I absolutely love witty and intelligent bloggers. I could spend all day just reading posts from Cait at Paper Fury or Shannon from It Starts at Midnight. Their blogs are fun and filled with life and energy and pizzazz (and, in the case of Cait, cake). If I could aspire to one thing when it comes to my blog, it would be to add more lightheartedness and humor to it, but whenever I sit down to write a discussion post, I almost always end up writing a philosophical discussion on faith in blogging, or whether or not it’s ever okay to judge people, or diversity, or cheating in books or how I wasn’t stressed about blogging until I found out I was doing it wrong. I know – it’s a laugh a minute around here, right? Even my April Fools’ posts (which I adore) could almost seem serious if you didn’t check the date and realize I’m being totally tongue-in-cheek.
But then I realized that maybe I’m aspiring to something that just isn’t me. I mean, that’s not to say that I’m never funny, but it’s just not my go-to writing style. I actually figured something out about myself – I’m only good at being witty in banter form. I realized the other day as I was commenting on a particularly humorous post that when I’m on other people’s blogs, I have no problem being witty in the comments. It’s fun to come up with a snappy reply to something! But I can’t manage a whole post filled with humor – my wit only lasts for (very) short bursts!
I guess I need to find a witty co-blogger to banter with if I want to infuse humor into my blog. Or come to terms with the fact that I’m better at writing philosophical posts than humorous ones. We all have our strengths, right? Hopefully FYFA is still a fun place to be!
When I was in theater, I was always more comfortable with drama than comedy. That’s just me. And I’m not one of those incredibly creative bloggers who makes gorgeous infographics on a whim either. I wish I could do that, but it’s just not in my skillset – yet. But that doesn’t mean I can’t learn and grow! It doesn’t mean I can’t try to add a little lightheartedness every once in a while – I just need to face the fact that I’m not that fun, young and hip blogger who manages to lead all the trends and be okay with that. I’ll be that older, mom blogger who thinks deeply about stuff and likes to ask tough questions. That’s me.
What’s your blogging style? Have you ever wished you could change it? I want to know!
Hahaha!! I 100% COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY GET THIS!!! We adore Cait and Shannon… and though we adore funny, witty and fantastically humorous bloggers, we just can’t measure up to them either. Becca and I last year did a little thinking and we decided to make our blog less “professional” (not that it was that professional before lol) and just blog like we talk. So instead of “reviews”, we now do “let’s chat” posts. We fangirl and vent and talk in run on sentences in our reviews… and we just act like we do in real life. Your blog can be whatever you want it to be. It should show who you are. So if you are more philosophical, let that part of you shine!! Becca and I are NOT aspiring authors. We’re not always spot on with our spelling and grammar, and we have horribly small vocabularies. (We always complain we’re using the same phrases over and over again when talking about books.) But alas, it’s just how we are. And we’re totally okay with that! Our thoughts on books may be a little rambley and all over the place, but that’s how we’re thinking while writing, so that’s how we present it.
See, here I go rambling again. LOL!!!
My point is that just do what comes naturally to you. I really enjoy your blog, so I will continue visiting whether you’re humorous or philosophical, honestly. 🙂 Just do what feels comfortable, have your blog show the best parts of you, the parts that you want to shine. That’s what we decided to do last year… and though we don’t have the BEST blog out there, we’re not as witty and funny as others, and we have trouble coming up with creative discussion posts, our blog still perfectly portrays US, so we love it.
Just be you!! <3
Yep – that’s the conclusion I came to. Why try to be something I’m not? I do love my philosophical posts and the amount of discussion they foster, so I never want to give those up. And when I’m up for a splash of humor I can just hop on over to one of those fun blogs and comment there! 🙂
Love this. I agree Cait and Shannon are hysterical and love to stop by their blogs and see what creative stuff they have done. I wish I was funny like that but I’m not. I think I have moments – maybe. I don’t even know what my style is. I just do whatever feels normal. My discussions aren’t heavy or funny so I really don’t know how to describe it. I also wish I could put together awesome graphics and find the perfect gif. Alas not my specialty either. But people still come by my blog so I figure it’s fine. I know I personally visit a wide range of blogs all with different personalities so I think you just have to do you – you know?
So true – if people keep visiting, we must be doing something right! (I love your blog, by the way, with or without a specific style.)
