21 Fringe Benefits of Writing a Blog

November 24, 2015 by Lorna Faith

Have you ever asked yourself, why should I blog?

Maybe you’re thinking of starting a blog(, but aren’t sure if this going to be just another time suck in your life.

You might be wondering if writing a blog will actually benefit you in some way.

If you’ve asked yourself similar questions, I want to encourage you to look at this list of benefits I’ve discovered from blogging. See if any of these benefits – or even a few – resonate with you.

If you’re already a blogger who is reaching the audience that resonates with your words, I hope some of these rewards of blogging will spark your fire and bolster your enthusiasm to keep writing.

*Photo created with Canva

21 Fringe Benefits of Writing a Blog

Once you’ve found the right passion for your blog, and have set up your website, as you begin writing, sometimes it helps to be reminded of the amazing benefits that writing a blog offers you. Here’s a list I came up with as I thought about how blogging twice a week has helped me.

1. Writing a blog stretches you. When you start blogging you need to be willing to go beyond your normal comfort zone and put yourself out there. Writing in public, uncovers your thoughts and ideas to the world and not everyone will agree with you. That’s okay, just keep writing.

2.Writing a blog starts a conversation with people. I love this added benefit of blogging. I feel like I meet new people and learn from them and have great conversations. I feel like my world – my thoughts and ideas – have expanded as I’ve read and responded to comments.

3.Writing gives you greater insight on different topics. This goes along with #2. Just like you learn from people who stop by your blog, just by writing your blog regularly, you’re learning about different topics and best of all you’re learning how to be a better writer. I love that!

4.Writing a blog helps you to pursue what you love. Just by using the internet, you literally can write and chat with anyone anywhere in the world. There are unlimited topics you can write about and the world is waiting for your words – it’s just a click away.

5. Writing a blog grows your platform. If you’re an author, entrepreneur or a stay-at-home mom, blogging is available to you. You can grow your platform around what you love to talk about most.

6. Writing a blog increases the possibility of connecting with other influencers. I’m amazed at how blogging helps you grow so many relationships. Writing a blog offers you the chance to connect with other influencers – shakers and movers – within your niche. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to connect with other bloggers who share your passion.

7. Writing a blog is a awesome place to try out your ideas. Blogging and writing out your thoughts and ideas, is the perfect chance to see if others feel the same way you do, and if they don’t to understand their thought process. It helps you sort through your good and bad ideas by writing them down and having insightful conversations with other people.

8. Writing a blog helps you communicate better. This goes along with #7. When you try out your ideas and you keep writing each week what you’re learning, you are practicing writing. Not only that, but blogging is like writing an article. There is a main idea and each point you write needs to support your main idea. So when you are offered a speaking opportunity, you’ll have lots of practice writing keynote speeches.

9. Writing a blog helps you to lead better. Writing a regular blog regularly, gives you the chance to move your vision forward and influence those around you. Blogging is a great opportunity to get get personal with everyone who connects with you, because they start to know what’s on your heart.

10. Writing a blog helps to solve problems for others. It’s such a great feeling to have someone comment on your blog and tell you that what you wrote really helped them in some way.

11. Writing a blog gives you a voice. Blogging regularly helps readers who really resonate with your words and your message to find and connect with you. What you have to say can have a big impact on someone.

12. Writing a blog positions you as an expert in your niche. As you keep writing about what you’re learning and your thoughts & ideas around your message, people will begin to see you as a expert in your niche. They’ll come to you for answers specifically around the topics you write about.

13. Writing a blog helps you develop your personal brand. Since your blog has the possibility of reaching a global audience, people start to see what you talk about and what your passions are. This begins to develop ‘your brand.’ Blogging offers you the opportunity to increase and establish your personal brand in amazing ways.

14. Writing a blog offers the chance to promote other bloggers. Another fringe benefit of writing a blog is that you can promote other bloggers, authors and also support worthy causes.

15. Writing a blog can help you publish your book. There are many successful authors who started first by writing a blog. You can use each blogpost you write, as a chance to create content for your book and also grow the audience who will read it.

