On Passionate Blogging, and What it Really Takes
By Joshua on May 12 2008
David Culpepper of PureBlogging recently asked whether passion is really as important in choosing a blog topic as everyone seems to think.
Passion is almost always trumpeted as being the most important factor in choosing a topic. I disagree with this assumption. I don't know about you, but I can be passionate about something one week and be burned out before you know it.
While David agrees that passion is important, he points out that you probably need to have a fair bit of knowledge in your subject, too.
Personally, I think that bloggers would be much better served by thinking of their blogs and subject in terms of a marriage rather than raw passion. Yes, passion is an important part of a good marriage, but it is quite possible to be passionate about something in the short term but find that ultimately you don't want to be stuck with it.
The question you need to ask is this: Are you willing to commit to this subject? Not necessarily for life, but at least a significant amount of time? It doesn't matter how passionate you are about your subject if you can't commit to it.
What our readers said
Really good point, Joshua! I often fall to the same trap of advocating passion, when what really matters is the marriage-like dedication and commitment.
Thanks for the reminder!
It’s an easy mistake to make, because passion is very important. But it is only truly powerful as part of an overall commitment.
You can be all the passionate you want about, say, spelunking, but unless you’ve actually spelunked (is that a word?) yourself I’m not going to listen to you.
At the same time, if you’re not passionate about your subject why should I be? or why should I care?
@ Cody: You’re exactly right. Passion is necessary, but not sufficient.
Hi Joshua,
I have a passion for writing and sharing what I’ve learned (and continue to learn). For me, the passion of sharing is what drives me.
@ Barbara: It’s wonderful that you’re able to translate that passion into a long-term commitment. Do you have any suggestions to help others do that?