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What’s it all about?
When I started this blog, I wanted it to be something more than just your run-of-the-mill “Took the cat to the vet today. He’s OK.” sort. I was going to make it about something; the problem was I didn’t know what.
The Wolf’s Howl has been live for a little over seven months now, and I still don’t know what it’s about. I’ve written entries on motorsport – particularly the rookie F1 season of Lewis Hamilton; technology – my entry on usbport.sys is by far the most successful post I’ve got, which says more about Windows than it does about my writing I think; health – my attempts to cut down on my alcohol intake and lose a bit of weight; relationships – and my complete failure at them; and blogging itself.
What I haven’t got is a common theme, which is where this post comes from. Do I need a common theme? Should I say “Right, this blog is about subject x and only about subject x. If I want to write about anything else, I need to start a new blog.”
Since considering the idea of limiting myself to one theme, I’ve been looking around at other blogs to see what they do. Some of the better ones (and the more popular ones) do stick to one subject, whether it be writing software or the life and times of an ex-Star Trek actor. Others jump from subject to subject depending what’s on the mind of the author(s), without any seeming loss in popularity.
My worry is if I limit myself, I won’t have anything to say for weeks at a time which will harm the popularity of the Wolf’s Howl which is (ever so slowly) starting to build up a following; it’s not on the scale of Mr Fabulous, but it’s encouraging. I’ve noticed, though, that when I don’t write for a few days, the stats drop like a stone and then take quite a while to recover.
My other worry is if I don’t limit myself I might end up writing about the smallest, tiniest, insignificantest (is that a word?) things that happen in the world or in my life and giving them a post all their own. I’ve edged towards this a couple of times already, but have lumped several things together into my Brief Notes series. I get annoyed by those blogs that tell you every little thing they are doing when it’s not at all interesting, thought-provoking or humorous (I remember reading a blog entry that lamented how late for the airport the author was. All I could think of was “If you weren’t writing this non-entry, you wouldn’t be so late. Get a life!”)
So, I want to ask your opinion. Where do I draw the line? Do I pick one subject and stick to that (at the risk of writing once in a blue-moon)? Do I carry on as I am, with random subjects that interest / annoy / otherwise attract me? Or do I go the whole hog and write about everything that happens to me or in my world? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, or drop me an email using the contact page.
I don’t have a cat, though, so you’ll never hear about his trips to the vet.
Comments
3 Responses to “What’s it all about?”
I think you know what to do....
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Hi, thanks for dropping by my blog. Frankly speaking, i didn’t know anything about wp.com. Thanks for informing me.
[...] I found my theme? A few days ago, I wrote a post asking what The Wolf’s Howl should be about; I felt that I hadn’t really achieved the [...]
[...] few days ago, I wrote a post asking what The Wolf’s Howl should be about; I felt that I hadn’t really achieved the [...]