Writer to Writer: Finding Your Niche

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

I love writing. I love getting the words, the stories, the thoughts out. I love writing the things that I wish I could have read at a different time in my life, that I could have related to, that would have made me feel more understood and less alone. I love working out the tangled ideas in my head and putting them down in a coherent way on paper. 

But I don’t really have a niche. I don’t have one thing I like writing about a ton, and every time I try to narrow it down, I start feeling claustrophobic. I feel scattered, even though I know what I want to say when I sit down at my computer. I’m a mom, but I’m not a mom blogger. I like clothes and beauty but I’m not a lifestyle blogger. And I don’t feel like an expert in anything – I couldn’t tell you how to become a PR pro or how to organize your life or even how to write a blog post. The only thing I have become an expert at is abruptly changing my mind about the direction of my life, and somehow sticking the landing, even if it’s really ugly. Though I can’t tell you how I do it, so maybe I’m not an expert, and it’s just privilege and luck. 

Anyway, I’m struggling to find my niche and to establish my “personal brand” as a writer, because, honestly, I’m a dabbler. I have a lot of random interests, and I like to talk about a lot of different things with different people. With some friends I talk about skincare, with others I talk about books, and with others I talk about mental health. And with strangers on the internet, I talk about pretty much everything. 

So if you have a niche, how’d you find it? How did you decide that you were an X writer or blogger? Share your secrets!

Why I Blog

I know everyone who blogs has their own reasons for doing so, and I don’t think any are better or worse than the others (unless you’re using your blog to spread misinformation or cause harm, but let’s assume for the sake of this post that that’s not the case, OK?). 

But let me tell you the reason I blog – and the reasons I don’t. 

I didn’t start a blog (this one or the many other blogs now peacefully resting in the blog graveyard) for fame or acknowledgement. 

I didn’t start a blog to become an influencer – I also don’t buy or recommend enough stuff for that to make sense, but that’s besides the point. 

I didn’t start a blog to show the world what a brilliant writer I am or to put out a perfect product. 

I started a blog, specifically this blog, to create a habit – consistency in a time where nothing feels consistent, some routine in a time when everything feels upside down. I started a blog to build my creative writing muscle, to keep it in shape, to remind myself that when I’m not struggling with writing, I actually really enjoy putting words on paper in my own way. It’s public practice, a forum where I put out imperfect work and work on getting over my fears that if I release something flawed into the wild that I’ll be incredibly embarrassed or mad at myself or that someone will hate it and tell me so (none of these things, for the record, have happened – yet). I started a blog to hold myself accountable, to finish what I started in a very public way, even if no one else actually cares. In short, I started a blog for me. 

Why do you blog? (Or why don’t you?)