Monday, February 23, 2015

New Beginnings


Last Friday I attended two incredibly inspiring talks at Perth writer's festival. The first lecture I went to hosted a panel of 'Kinfolkers', including Co-owner of Kinfolk magazine Katie Searle-Williams, editor Georgia Francis King and photographer Luisa Brimble. Something in particular that Georgia said really struck a chord with me. When discussing the 'nature' of Kinfolk, she mentioned that the magazine likes to focus on individuals who hone and master a single talent, as opposed to people she liked to term as 'slashies', aka photographers/writers/designers and so on. Nowadays, Kinfolk's ideal seems in total opposition to the expectations of the modern age and the pressures to multi-task, to be good at a variety of things.

The second talk I attended hosted assistant editor Nathan Scolaro at Australian magazine Dumbofeather and owner of Uppercase magazine Janine Vangool. What I took away from this lecture in particular was the passion these two people held for what they did and moreover, total belief in their work ethic and the content they choose to deliver to their readers.

So where exactly does this tie into my decision to begin anew with my blog? Well, on the eve of my twentieth birthday, I feel as if my interests, passions and pursuits in life have never been more clear and comprehensive. I have been blogging for quite a while- before Windswept Wishes, I had two other blogs. I delved into areas such as fashion, prose and even makeup, none of of which I held particular interest for. I've always felt all over the place with my blogs and I guess this is due to the fact that I've changed a lot just over the past few years. In addition to this, I've also always felt frustrated with the quality of my photo content. I don't own a fantastic camera, and I simply can't justify splashing out on one anytime soon, because photography has also never been a big interest of mine. I continually felt inadequate compared to so many amazing blogs out there, which is what prompted me to take a hiatus in the end. Above all else, I wanted to blog for my own pleasure, and I dreaded the idea of it becoming a chore. 

It took me a whole three months of hiatus to realize just how much I love blogging and putting my jumbled thoughts into words; so much so, that I couldn't bear leaving the blogging world behind. Furthermore, I have come to realize that I should just simply focus on the subjects that bring joy to my life, which all lie within the realm of food, literature, lifestyle and travel. I want to focus primarily on honing my writing skills and improving my content and I want to write in a way that hopefully brings a tiny bit of happiness and prompts a tiny bit of intrigue to anyone who stumbles by. 
Emily said...

I am so glad you will be coming back! Over the past few months I have really assessed my dedication to blogging. I realised how much I loved it and how true commitment was really what it had to take, not the half-hearted go I had been giving it. I'd also done the bit where I worried about my pictures and all that, but I realised it's the writing I love. And that's what people come to my blog for. Skillshare has some really good free courses on photography and scene styling (especially for food!) if you were interested in that!

Looking forward to this new era of blogging for you!
Emily x

Josie Donaldson said...

This is a really important post. I feel like in the blogging world there's a mold that you can't help like you need to fit in order to gain readers. Then I think, 'hey, why the hell would I want readers that don't care about the same things I do?'.

I'm not into fashion. I don't care about exploring abandoned buildings or having a particular series of posts that I have to schedule every week. I like to bake, I like to eat and I like to read. These things may not be riveting to a large amount of people and a lot of people may not even care, but I do and I want to meet others with the same passions. That's why I've decided I'm going to stop trying to force myself to take photos of things for the sake of it every day, and post more about things I care about. I want to write more about feminism, body image and feelings. It may not attract followers or pageviews but I will be happy with my work.

Best of luck with everything. x

Unknown said...

Definitely, the mold bugged me for a long, long time, but I've simply had enough of feeling like I 'should' post about certain things!

I completely agree with you, I no longer mind if I don't attract many followers and page views. From now on, I want to blog for me, because it really does bring such clarity to my life, as there's nothing I enjoy more than writing about things I love! I'm so happy that you will also be blogging for your own sake, and I am excited to read about your thoughts on the topics you're interested in.

Thank you so much for your support Josie
xx Carina

Unknown said...

I have notice how committed to your blog you have become, and I admire you immensely for that! I can tell how much you love writing, and your written content is what I enjoy most. Your positivity serious in particular have been marvelous!

Thank you for recommending Skillshare. That website is like a gold mine!

xx Carina

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