I'm hoping to someday change careers into a more writing-focused field. The advice for this is always "start a blog and join Twitter." I would like to do both of these things, but I have so many interests, and such difficulty thinking about how any of them would translate into a blog, that I'm stuck at the screening phase. How to pick one? I'll just list off the topics I have at least a passing interest in: crafting, comics, animals, the environment, healthy eating, gardening, frugal living, and bizarre topics such as the paranormal and unsolved mysteries (I'm a huge fan of Mysterious Universe).
The problem is, although I have an interest in all of these topics, I'm far from being an expert in any of them. For instance, although I like healthy eating, I'm a disaster in the kitchen and a blog on that subject would be a joke. I'm a frugality nut whose actions seldom match her aspirations. I like gardening but have not had the time or energy this year to plant one. I love art, comics and crafts but am definitely not part of the arts scene in my city or even online.
I'm sure that with a little research I could write convincingly about animal or environmental issues, but how on earth would I focus such a blog? These subject areas are so vast, and no one area of them stands out as being my one true passion that I could focus on over the long haul. Plus, I have absolutely no credentials or authority in either of these fields, other than just being someone who cares about them.
The paranormal/spooky stuff: I really dig this because I think it's fun. However, I don't know that it's the most professional thing to be blogging about if my goal is to impress potential employers.
Which leads to my next question: I should be avoiding controversy with any of these, right? My dream job would be to work or write for an environmental or animal org, but there are precious few of those in my city and they're mostly staffed by volunteers. So if I were to blog stridently about either of these issues, might that turn off potential employers in other fields? (Of course, there's the argument that I wouldn't want to work for someone whose views differed so much from mine.)
I see that many writers blog about either writing itself, or marketing and branding oneself or one's business. Is that the route to go? I fear that I would be mainly recycling the stuff that I read about on others' blogs.
I'm feeling pretty naive at this point. Am I missing something? Would I be better served by just trying to publish one-off articles on these subjects in existing publications?
The problem is, although I have an interest in all of these topics, I'm far from being an expert in any of them. For instance, although I like healthy eating, I'm a disaster in the kitchen and a blog on that subject would be a joke. I'm a frugality nut whose actions seldom match her aspirations. I like gardening but have not had the time or energy this year to plant one. I love art, comics and crafts but am definitely not part of the arts scene in my city or even online.
I'm sure that with a little research I could write convincingly about animal or environmental issues, but how on earth would I focus such a blog? These subject areas are so vast, and no one area of them stands out as being my one true passion that I could focus on over the long haul. Plus, I have absolutely no credentials or authority in either of these fields, other than just being someone who cares about them.
The paranormal/spooky stuff: I really dig this because I think it's fun. However, I don't know that it's the most professional thing to be blogging about if my goal is to impress potential employers.
Which leads to my next question: I should be avoiding controversy with any of these, right? My dream job would be to work or write for an environmental or animal org, but there are precious few of those in my city and they're mostly staffed by volunteers. So if I were to blog stridently about either of these issues, might that turn off potential employers in other fields? (Of course, there's the argument that I wouldn't want to work for someone whose views differed so much from mine.)
I see that many writers blog about either writing itself, or marketing and branding oneself or one's business. Is that the route to go? I fear that I would be mainly recycling the stuff that I read about on others' blogs.
I'm feeling pretty naive at this point. Am I missing something? Would I be better served by just trying to publish one-off articles on these subjects in existing publications?