In a couple of months, I’ll be blogging for ten years. I had skipped a few months and probably just about an entire year (not consecutively), though.
There are a few reasons for this:
- I had a content overload – either I didn’t know what to talk about, or I had too much to talk about and didn’t know where to start.
- I had too many ideas – I often found myself changing something about the blog, whether it was a page, content schedule, branding, or the like. Thus, overwhelming myself and getting burnt out.
- Work – I’ve been so busy with work, among other things, that I haven’t had much time to work on my projects, such as this website.
- Mental health sucks – my anxiety and depression have been at an all-time high, and I’m trying to figure it out as best as I can.
- Covid sucks – I don’t think I need to explain this one.
With all that said, I had decided to start completely fresh with this website.
Welcome back
The old website has become a mess of many old posts and non-consistent content. (Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to look back at it, and I did save every single one of those posts and pages for myself.) I was trying to update and change my branding all the time because nothing satisfied me.
However, part of that was because I didn’t know what my ultimate goal was.
At the end of 2020, I made a vision board for myself for 2021. I recently looked at the board and got a good laugh at some of my goals.
Some I completed, and some I didn’t. The reasoning behind my non-completion for some was that I either didn’t do them (no time, lack of motivation, I couldn’t do because Covid still exists, what have you) but still want to do them. Or, some goals weren’t relevant anymore because I changed.
So, overall, my vision board was a success because I say so.
So, what’s this website now?
I originally started my blog in May 2012 to be used as an author platform. However, it grew into something bigger and was a platform for readers and writers alike.
I want to keep that going but also share my creative writing. I want to show people that I am, in fact, an author and not just a writer.
I decided to switch to a different host and rebuild this website from scratch. While many things have changed, the content will still – more or less – be the same. I’ll still share writing articles once in a while, but I also want to share my progress.
However, because I’m starting from scratch, I’ll be repurposing a lot of my old content. For instance, I want to rewrite some old articles I shared a few years ago, and I want to reread many books and review them again. I might toss in some movie and product reviews as well.
I’m here to keep doing what I’m doing and try new things.
What’s different, and what’s staying the same?
Overall, the content remains the same. I’ll still post short stories, articles about writing, book reviews, and the like. In addition, however, there will be more posts about my creative writing, books, and overall journey.
However, the content itself might differ a little. For example, instead of posting one short story or flash fiction every Sunday, I’ll share one short story, split into parts for each Sunday of the month. I love writing flash fiction, but I want to practice more long-form stories, even if they’re on the shorter side.
Book reviews will be posted more frequently. I plan on rereading and rewriting old book reviews to post again. I also read a decent amount of books in 2021 that I never got the chance to post on my blog. So, for the time being, my book reviews will be a mixture between new and old, with the old ones being updated.
Long story short, I want to keep doing what I’m doing but improve upon it all.
Blog schedule
I updated my blog daily for the past few years (before I got burnt out). But, for now, that’s not going to happen. I have plenty of content I want to share, but I don’t want to dive back into blogging 24/7 like I used to.
The schedule is going to be gradual for now with some staples.
For example, you can count on a book review every Tuesday and Thursday and the latest podcast episode every Wednesday for January. In February, another day might be added, or the schedule might stay the same. For instance, I’m hoping to bring Short Story Sunday back for February.)
If inspiration and motivation strike, I’ll add another post here and there.
Don’t worry; I have ideas, but I don’t want to dig myself a hole right as I get back into the swing of things. I still have to figure out a balance between blogging, life, work, mental health, and everything in between.
What’s going on in 2022?
As I mentioned earlier, I did a pretty good job sticking to my vision board for 2021. Some things were unachievable because of Covid and other circumstances out of my control. However, there were also some things I didn’t complete merely because my wants and needs changed.
I made a new vision board for 2022, and, at this moment, there are other things I want to focus on.
One of them is my writing. I’ll go over my creative writing goals for 2022 in another article soon enough. First, however, I’m determined to make this year truly count for my writing. I have too many ideas sitting on the back-burner for too long.
In a nutshell, 2022 will allow me to get back on the horse creatively—more writing, reading, and doing bigger and better things.
Rachel Poli is an indie author, podcaster, and content writer working on her debut cozy mystery novel.
Although she favors mystery, Rachel is a multi-genre author with too many ideas and characters in her head, often experimenting with short stories and flash fiction.
When she’s not writing, she’s reading, organizing something, or playing video games. She currently resides in New England with her zoo.