16. Writing a blog has long term impact. People will always be looking for information on specific topics or needing to be inspired in some way. So even if they see a blogpost from 3 years ago on your website, more than likely it will still help them in some way.

17. Writing a blog can help you earn income from your products. When you focus first on providing great value and being useful for your readers, the natural by product is that people will want to buy your books, courses or other products because they resonate with your work. When you focus first on making a difference, people begin to know, like and trust you.

18. Writing a blog allow your ideas to influence others 24/7. When you have a website and write a regular blog, your door is always open to readers. That’s what is so amazing about the internet. You can be on vacation and someone can be reading your words or signing up to your email list while you’re away.

19. Writing a blog offers you social proof. Building and growing your blog and adding social media links there(Facebook, twitter, Google Plus, etc.) can open up possibilities for you. Your blog gives you a central hub for connecting with people on social media. Plus, if you’re wanting to go with a traditional publisher, many publishers look at your blog to see how many real followers you have, before they consider you for a publishing contract.

20. Writing a blog is a very low cost way to grow your business. As of this writing a domain name is around $15 and you can get started with a self-hosted website for as little as $5 a month hosting package. Or if you can start with a free blog on WordPress.com – I talk more about that in this blogpost. Blogging is a very low cost business to start.

21. Writing a blog grows your writing craft and gives you more opportunities to be creative. I saved this one for last, because I love the freedom and creativity you get from writing a blog. Not only do you become a better writer through regular practice, but you are offered an amazing place to express your creativity. And that’s a beautiful thing.

I hope this list has helped you see the many fringe benefits of writing a blog. I’m sure there are many more perks that blogging gives you.

If you’re thinking about blogging, or have already started your blog, I hope this inspires you to keep writing and impact readers that step through your open doors.

What are some other benefits that writing a blog can give you? I’m sure I’ve missed a lot more benefits that blogging gives you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

*Photo created with Canva

5 Ways to Choose the Right Passion for Your Blog

November 17, 2015 by Lorna Faith

How do you choose what to write about on your blog?

If you are thinking about starting a blog, or if you’ve already started one, knowing what to write about on your blog, can feel a little like a mystery.

At least that’s how it was for me when I first started blogging three years ago.

It wasn’t until I asked myself what I really love to talk about and learn about, that I finally figured out what topics to blog about.

*Photo created with Canva

5 Ways to Choose the Right Passion for Your Blog

Sharing what you know about and love can really bring a ton of happiness to everyday for you. For myself I finally understood this, when I started narrowing what I blog about and focussed on inspiring writers, fiction writing, self-publishing, marketing and how to

At first I thought, blogging about writing and self-publishing had been over done, but I soon realized after learning from successful bloggers that being in something for the long haul, means that you need to love talking about that topic. So that’s what I did and it’s fun to talk about what you love.

So how do you discover your passion? Maybe you’ll uncover some clues in the following questions:

1.You’ll discover your passion in what you love to learn about. You know, those areas of interest and topics that you already lean toward everyday, right down what those are. Sometimes what we love is so familiar to us that we just don’t notice them – at least not at first. For some examples, ask yourself:

When I watch videos online – or listen to podcasts – what topics do I most want to learn?
When I’m talking with someone, what do I love to talk on and on about?
When I stop at the library or go to a bookstore, from which areas do I like to grab books?

When you uncover those topics that you naturally lean toward, those are great clues to find the subject that will never grow old to you. Maybe even five or ten years from now, you’ll still love to learn and have an interest in that topic. This is one of the ways to discover your passion.

2.You’ll discover your passion in your talents and abilities. Think of those things you naturally do well. What are you good at that comes naturally to you and where you’ve noticed that it’s also been helpful to others? That’s an excellent starting point to uncover what possible topics to blog about. Something I’ve done, is to ask two or three people who know me best to share some adjectives and words that describe me. So I’d encourage you to text, email or call three people who know you best and ask them to share three words that describe you – what your strengths are and what makes you unique. You’ll be amazed at how their answers bring a new clarity to you.

