Looking Back
Creating relevant content for my blog is already super difficult. Before my fandom art blog fizzled out, I found little to no enjoyment in posting anymore. When I scrolled down my dashboard, I frequently grew too discouraged to post anything at all. I took time to reflect on what happened.
How could I make my hobby, and possibly my future job, more fun for me?
Burnt Toast
I’m impressed by the amount of work other artists post online. From hilarious illustrations, to dynamic animations, to incredible concept art, these fellow hobbyists seem to be made of bottomless wells of creativity. I’ve also tried my hand in producing similar content. (Trust me, it’s much easier said than done.)
Like many one-man-bands managing their online activity, they are prone to burnout. I certainly was.
When I was newer to the content creating scene, I took these dips in motivation as my own fault. It felt like I needed to work like a machine, posting with nonstop consistency and overextending myself to interact with followers or other bloggers I admired. Somewhere down the line, I grew dissatisfied with my own work. I always wanted to be better. I wanted to be more popular, have a bigger follower count, and be marauded by a healthy amount of messages every week. Looking back at it now, I think it’s impossible for a teenager to take all of that activity in stride. Back then, I hadn’t studied in depth what it took to be successful online.
Drive and Inspiration
I did get some things right, though: writing and connections. Ebony-Renee Baker, a decorated fashion editor, speaks about how important it is to refine your writing skills for content creation. If people can understand my words clearly – besides laughing at my pictures – then I’ll have a decent weapon in my content creating arsenal. I’m constantly reworking my reading, writing, and editing skills.
I wanted to be an editor for a few years now. I reached out to a friend who happened to be an editor, whom I will keep anonymous. He’s a stern character, but his industry insight is amazing. I even got to watch him edit some work. I used to think that editing was about polishing written work and checking for errors, but it’s so much more than that! I watched him resize images, critique student poetry, and use image editing software to create unique logos. Ebony-Renee’s valuable experience in a similar field is just as inspiring.
If there’s a way to make content creation engaging for myself again, it’s by sinking my teeth into what inspires me. When I am in my best mindset, I can make just about anything. The numbers wouldn’t mean success or failure anymore. They’d just be numbers. It turns out that when I’m just having fun with the platform, that’s when my work gains the most attention.
As of my previous blog post, all it took was for me to get deeply acquainted with the platform’s humor before I struck viral gold. While it was an exhilarating experience, it wasn’t permanent. Like most trending posts, the excitement of being noticed came and went. I still get a ton of activity on my viral post, but I can’t settle for just one thing in the ever-changing internet. You can call it ambition… but I also know that simple cat drawings aren’t all I’m capable of.
I wonder what I’ll make next. I guess I should go find some inspiration!