Hey all! This is kind of part number two to this post. I recommend checking out that first and then continuing this one!

Why Do I Write?

Now, let’s dive into why I write about specific topics on my blog!

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging originally because my writing program (The Young Writer’s Workshop) suggested it for writers of both fiction and nonfiction. This was about a year ago, in February, and since then I have developed a better feel for what I want to write about and post.

My parents said I was allowed to start a blog to post my writing, but now it’s more than just my writing! I’ve formed a really great community with the people who read my content and have even made friends which is not what I expected to happen. So now my blog isn’t just to post my writing, but to keep contact and interact with others. :)

What inspires your blog content?

Like I said, when I first started posting, my writing was mainly for my YWW but I didn’t post fiction. (And now year later, I only post it every now and then.) But again, after a year I’ve developed a better feel for my writing. This includes mental health, faith, relationships, and various different themes in the Bible. Why do I write about these? Because I can easily relate to them.

So I write about these topics because they are things I am 1) passionate about, 2) have experience with, and 3) know that others struggle with as well. The things that I write about are, more often than not, things that I wish people had told me.

Out of all your posts, which one is your personal favorite? 

That’s a hard question–I like most of my posts, and there are some that I don’t love, but I wouldn’t say I have a favorite. Some that I’ve really liked writing and reading or thinking about are Stars and Whales: How Great Is Our God, One’s Own Time And Space (a poem), or Our Adoption Into God’s Family.

(And those aren’t counting the encouragement posts that I can’t remember because they all have the same title except for the week’s number!)

What is the story behind the name of your blog? 

When I first was coming up with the details for my blog, the hardest part wasn’t if I wanted to use a pen name, what theme for my blog, what to post, who to share it with, or any of the harder things.

It was the name of my blog.

My mom suggested, “How about The Faithful Wanderer? Since, y’know, you move around often and have stayed faithful to who you are.”

So there it is. After a few months of blogging I wondered if I should change the name, but I still hadn’t found a better one–and at that point, I felt like that was what my blog was: The Faithful Wanderer.

Now, enough about the story behind the blog. Let’s get a little bit deeper into it.

What do you hope for your blog to accomplish?

I hope that this will be a step for me to learn how to share the Gospel more easily. Which leads me to the second thing I hope for my blog to accomplish: I want my blog to show God’s love to all who read it. I hope that it make people feel more recognized even when the world has told them that they don’t matter.

I want to move hearts from apathy to empathy.

What do you want your readers to take away from your blog?

You are loved! I would say that that’s the main point of almost all of my posts. And I am trying to make that my goal for all of them moving forward.

To you, what are the most important things to remember and/or include while blogging?

First of all, be active with your readers. You might not be like me with my ‘Hey y’all!’ or my weird jokes that make more sense if you hear them aloud, but don’t be a total stranger to your readers! Make them want to keep reading, make them smile, make them love you and your writing–even if they haven’t met you in real life!

This might mean interacting with them in the comments, posting daily or weekly, or asking people a question that they can answer in the comments.

Second of all, write about things you are passionate about. If you are passionate about books, write about books. If you’re passionate about art, write about art. If you’re passionate about music, write about music! Sports, faith, magic, writing, nature, travel, food, school, animals, special needs, politics, interior design, the sky is literally the limit!

If you don’t write about things you’re not passionate about, then you likely won’t be active with your readers either. Writing about things you are passionate about also provides a way for you to have fun!

I hope this was a helpful and enjoyable post, have a great day! And I’d love to answer any questions you have about my blogging. :)
~Willow <3