If I won the lottery tomorrow (won’t happen because I don’t even buy those things), I’d still want to continue writing and that includes blogging.
I would then feel rich enough to pay a web developer for a redesign, but I think I would stick with a minimalist look and a site that’s easier to navigate. Whites, baby blue, cobalt blue, bubblegum pink …are some of my favourite shades.
Talking this through, perhaps I don’t need to. Some of my favourite blogs have looked the same for years and have grown on me as something old, comfortable and familiar, so the aesthetics don’t really have to be magazine perfect I guess.
The best part about my pipe dream of ‘winning the lottery’ is I wouldn’t ever have to pander to the idea of ads or that dreaded art killing word ‘monetisation’ and can maintain full artistic control. And integrity of course. That is paramount to me which is why I haven’t caved in to any form of monetisation yet.
I have never been good at delegating, so I would still yearn to be the sole writer for my blog. Unless of course I find kindred spirits and we think like identical twins or triplets. Personally I like reading blogs helmed by just one writer. I usually get used to their style and it feels like an old friend keeping you company.
This blog feels so much part of me. Like a virtual home on the internet. I only realised how much I would miss it when I thought I had permanently lost my whole blog recently due to some coding related issues. (This Gen X lady knows embarrassing little about that technical stuff & also doesn’t have much interest in that aspect of things)
Now that I am in cancer remission (my last chemo ended on 25 February 2018), I want to put my whole being into it again.
I really do love writing. Long form writing and not the tiny bits on Instagram. On Instagram there’s pressure to come up with witty captions and hashtags that it becomes inauthentic. There’s also Reels there to compete with Tiktok so lots of mini videos, something I’m too shy to do.
I like the conversational style of writing best although I have written in other styles (academic and corporate). This style is the most exciting and comes easily to me. I also express myself better in the written as opposed to spoken form and it helps me magically sort out stuff in my brain that feels like a jumble otherwise.
Don’t know if the writing is any good or not, but the people who care about me like it. And I’ll take that. My sweet mum loves anything I do and is mg cheerleader always.
My partner also takes some of the food photos on my blog, so you probably notice the stark disparity. The crappy ones with zero focus are by me. I don’t even give him any photographer credit and he’s not even using a DSLR, just an iPhone 11.
Just yesterday, my uncle (A) realised I was writing again. He has always been my biggest supporter and when he texted me that he finds my blog interesting, it was the best complement ever.
Most of all, I want my nieces and nephews (biological and those of the heart) to be proud of me one day, because truly, in life I haven’t amounted to much, so this is my last ditch effort to reclaim myself. I feel like such a bad aunty because it’s kinda drilled into my head that I’m not a good role model. Although the one doing the drilling is mostly me. My harshest critic – C’est Moi (Duo, the Duolingo owl would be proud at least)
I am encouraged, when I read about writers who got their start past age 50. So maybe there is hope for me yet? (That’s definitely the next post I want to work on.)
I would also want my convert my 100 Reasons to be Happy in Singapore, My Travels and My Favourite Food in Singapore to print form or perhaps an ebook. I am putting all these ideas out there in hopes they will manifest. This has actually worked for me before so I believe in it.
My blog was what sustained me and helped me connect with so many kind readers during that pre cancer period of my life. Well, even during the cancer stage, it was lovely to find that I had loyal readers and they cared. It’s my heartfelt wish to connect with you again.
