my first month on Bear Blog
I made my first post on this blog on May 23rd - it's been a little bit more than a month! So I think it could be interesting to do another retrospective, just like the one I did after my first week. What has changed?
Very consistent output
In 36 days, I have made 18 posts - so, on average, exactly one post each other day. Just as I anticipated, my activity slowed down a bit after the first week, and there were a few stretches were I didn't post anything, but overall it's going steady. I don't love every post I've made - some of them feel like I didn't quite get it right, and I'm thinking about deleting or at least reworking them at some point. But overall, I'm pretty happy with what I've got so far.
In my "first week" post I talked about "the freedom of not having a concept," and it's is still one of the main things that I like about this. I'm not doing some challenge where I'm forcing myself to rack up as many posts as possible. I'm not trying to have every post be a "profound essay" or some sharp observation about the society we live in. I just write when I feel like it, about whatever, even if what I'm saying feels a bit obvious or not all that relevant in the grand scheme of things. That lack of requirements makes it a lot easier to just go.
Eventually, I do want to focus a bit more on quality and depth, but that pressure not being there for every single post prevents writing for the blog from feeling like homework, instead of something that I like doing. Some posts may not turn out so great, but even those are still good practice, at least.
Emerging rules and structure
While I still think about this blog as experimental and in principle "open for anything," some rules of thumb have emerged. For example, I've decided that I won't put Fromsoft game lore-related posts on this blog, or any other fantasy worldbuilding-related stuff for that matter. 1 So you won't see any posts about the Scadutree or the Black Moon of Nokstella on here. I'm thinking about putting that stuff somewhere else, maybe even a secondary Bear blog if I end up upgrading after all.
I have an idea for a general direction that I'm going for, but it's still pretty vague, mostly based on "vibes." I want to do more art posts (both about my own art and art that I like or find interesting). I might also do some posts on AI - a part of me doesn't want to go there, but I can't deny that it's on my mind, everyone's talking about it, and I do have things to say about it, too. So why not. Most likely, the blog will gravitate towards the themes of art(s) and culture, mixed with personal diary- or zuihitsu-style writing. I'm not completely sure yet ... I'm just going to see where the journey takes me. I'm still experimenting!
A little bit more flourish
I like the minimal design of the blog so far, but I think I want to add just a few more sprinkles. Maybe some nice pictures or illustrative elements for the static pages, or even the post template. I've always liked the idea of a website that's a work of art and a means of communication at the same time. For the longest time, I've also been interested in the idea of linking mental categories or topics to an (imagined) landscape.
Bear Blog's customization is limited, so for my wildest ideas, I probably have to opt for another platform or medium.2 But I think I could "test the waters" here a bit before I start another (and probably even bigger / more labor-intensive) project. The goal is to do something that's simple, but still has its own unique character and style. I'll have to do some more research on elements that I could include, or that people are using on their blogs.
Conclusion
One month in, I'm still liking the blog and am looking forward to doing more with it! There's still so much left to explore. I think what will be most important is periodically reminding myself that I'm not doing this to be "successful" at blogging, not in the conventional sense of the word anyway (gathering a lot of attention, or making money off of it in some way). As long as I can use the blog to somehow make my own life - and maybe those of a few others - a little bit richer, then it's going to be still worth it.