I know exactly what you mean — I look at the styles of bloggers I admire and think, “I wish I could do that,” but in the end I have to be myself. The authenticity of each voice, which shows there’s a real person behind it and not just a marketing strategy, is what makes each one so special.
Yes, it’s hard not to see something you love and think, “I wish I could do that.” But in the end, trying to smush someone else’s style into my blog would just come off as inauthentic. I’d rather be me!
I really love this post! I wish I was a bit more funnier in some of my posts. People tell me I’m really funny in real life but I’ve never been that great at showing it in my writing – through blogging or even writing fiction. I do think it’s nice to try and change your style every now and then – do what you can to grow as a blogger -but at the same time, you have to be happy with the writer/blogger you are!
I feel like it’s easier to be funny in real life because we’re responding to things around us and it just comes more naturally (kind of like commenting on other people’s posts – it’s a natural humorous response).
I’m one of those deep thinkers too. I would love to have more funny, exciting stuff to talk about but it just is not me! I’m realizing that I can only be who I am or the content that I write is not going to work for anyone, including myself!
Be you! <3
Yes! You don’t want to try to be something you’re not and then just come off sounding fake. Better to be yourself!
I know exactly what you mean, I definitely had days where I wished I could blog more like cait and Shannon, their posts always make me lough. Or other bloggers out there who seem to have great ideas and write awesome content. While I am more the serious blogger who thinks way to hard and much about topics and then writes my thought process down and call that a discussion post. Or writes way too long reviews as I want to share all my thoughts and feelings about a book.
I do try to write a bit more lighearted Lola’s Ramblings posts once in awhile or more informational instead of analytical, that I can do. But I don’t think I ever will be able to write a humorous posts like cait and Shannon can do, that’s just not my style. And I guess that’s okay. Like you said every blogger has it’s own style and that’s also what makes visiting other blogs fun. I think FYFA is a fun place to be and I like visiting and reading your posts.
Oh, I’m totally like that with reviews too! I look at them sometimes and think, “Nicole, you went on WAY too long!” But it’s too hard to pare it down. That’s why I started using bullet points – it at least breaks up my long-windedness!
I love this post. It’s honest and raw! It’s just your style. LOL. I think you have a good bearing on the reality that you are who you are, and there is always room from improvement, but you should operate from your strengths first. Capitalize on them if you will, embellish with other stuff later. I like your idea of adding a co-blogger you can banter with. Overall, your blog is one of my go-to blogs for good reviews and discussions like this. What you do and how you do it works for me!
You’re right – I was thinking about it as I was writing about it – that I was writing about my style in my style. 🙂 And I’m glad that people like to come here for deeper discussions!
I love this post. One of the reasons that I read so many different blogs is because I like seeing the variety of personalities. If everybody was trying to be funny all the time, it would get boring. I like your thought-provoking posts.
Very true – it is nice to see so many different styles and types of discussions! I sometimes see something I love and think, “I want to do that!” but really, it’s better not to try to force myself into a style that’s not my own. I like me! 🙂
This is a very interesting question girl! And this is something that I’ve struggled with as well so don’t think you’re the only one feeling like that in any way! But I feel that if we just stick with what we’re comfortable with and what makes us happy then we’re on the right track. If we’re trying to make other people happy with what we’re doing and not pleasing ourselves first then we’re just asking for a heartbreak. ♡ nice discussion post!♡
Very true – if we play the comparison game, it’s impossible to live up – after all, there are TONS of awesome blogs and styles out there – we can’t possibly be the all. Better just to be ourselves, right? 🙂
AHHH THIS POST = WONDERFUL. And weirdly enough…I actually have gotten all self-conscious about the amount of ridiculousness I post and wondered if I should post more seriously. and when I try to go for the well-thought-out discussions on tough topics…I BASICALLY DIE AND MY WORDING IS AWFUL AND BLAH. XDXD So I think maybe all of we bloggers think we should sometimes be blogging in a different way?!? But if we all stay true to our styles, we all compliment each other?! XD I honestly love your blog how it is! I LOVE how eloquently you write. 😀 JUST SAYIN’. <3
I find it kind of hilarious that you want to be more serious while I want to be more humorous – goes to show that there’s always a flip side. Obviously, I LOVE your blog and I don’t want you to change! 🙂 And, really, I don’t want me to change either. I’ll just be content with reading humorous posts on your blog and infusing tiny bits of humor into my more serious posts. I’m happy with my blog – I just need to remember not to play the comparison game! 🙂
I also have a serious blogging style. At times I also show the capacity to be witty in short bursts, but that has not been seen in a while. I used to write hilarious commentary in college and my friends kept telling me I needed to be an opinions columnist. I’m starting to think I take my blogging, particularly my reviews, too seriously. I changed things up, and I started discussion posts this year (thank you!), but I’m not liking the style of my reviews. I want some changes.
