MaryLyn At Home

I completely burned out on content creation and writing in late September.

For months, I’ve been trying to gain traction in the online world, hoping to build an audience that will eventually be interested in a book I plan to publish. I’ve watched videos on how to gain followers, track social media trends, and convince people to follow me through carefully crafted content. I’ve researched how to turn a blog post into a carefully curated Instagram reel that leaves viewers on a cliffhanger and funnels them to the right places on my website.

I’ve tried to craft a carefully defined niche with a heavy emphasis on relatable content.

And I hate it.

When I look at my page now, I don’t like it. Most of the reels I made before disappearing from my page were exhausted and desperate attempts to meet my weekly reel quota—because “more content made is more chances to go viral!”

I’m tired. I’m bored of my way of operating. I want a change.

As I was on a walk with my husband this week, venting to him about the apathy I felt toward returning to my old method of doing social media, he asked me what I want to create.

I’d been asking myself that same question for weeks, but somehow, hearing him ask it made everything click. I knew the answer almost immediately.

I don’t really want to make a ton of reels.

I’m a writer, not a filmmaker.

I’ve always loved writing and word-craft. I want people to follow me because they like what I have to say—not because they like the products I’m marketing for another brand, or because a carefully curated mom reel made them want to follow.

I have a lot of things to say, and I’m tired of filtering them through the content funnel. I’m tired of dumbing down my thoughts, rewording them to hook an audience, and trying to get people to respond a certain way.

I don’t hate creating. I hate feeling like everything I create has to be a marketing strategy.

So, I’m going to write.

About motherhood, homemaking, faith, books, and whatever else happens to be occupying my mind. Some of it will be profound, some of it will probably be ridiculous, and none of it will be written with the intention of appeasing an algorithm.

I still want to publish a book someday. I still want people to read what I write. But I don’t want the pursuit of an audience to dictate what I have to say.

Tomorrow, I’ll be sending out a new newsletter, sharing what I’ve been up to, some books I’ve been reading, and some thoughts I’ve had recently.

If that sounds interesting, you can sign up to read it on the “Newsletter” tab of my website.

-M

P.S – the image for this post are some flowers I “chaos-grew” along a fence line in our yard. They are still blooming in full force, even at the end of October, and that makes me very happy.