Why I Wasn't Gonna Start a Blog

People have often assumed that I had a blog of my own. First, I’m a writer. Writers typically have a place where they, well… write. Makes sense. But more than just being a writer, I am a very loud, extroverted, talkative, opinionated writer. Recently, a friend said to me, “Taylor, I’ve never heard you talk about anything and thought ‘Wow, Taylor doesn’t have an opinion on that.” Don’t worry, it’s a compliment.

Loud, talkative, opinionated people often make blogs whether they can write or not! So, the fact that I didn’t have one and had never had one was often surprising to people. I’ve always maintained that I didn’t want to start a blog, and here’s why:

1. I want to get paid to write.

I’m good at it, apparently. No, actually, not apparently. I’m good at it! And not everyone is. And I like doing it, and I can get paid to do it. So why should I keep posting my stuff for free when I can make money off of it? [#LifeUnderCapitalism]

And yes, of course the response is often “Blogs help you make a catalogue of writing samples!” which is valid, but I already have quite a bit of writing samples.

2. I have a Youtube channel.

Oh, don’t look at me like that. Yes, it’s been nearly a year since I posted. But yes, I fully intend to return. So, why waste time blogging about things that I can just turn into Youtube videos? That was the question I always asked myself. And that always stopped me from starting a blog.

And yet, here we are. You’re reading this on my blog. Clearly, I changed my mind. Why?

1. I’m a writer, first and foremost.

I forget this a lot. It’s easy to, when you’re not actively writing. But since I wrote my first short story “The Talking Cat” in the 4th grade* (excellent read, by the way), I have been a writer. But I can’t call myself a writer unless I write. See my dilemma?

*Actually, before "The Talking Cat," I wrote a poem about how much I love steak which serves as the cover photo of this blog post. Not my best work, I'll be honest.

2. I want to be a better writer.

The most growth I ever had in my writing was the year I spent as an intern for Iris Magazine. I was writing two articles a month, four in my second semester. It helped me develop my voice. It helped me strengthen my weaknesses. It helped me learn how to properly edit my work (and subsequently the work of others when I became Student Editor the following year). Writing consistently makes me a better writer, and I want to keep getting better.

3. I tweet way too much.

Those of you who found this post through twitter are nodding your head, I’m sure. I love to process ideas through words so I will tweet practically every thought that comes into my head. That’s not productive for literally anybody. I feel bad for inflicting it on my followers. So, hopefully having an outlet for me to process my thoughts through writing will encourage me to let my twitter fingers rest.

4. I shouldn’t get paid to write about everything.

March of 2018, when I got into that twitter… altercation (?) with Yara Shahidi (again, another sign that I should stay off Twitter), my Iris editor suggested I pitch a story about it to somewhere I wanted to write, because it was interesting and

they would probably pick it up. I thought about doing so, because I definitely had some stuff to say. But because the core of the argument was about colorism, it certainly seemed wrong for me to be the one whose voice was uplifted in the conversation, considering I benefit from colorism. But, that’s the kind of thing that would’ve been fine on a personal blog, where it was for me, and no one was paying me. And there are lots of things I want to talk about, where my voice isn’t the one that should be being uplifted. So, I'll do that here instead.

5. I don’t necessarily have the right clips.

That was a bit of a flex, before, with me linking all those articles I have. But I don’t necessarily have the right samples. I want to write about music and television… But I have no samples about music or television. I have to create those samples myself, which I can do for my own blog. Not to mention, I’m so often behind the times. Right now, I’m really itching to write a piece about the original Charmed (which ended in 2006) and Ugly Betty (which ended in 2010). No self-respecting publication would pick that up. But, now I have a blog. And zero self-respect. So I can just do it myself.

6. My New Year’s Resolution was to embrace vulnerability

...whatever that means. I don’t really know what I was going for with that. But I’m sure consistently writing about my self/thoughts/feelings for the world to see will help me get there somehow.

Math has never been my strong suit. (Duh, I’m a writing theatre kid.) But, the reasons to do it clearly outweigh the reasons not to. So, it’s pretty simple. Even though “Blogs are finally dying the painful death they deserve,” (that’s a direct quote from a friend) I have decided to start one.

Now that I’ve talked for sixty years and only two of you are still holding onto the end, let me tell you what this blog is not. It is not about a particular topic. I am not focusing on TV, or travel, or lifestyle or cooking or any other niche you can think of. Almost every article about having a successful blog would tell me I’m wrong for that. But, like Beyoncé said, “Probably won’t make no money off this. Oh well.” I’m not doing this to have a “successful blog.” I’m doing this so I will write. And I will write about whatever topic strikes my fancy.

Also, it will probably not be consistent, either. I won’t be posting every Tuesday, or only during Full Moons, or anything you can set your clock by. I may write five posts in a week and then go ghost for two months. I am not trying to start a successful blog. I am trying to be a better writer. PERIODT.

Okay. That’s all, folks. See you in my next post, probably a year from now.

…Kidding. Obviously.

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