I know, I have changed the name of my blog. It’s Random, Fickle and Annoying. I’m sorry.
I’ve written before about how I struggle with the idea of ‘branding’ because I am not a cow.
I had a blog in the blogspot days “Katwrites” I didn’t think too hard about it. I just ranted about whatever took my fancy. It was fun. Then the concept of having a ‘platform’ got all (apparently) necessary so I started over here on WordPress. This blog was originally called Short Fiction Fix. I had this bright idea that I would stand out from the crowd by blogging about Short Fiction and showcasing online short fiction sites. It was such a chore. I tried but could not get inspired. Then I accidentally started a blog about my garden. I started having fun again.
When my book was published it was clear that a blog about short fiction did not make sense. I felt uncomfortable about changing the name too much so I just took away the Short and it became Fiction Fix. Cassandra is a retelling of Greek Myth so I thought I will have a blog about storytelling and retelling and myths and fairy tales. Then I kept writing about my garden. And Books. And Random Things. Posts about my garden are insidious. So I tagged my blog Story Telling and Garden Growing.
The problem is I have many passions and eclectic thoughts. Narrowing my blog down to a few topics was stifling and I resisted it by ignoring the things I intended to write about.
On the weekend I was a panellist at Oz Comic Con in Brisbane. Our panel was Mental Health for Artists. It forced me to stop and think about the things I believed about mental health and the things I did to stay mentally well. It was nerve-wracking. Sunday morning I could not eat. My hands were clammy. But, part of my message about mental health was that we all struggle and acknowledging we are struggling is a healthy thing. I embraced my nerves. I talked opening about how difficult it was for me to speak in front of a crowd of people.
This weekend I will be on four more panels at Conflux in Canberra. I am nervous. I got mad at myself and thought – why can’t I just get up there and talk! I thought I am just not a talker. But that is NOT true. Get me in a room with people I trust and a topic I am passionate about (maybe a glass of wine) and you will not shut me up. You will want to put a gag on me.
I realised the challenge is to be my authentic self which is uncomfortable in the spotlight but willing to step into the spotlight. That is when I had a new name for my blog.
The thing is I love blogging. Facebook is an interesting curator of content. Twitter feels like it is a big advertisement. (I struggle to ‘get’ Twitter). Blogging is a way of expressing myself. I feel comfortable here. It’s where I want to be. I want my blog to be a reflection of my authentic self, not a contrived vision that might be a platform if I was any good at creating a brand. (I am not a cow).
I could have renamed my blog “Hairy Legged Feminist” or “Buxom Wench” – they are cool names and they are me. Not all of the time. All of the time I am just Another Introverted Writer. This is me. (Trying to smile)
Nice name change! I have a hard time with branding too because I don’t know how to perfectly distill my blog into a few key words. I don’t know how to do it, so I’m trying to stick to some things like the name of my blog until I’ve found things I like.
Looks like we both struggle with too many ideas. I feel like people should not be brands! When I see writers who get it right I think they are amazing.
great post. we really get a glimpse of the real you. well done for being so honest and open. and also congrats on putting yourself out there and being on those panels – embracing your anxiety. not easy. well done you 🙂 i like the new blog name.
Kathryn, i just left the above comment and notice it says from anonymous. i’d commented directly from my email account rather than through the WP reader. anyway, it was me who wrote: great post etc. maybe i haven’t done the Gravatar thing, which i really don’t understand yet.
That’s weird Libby, I don;t think I have tried commenting from my email account so I can’t advise you about what went wrong. I’m glad you like the name. I woke up regerets.