Time to Take Stock

As I approach my 50th post of this blog, I think it is time that to stand back and see where I am with it. It is fair to say that it was one of the best decisions of my recent life when I chose to start this blog up. Little did I think that I would have people following it and reading every post and for that I am very grateful. What makes me even happier is the fact that I've had a couple of people say to me that they are either going to start a blog or reignite an old one. It has been super fun up until now and, although this opening paragraph sounds a bit like a farewell, there is plenty more to come from this blog - both for me and you.

So what exactly has come from the past year and a bit that has been so good for me? Well I've definitely become a better writer and a better 'story-teller'. I've also realised that people really do love to read things that are relevant to their lives. Yes we read the newspapers and books but when we see an article that means something to us then it really matters. I've really enjoyed that aspect of things because I know now that we all think along the same lines and the reassurance we get from that is invaluable. When you know that someone else is having the same worries or is feeling happy about the same things then it fills you with confidence and that is exactly what I've strived to do through my writing. When people come up to me and say that they enjoyed my last post and that they know where I am coming from, I know then that I am doing something right.

I guess that the reason for writing this particular post is probably lost on people. I mean there must be an infinite amount if topics for me to get my teeth stuck into yet I've decided to write this somewhat simple post - lazy you might say. However, the actual idea behind this post is very important to me. I know that blogging is all about writing and connecting with your audience through that writing but I really want to try and take that to the next level and so here is the master plan. In the next few weeks I intend on making an extra page up at the top so that people can make suggestions (or, if you like, requests) for post topics. My routine is going to set into a nice Monday and Wednesday model with Mondays being 'Me on Mondays' and then Wednesdays being 'the World on Wednesday'. I think that those are fairly self explanatory and have come as a result of the fact that I've really enjoyed balancing my writing between personal stuff and current affairs. I also have an idea to make a page on Facebook so that people can keep more up to date on the latest posts but I'm not sure if it's worth it yet - be prepared to vote in a poll in the coming weeks on that one.

For the first time in a while I sat down to write a post without having a topic in mind but I now feel great for some reason. Although I may not have communicated it very well, looking back over the last year of this blog has been a great experience for me. It's always good to just sit down now and again and look at what you've achieved and I know (because of you fantastic people) that I've done some great things with my blog.

Thank you for your continual support and I promise there is a lot more to come,

Martin