3. You’ll discover your passion in past struggles. Most of us have had to climb an up hill battle of some kind. So if you’ve been through a deep struggle or some big obstacles that you’ve had to push through in your life, there’s a passion behind how you came out of that. You have a story that others need to hear. A one-of-a-kind perspective that will help others who are right now dealing with a similar struggle. You have solutions that people will be happy to pay you for. When the messiness of life that you’ve made it through become your message, that’s really when your audience will really connect with you on a much deeper level.

4. You’ll discover your passion as you keep sharing new ideas and discoveries with your readers. I’ve found it really helpful to share the journey I’m walking through as I write about the obstacles I face writing or creating the online class or even now as I’m trying to understand story structure in a much deeper way. You might find that as you keep sharing what you’re learning or new discoveries, that you find greater clarity in what you’re really passionate about.

5. You’ll discover your passion in the topic where you’re willing to do the ‘long haul.’ It’s really helpful to ask yourself, “Can I see myself writing and learning about this subject for the next five to ten years?” If you can, then you’ve most likely hit the nail on the head with the topic your passionate about. If not, keep going through the ways to discover your passion from this list.

As with many things, you need to be willing to go the distance, to really be committed to your passion, before you begin to reach new levels of authority in your niche. Much like writing books, every person who first started a blog, did it when no one knew their name and made a ton of mistakes along the way. It’s okay. Everyone starts there.

Choose what you’re really passionate about, stay focussed everyday and you’ll soon see new clarity and authority come to you as blog about what you love.

I’m curious, have you discovered your passion – what you like to blog about? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

*Photo created with Canva

7 Creativity Killers and How to Stop Them

November 12, 2015 by Lorna Faith

Creativity isn’t something that is reserved for the special few. Neither is creativity limited to innovators, artists or inventors like we’ve been led to believe.

Creativity is buried treasure that’s inside every human being.

Everyday we whisper our creative ideas in how we care for our children, our homes, our jobs and in how we take steps towards our dreams.

But, once in awhile, when we face that blank page on our computer screens, the ideas don’t come to us and the words, just don’t flow like they should.

This staring at the blank page for too many hours, is what I faced this past week – more than usual. I paced the room, stared out the window praying for some flicker of ideas, but nothing seemed to help.

What do you do when it seems like your imagination has been hijacked by creativity killers?

We must first unmask what’s holding us back. Once we know the answer to that, we can break their hold on our creativity…

*Photo created with Canva

What are some creativity killers to look out for?

There are quite a few culprits that try to snatch your creativity. As writers it’s very helpful if we can train ourselves to be aware of what hinders or stops us from being creative.

Conformity. Sometimes your desire to be accepted by the social group to which you belong to may hinder you from ‘trying stuff’ and experimenting with new ways of thinking, living and being.
Criticism. When well-meaning friends, family, critique groups and editors say ‘not so nice’ stuff about our writing, it can feel a door has been slammed on our creative flow.
Fear of failure or success. All of us as writers have a fear of not selling our work for some reason. This can make us feel embarrassed, insecure, brings self-doubt in our ability, and we start to believe that our ideas and our writing ability is just not good enough. Surprisingly, success can also be something writers fear. Because when one book has success, then the writer feels like the next book you must write even better or at least as good as the first time. You might question if you have another good book in you.
Writer’s Block. When we can’t write for some reason or another this brings a devastating blow that we wonder if we’ll ever be able to write again.
Stale Ideas. Sometimes as writers we have many ideas and one by one we dismiss them because some part of the idea we’ve seen in a movie or read in some book before. We begin to wonder if there are any truly original ideas left on the planet?
Isolation. Having time alone with our thoughts most of the time helps our creative flow, however constant solitude, can hinder our outflow of ideas.
Over-Thinking. I know I’m totally guilty of this one. I sometimes overthink and over analyze my ideas/characters/plot to death often freezing my ability to write the story.

Now that we know what these creativity killers are, what are some ways to re-awaken our creativity?