Nothing wrong with making some changes if they’re for you. I do enjoy infusing some humor into my blog now and again and I am trying to get a bit more skilled with graphics, etc. But overall, I’m happy with my style, and I don’t want to let blogger envy cause me to change it. 🙂
Yes I can understand exactly what you mean. I’d like to be funnier too and less serious but it’s hard and sometimes my Aussie humour might not come through to someone who’s not Australian and wouldn’t get the underlying meaning and as a result I try to avoid that type of stuff so as to not offend anyone. For me I think it’s just more important to be yourself and blog how you feel comfortable with. But I can understand why you’d want to change your style I think it’s like anything when you need to change things up to stop it from getting boring too. Great post!
If it makes you feel any better, Cait’s an Aussie too, and I’ve never felt like I don’t get her humor! Feel free to throw it in now and again! But I agree that you shouldn’t try to change your style just for the sake of changing it – we all need to be ourselves!
First, you are the sweetest ever. As are the commenters, I just love you guys 😀
Second, things would be BORING if we all did the same thing. I LOVE your posts. Which, I presume is how we became friends in the first place! And I love that you are thinking so deeply. Because a lot of times, I am… not haha. So you bringing up these fabulous topics makes me think about stuff that I may not have ever thought about, and I absolutely love that! And it is a GREAT way to get discussions going, too.
And, I think you ARE good and injecting little bits of lightheartedness into serious topics, which is what makes them so readable! Basically, the best part of reading blogs is when the blogger’s real self shines through, and yours absolutely does! And it’s why we all love coming here and reading your posts 😀 Though Cait COULD share the cake. I mean, really. 😉
(I also feel like somewhere in there, you sort-of-not-really-but-maybe called me young and hip, and I think I might have to hug you now.)
Hugs are welcomed. You can have a rain check until BEA 2016! 🙂
I agree that the blogosphere would be a boring place if we all did the same thing. And if I go around aspiring to everyone else’s blogging style, then I wouldn’t have any style at all, right? I’ll just have to enjoy the humor on your blog (and Cait’s) and infuse little bits along the way on my own blog. 🙂
I totally understand what you mean with this, as I feel like this all the time. I sometimes worry my writing comes off as a little serious, as the only humour I ever seem to manage to put in is in these weird little bracketed asides (like this one) which I sometimes worry disrupt the flow a bit. It’s so easy to look at other bloggers though and aspire to write like them, but at the end of the day, your own voice is your own voice, and I don’t think it’s really possible to change it.
I love your really in-depths discussion posts by the way! They are actually another thing I always aspire to write, as I sometimes worry mine just skate across the surface too much, and I do always feel a little nervous about touching on possibly sensitive subjects, which I really wish I could get over. Great post!
I adore your style – hence why I follow of course. But in all honesty, I love how you put the more serious questions out there. Not only are they fun to read, but I love analyzing them inside of my head. Personally, I wish that I was a better writer. I had to work so hard to get A’s in school in English, whereas Math was always a piece of cake. So while my posts definitely aren’t grammatically correct, most likely lol, I try and write as though I am talking/texting to my friends, since that’s how my review process started. 🙂
I’m know exactly what you mean! I’m exactly like that too. I love snarky reviews but I can’t write them, I have to analyse everything to death and that’s just the way I am. And my discussions are the same, they don’t crackle with electricity but then again I don’t either! I don’t try to change my style though as that’s just who I am and I’d rather stay authentic to myself. I think there is room for all of us and it would get boring if we all had the same personality. And I love seeing the different energies and personalities that exude from our blogs.
What a great post Nicole! It sure made me laugh 😀 Let it be known that you are not alone in this. I too tend to psychoanalyze every book that I read! It’s true! My given nature causes me to dismantle books and to truly consider what is on the table. Granted, while there are some pretty amazing books out there, I generally approach all books loved by a large group of people with skepticism ha! I want to say that it is the momma in me, but nah, it’s who I am. I’m a conspiracist if you have not figured that out by now 🙂
I don’t know if I have a blogging style. probably boring. I am not witty by myself or with banter. I am not a fast thinker and I am not not good at being funny. At least not on purpose. Although I laugh at myself all the time. I wish I had some pizzazz to my posts but I really don’t. I figure I am who i am and I do have some faithful followers so they must like something about me. I just try to be honest that is my only goal. I need honest reviews, thoughts, feelings, and discussions. If I have that I am happy.
