Getting the Hang of It

How are you all doing?  I feel like it's been awhile (again...) since I've touched bases with you beyond the holiday hubbub and the showcasing of new shop items.  So here I am, shifting the subject to more humanlike thoughts--because humanity is what really matters when it comes down to it.  On the EC | TIW front, I actively started utilizing my Twitter account, while also writing here and posting on Instagram (see this blog entry for my dilemma about this).  First, I was confused about what to post on each site: the same information, but condensed?  Different information?  Have each social media account reflect different aspects of my shop?  Unnervingly, a cacophony of thoughts stormed my mind; I felt like I was in over my head.  Overstimulated to the max.  Finally, I decided to post what I wanted to, which has become fun for the following reasons:

1. Twitter's word-count limit lets me play around with words: those with varying weight, illustrative potential, and wit--to include as I see fit.  

2.  Instagram has been helpful to pull together photography and writing into shortened posts, with an emphasis on photos.

3. My blog, which remains my favorite mode of communication, allows me the space to write freely, and creatively, without word-count limits and ergonomic annoyances (i.e.:smartphone keyboard).  Although my mind goes a-mile-a-minute, I type very slowly; I think too fast and my hands can't keep up unless I use a regular keyboard.

Content varies per site depending on what works better for me: quick, pulsing writing for Twitter; evocative photos and their accompanying words for IG; chronicling the thought process via in-depth writing for this blog.  Together, it's a fun, exhilarating challenge that forces me to learn and use new words in the process.  (And you know how I love a good word...)

Bottom line:
What at first felt overwhelming and scary--the balancing of, and posting on, three social media accounts--is now something I look forward to on a weekly basis.  (Pinterest doesn't count because pinning visual inspiration is easy.)  I love playing around with words and ideas to fit these very different social-media platforms because it keeps my writer's brain happy.  It's only then that I can concentrate fully, without interruption from my ever-roving mind, on making jewelry and book page goods, plus crafting quality writing services, during this busy holiday season.  With practice, things have become more manageable.

On Blogging

I know that my blog posts tend to have that lost-in-thought quality, sometimes--a not quite tangible perspective that is heightened by an unbridled, free-wheeling introversion.  One that takes you by the hand and wanders, with you, across vast stretches of solitary land.  Upturning pebbles and rocks, to see the imprint left beneath them; catching angles of light just so.

For me, blogging is not solely a creative outlet that documents the process--it is a journey, a secret talisman of sorts.  A trek over otherwise difficult terrain and salubrious territory, this conscious act is an exercise that is in equal parts moderation and exertion.  It pushes me to face and examine commonly held certainties, as well as the uncertainties, since one cannot exist without the other.

Writing, an extension of which is blogging, 
is both part and parcel; it is sanity.  

On Blogging

 Yes, I will admit that I am a reader of lifestyle blogs.  Some are ones that are all about consumerism and pretty things, while others are a peek into the life of a family--from, of course, the perspective of the mothers (because it seems as though most family blogs are run by the mothers).  It's not necessarily the content that I drawn to, but the entirety of the blog, including its vibe, undertones, and the writer's humor.

I was thinking about this last night, and wondered where my blog would be, on this continuum of blog content, ranging from mainly consumerism on the one end, to intimate details of a not-so-private life on the distant other.  And I've come to the realization that this blog sits squarely in the middle.  Perhaps this is why readership tends to be spotty in these parts, since my blog content is neither overly monotone or witty, nor is my aesthetic sparkly.  And I must add that I try my best to keep my private life well, private--for the most part.  (I've blogged semi-extensively about these subjects, both here and here.)

Yet, I continue in this blogging endeavor not only for my shop, but also for my own sanity.  This blog is, in truth, the only space and place where I creatively write on a regular basis.  Furthermore, there is a deeper undertow here, both in content and form, which I thoroughly enjoy exploring.  It's an intended depth; an inherent subtlety.  (No, I am not blog bashing, I am merely acknowledging the aim of my blog.)  It is my hope that this more-than-meets-the-eye demeanor is fully grasped, rather than misunderstood.