Conformity. Give yourself permission to get in touch with your creativity, to be imaginative, to think the ‘unthinkable’ – even when it doesn’t look like what everyone else is doing.
Criticism. Find a way to see beyond the hurtful words and uncover the weaknesses you can fix in yourself and your work. If the criticism is constructive it will also have words of some type of encouragement and usefulness on how to make it better. Listen for new ideas to help your creativity flow again. Try to stop yourself from forming a litany of words in your defence when you should really be trying to think about which parts of their criticism make sense. This is easier said than done – I get that – but many times this is how we grow as writers.
Fear of failure or success. Sometimes the solution here can be simply learning more of what you need to know about writing, self-publishing or marketing your book. It does take time, but there are so many amazing resources out there for writers. To write a better story, The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know by Shawn Coyne is amazing to help you figure out how a story is structured. Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art, has helped me get through many moments of resistance as I’ve been writing. Or if you want, go to a writer’s workshop or conference. Talk with other writers on Facebook or on Kindle Boards. When you are fearing failure or success, your inner critic is working overtime. Ask yourself tough questions like what’s the worst thing that could happen? When you’ve faced the worst thing – realizing in most cases it won’t happen – then you’ll find it’s easier to push through the fear to finish your work or start your next book. You are stronger and have more grit than you realize… so don’t give up.
Writer’s Block. If you can’t seem to come up with anything to put on the page, find some place that’s inspiring. Go for a walk in nature, sit at a peaceful park, go to your favourite cafe, play your favourite music and find a comfy place to sit. When you’re settled write the details of everything you feel, hear, taste, touch and smell around you – do this for fifteen minutes. Be really descriptive and then read what you’ve written out loud. You’ll start to see images in your mind’s eye which most likely will inspire new ideas. Most of all, discipline yourself to write everyday… whether it’s an email, a letter, a blogpost or a paragraph. Just write.
Stale Ideas. Think about an old idea you were inspired by from a movie or in a book and really look at it. Analyze why you think it’s so good. Use the opposite of this idea to create a new idea or you can combine some of your first idea with another old idea to create a new story or theme. You can always change it up a little by heightening the intenseness of different scenes and emotions. As always, read books, newspapers and watch movies for ideas and ways to change up the idea for your story.
Isolation. If all you do is stay in your room all day, everyday, at some point your inspiration and imagination will dry up. In Julia Cameron’s very helpful book, The Artist’s Way, she talks about going for artist dates once a week – to places that inspire your creative child. I know when I go to an art gallery, museum or even the dollar store, I’m inspired to start creating something new. So get out into the world, talk to people, play with your kids, go to a football game and watch as you’re inspired. Also remember that a good sleep along with healthy eating and exercise helps you think clearly.
Over-Thinking. Really try to catch yourself, when you are constantly editing your words, especially if you’re working on your first draft. It will hinder your creative flow. It’s okay to try to write the best you can, but you have to let go of your expectation that your book will be perfect. When we over-think or analyze our words, story or idea, we freeze our creativity. Try writing morning pages – 3 pages handwritten every morning – and do this without editing anything, and watch how quickly you begin to find yourself able to free write. The words will really begin to flow onto the page.

For most of us writers, the creativity inside of us is our buried treasure. This means that it’s inside of us and we need to dig it up – to uncover what’s inside of us – to get in touch with what’s in us. But the reward is that we get to live a deeper and fuller life, which makes the hard work of uncovering what’s inside of us, worth it.

How do you spark your creativity? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

*Photo created with Canva

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003 Push Past Resistance and Give Yourself Permission to Create with Pamela Hodges

November 5, 2015 by Lorna Faith

I had the honour of interviewing Pamela Hodges recently. She grew up in rural Saskatchewan and trained for awhile to be a teacher, but decided she wanted to pursue art instead. She graduated from Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, before she went to Tokyo to work as a fashion photographer for clients like Marie Claire, Elle, Chase Manhattan Bank, and others.

Later she met her husband Nick, they moved to California and had 3 children. She has fun homeschooling her children and is also a painter and a writer who has fun blogging over at ipaintiwrite.com. Pamela’s cat Harper dictates to Mrs.Hodges for Harper’s blog www.thecatwhowrites.com. Also, Pamela is a regular blogger over at www.thewritepractice.com. You can connect with Pamela on Twitter and Facebook.

