How To Start Your Own Live Music Blog: Pt. 1

It’s time to take another special blogging detour from our usual concert adventures.  What sort of diversion are we going to take this time? Well, in this three-part series I’ll share some tips, tools and a story that you can use to start your own blog, whether it’s about live music or anything else.

Every so often I take a break from going to shows or writing about live music so I can give my mind and body a rest. And when I return to my next concert after a recharge hiatus, I’m always glad I took a break because I come back with renewed senses and the craft of writing and blogging feels fresh, fun and exciting once again.

But if I can’t completely unplug from going to concerts there’s something else I do that’s vital to getting me back on track or getting me through a nasty spell of burnout or dare I say it — writer’s block.

I Blog Therefore I Run

Since this is a special and new kind of Live Fix diversion, I was trying to come up with a non-music metaphor that made sense. So when I saw the image above of Steve Prefontaine (provided by Happy Rower), and thought about how much I loved the Prefontaine movie and Without Limits, everything clicked.

As I’ll explain in this series, getting your blog off the ground and keeping it going can put you to the test mentally and physically.

And starting our series with the help of Prefontaine makes perfect sense. Because one of the many things I’ve learned since I started Live Fix and by comparing running to blogging, is that in order to be a successful blogger it’s really important to find a combination of endurance, courage and determination that works for you.

Like going to a concert to escape, running also serves as a source of creative inspiration for me.

But there’s another reason why I’m talking about running on a live music blog.

For physiological and psychological reasons that I can quite explain, running is also a refuge for me, because whenever I run outside on the road I’m able to clear my mind and somehow unlock my subconscious and access the goldmine of creative ideas that push Live Fix forward. It doesn’t happen all the time when I do have a run where I get a flood of ideas for blog posts. I end up running faster so I can get back home to write them down before they slip away.

But for those of you who are already blogging, and you pour your heart and soul into it everyday, you already know what I’m talking about.  You know how much time and effort it takes to keep your blog going day in and day out.

And you experienced bloggers also know what I’m talking about when I say that blogging can, at times, feel like you’re training for a 5K — which is the reason why I looked to Prefontaine to help get us started. The guy knew a lot about putting his heart and soul in to developing his gift as a runner.

He got way more out of his body than he probably should have and I think as bloggers we often stop short of what we can do. So hopefully seeing Prefontaine’s talent in the context of blogging in this post will stir something up inside you and help you get your body moving when your mind might be telling you to stop.

That’s all the blogging-running metaphors I have for you now.

From this point on it’s pure story and blogging tips and tools.

Yes, I read my share of “how to start a blog” posts before I decided to make the blogging jump. And if you’re on the fence and thinking about starting a blog, I hope this series will be helpful to you.

So whether you’re thinking of starting your own blog or trying to find ways to make your existing blog better, I hope this series shows you that there are really no big “secrets” to starting blog.

Just tools. Just ideas. Just inspiration. And a community of support and cool people who are there to help you put it all together.

What’s Coming Up?

This is the end of Part One and stay tuned for Part Two as I share the story of how I started Live Fix and why I love using DIY Thesis WordPress Theme.

And then in Part Three we’ll explore the truth that no blogger really blogs alone, and why it’s very, very (did I mention very?) important to have a community to lean on and learn from.

As always, if you have any questions about starting your own blog, please drop a comment below or send them to chris@christophercatania.com.