blogging world until a few years back. It was in 2014, I saw people coming up with their blogs with food recipes, travel stories, fashion and beauty tips. I always wished to create my own blog and start pouring out all the pent-up emotions for decades but when I saw bloggers writing brilliantly, I got scared and somehow my self-confidence dipped.

It was in late 2016 I gained the courage and immediately created my blog and posted my very first article on it. Days passed, months passed, I hardly got any views or followers and got disappointed and started doubting my writing skill.

It was in early 2017 when I wrote something on Women’s Day and the write-up got selected for a local newspaper and it was published. First time I was featured in a newspaper. Now, my courage got growing. I started writing more, started sharing more and got featured by a start-up company. Now, you might be thinking that if I can write a moderately articulated blog then what am I trying to express here?

You should remove such toxic people from your life. This was the reason I was hesitant in pursuing my passion for writing. I knew my weaknesses.

Here is the catch – there was a friend of mine, a childhood friend, an expert in English. She was convent educated. She adapted blogging from me and started blogging soon after a few months I started, started copying all my style and process. I ignored. It was in a year back when I was interviewed by an artist to share my story and it went well, which I shared everywhere. Where people were calling me to congratulate and appreciate, she called me up asking how did you manage to get yourself there? Do you do SEO/SEM for your blog? Did you pay for them? With hardly 60 followers on my blog a year back and 2500 hits on my blog, I had no answers to her questions. She doubted my capabilities because she knew that her English is better.

She gave me a lesson that it does not necessarily mean that the one who is highly qualified will only obtain all the success in life. It is easy for others to doubt you than to appreciate you. You should remove such toxic people from your life. This was the reason I was hesitant in pursuing my passion for writing. I knew my weaknesses.  I knew there was a harsh world waiting for me outside. They would not spare me even if I made a single grammatical error. Writing is a serious business. But here I am writing from the last two years, not focusing on followers or hits but only the positive rewards and appreciation, which motivates me to write more and more.

I feel when you can express yourself and when you can form a connection with the reader, your job is done. But yes, I am continuously working on my writing skills and never wish to stop writing. Patience and perseverance keep me going.