*Photo By: Pamela Hodges

Watch the Video Interview

Summary of the Interview

*Pamela talks to creatives and encourages them to get over the barriers and feelings of “I’m not good enough” to draw or to write. She said her own blogging journey started 3 years ago and she said she didn’t really know what to write so her first post was “This is Imperfect.” She said she really didn’t want anyone to read it.

*She tells her story of growing up and that in the mid 70’s in rural Saskatchewan, her parents wanted her to follow education and have a stable career. She started and barely passed the 1st year of education training, and ended up switching to art because that’s what she really wanted to do.

*When she was in Art College, she went through a 4 year art program and had a teacher who believed that art needed to be realistic and he told her he wasn’t going to recommend her for the graphic arts program. Pamela said she believed when her teacher told her that she wasn’t a good enough artist.

*Pamela encourages artists – painters, writers, etc., – to decide at some point in her life that you don’t need permission anymore. If you want to paint your unique style, just do it. If you want to write that book, don’t wait for an agent, just write and self-publish your book.

*Pamela says that’s what she’s doing now. She’s writing a book and figuring it out as she goes. She wants to encourage other creatives and she’s decided if she has an idea that she wants to act on, she does it. She’s become a Leading Learner.

*She talks about how Jeff Goins’ blog inspired her to believe in herself. She says she’s always asking permission to have her own ideas. She encourages creatives that you don’t have to ask permission to be who you are.

*Sometimes asking permission from someone else to be creative or to do something is our default from growing up. Pamela says the biggest thing she does when she faces a struggle is to remember to tell herself that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

*The book she’s almost done creating now, the artist manifesto, it took her a year to decide whether or not she should illustrate the book. A little voice inside told her believe in yourself as an artist. She still had the fear that someone would tell her later on ‘oh you can’t draw.’ Pamela says she’s taking Seth Godin’s words to heart and WILL finish and ship it.

*Pamela talks about how hard it was when her cat Pooh Hodges died earlier this year. For awhile Martha the dog took over writing at thecatwhowrites.com, until Harper, the cat took over. She encourages any animal if they would like to guest post on the blog, they need their own email account – to send in their guest post idea.

*She said when her cat Pooh was alive, Pooh interviewed Steven Pressfield and he talked about how to overcome resistance. He wrote about that in his awesome book, The War of Art. He says that the more resistance you feel to write about something or paint something, that’s really a signpost for you, that that’s your True North. That’s your soul telling you this particular book or work of art is exactly what you should be doing.

*Pamela says she feels the negative voice of resistance telling her stuff like: come on you haven’t done it yet? or Why do you even bother? She says it’s a daily battle to get through the voice that wants to tell you to stop making your art. She remembers Steven Pressfield saying that the resistance you fight is as big as your dream. So if you have very little resistance in your life now, it’s because you’re not dreaming big enough.

Ask yourself… how big is the shadow of the tree of your dream? If you have a small shadow it’s because you’re not dreaming big enough. The more you dream and the bigger the dream is, if you get scared and more anxious because you’re pursuing something, that’s because it matters a lot to you.

*She encourages artists to not live complacent lives… doing the same old thing everyday. Instead, ask yourself what gets me excited? Try to create what you’re passionate about. You don’t need to be a #1 bestseller right out of the gate… all you need to do is Just Start!

*Pamela says one of the biggest things for writers, painters or creatives anywhere need to remember is that you don’t need to ask permission. Just start creating what you’re excited about. Stop listening to the voice of resistance, and just begin.

*Steven Pressfield’s book Do the Work he talks about how to finish the projects you start. And how to do work that matters to you and how to get started. It’s not about having better ideas, it’s just about committing to do the work, everyday.

*Pamela encourages writers to start today to write down something that has deep meaning… write about something that’s really emotional for you. Take responsibility and have fun creating your art.

You can find Pamela on your blogs ipaintiwrite.com and you can see what new topics Harper the cat is writing about these days over at thecatwhowrites.com. Also, Pamela says her toys will COME ALIVE again in December… check it out here at toycember. Pamela would also love to connect with you on Facebook or Twitter.

What helps you overcome resistance & choose yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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