I do like the wittty but I also like insightful, though provoking, and honest. Its all good and entertaining in some way or another. If all blogs were witty then they would all be the same. I do understand though. I get a bit jealous over those very entertaining bloggers too. Don’t change though. your followers like you for who you are. Great discussion post.
[…] Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction wonders if you can-or should- change your blogging style […]
I can relate to this so much. Cait and Shannon have two of my favorite blogs. I have always wished I were as funny with my posts as Cait. She is so great! But like you, my discussion posts end up more serious. I can’t even really be lighthearted with my reviews. I just kind of have to accept I am who I am and my blog will reflect that. Easier said than done though.
I totally identify with this post! I will say in your defense though, that your blog is absolutely delightful regardless of your style (which can be humorous). People who are seeking a comedy show are looking for a different type of blog anyway. Keep up all of your amazing work!
[…] Nicole @ Feed You Fiction Addiction speculates on Your Blogging Style – Can You Change It? Should You Even Try? […]
While other bloggers definitely inspire me, especially Cait and Shannon as you’ve said, I don’t mind having my own voice as well! I think everyone has something unique they can bring in blogging and it’s harder to break out to find yourself – it’s your blog and you should stick to what you’re comfortable with!
I LOVE your site. I totally agree about Shannon and Cait’s blog style, but I would totally add you to my list of personal faves. I love your style, and that you will tackle some not so light topics. Sometimes I wonder the same things, am I “blogging” fun enough? I don’t know, and I don’t think I want to change my style much to appease the masses. That just wouldn’t be me.
I totally get this post. There are so many bloggers that I admire and wish I could be more like, but I’m not them. (By the way, you’re one of them, Nicole.)
I’ve realized that I am not as creative as many of the bloggers I follow. I’m not the best discussion post writer since I apparently can’t always put my thoughts into words.
I’m just not anybody else and I have had to accept that. It took a little bit at first because I would totally love to be some of the awesome bloggers I see. 🙂
It would be boring if we were all the same and so we all just have to do what is right for us.
So, I think that all makes sense, but I might just have been rambling. I do that sometimes.
Great post!
Amanda
Hmmm, I have no idea where I am on this scale! I remember, on my old blog, I tried to be witty and fun, but my brand of humor is usually sarcastic and that does not always come across on the page. So I ended up falling flat many times. Lol. This is why a lot of my fiction is also sarcastic. For some reason it’s easier in book form than blog posts. I like your philosophical ways, especially if they prompt me to think and respond. I’d rather discuss than just laugh and move on.
This is a great post. Last week I participated in a blogging roundtable discussion and we talked about using your authentic voice. If you can’t be funny, don’t. If you can, do. Just be yourself, I believe, is the best advice. And I find it somewhat easier to be myself online and I hope that I’m starting to take that into the real world now as my confidence grows.
I loved your post and the comments. I try to add humor sometimes, but I don’t go out and try to force it either. I think it’s just important to do what comes naturally. Sometimes I’m serious and sometimes I inject a little humor. 🙂
[…] to spend at least a few hours a week reading other blog posts and my favorite find this week was “Your Blogging Style- Can You Change it? Should You Even Try?” over at Feed Your Fiction Addiction. I totally agree with Nicole in that I too suffer from blogger […]
I’m new to blogging, so I’m still figuring out my style really. You’re right though – why try to be someone you’re not? It’s uncomfortable for the writer and I think people will figure it out quickly when someone’s not writing in a style that comes naturally. Great post!
I think I am much like you – my blog posts aren’t witty and full of the natural banter that comes to some people. I do co-blog at this new writing blog I have set up with a few wonderful bloggers and guess what? My blog posts seem to have more humor and banter in them. It just seems to flow easier there than it does in my book blog. I think it really depends on who you are, and you don’t need to change yourself ^^
LOVE the new blog header!!
Also, I agree completely, each blogger has their own style they bring to their blog, and readers who come back and read because of it. I think faking a personality style is too difficult to maintain, and will come across as fake. Do your thing! R x