Why I Started Blogging And The Challenges I Think I'll Face

Welcome to 2025! What better time to set resolutions and try something new. In my case, I thought I’d take some time to reflect on why I started blogging and what challenges I’ll face.

Hi, I’m Sage Elliott. Welcome to my blogging empire. Ok, that’s probably a bit dramatic. But it is true that I’m starting a bunch of blogs this year. Is that a good idea? Probably not. Do I know what I’m doing? Also no.

One of the reasons I decided to create Sage’s Pages is to provide some insight into what is involved with running multiple blogs, the mistakes I’ve made, and what I’ve learned from them. Maybe my story can help people who want to start blogs in the future. I’ll make all the mistakes so you don’t have to.

Before we get there, let me answer two questions (that you may or may not care about).

Table of Contents

Why I started blogging.

There are several reasons why I started blogging in general and why I started multiple blogs. So let’s talk about some of those reasons.

A person typing on a typewriter. — Photo by Thom Milkovic on Unsplash

I like to write.

Writing has always been one of my favorite things to do ever since I was young. In fact, elementary school Sage would have told you that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Of course, at the time I meant that I wanted to be a novelist, but still.

I still enjoy writing as an adult and want to learn new writing techniques. I’m sure that writing a blog post is very different from writing a novel.

I like learning.

Speaking of wanting to learn new writing techniques: I want to take this opportunity to learn other things as well.

I believe that learning can be done in a lot of different ways. Obviously, learning can be done in a classroom. It can also be done by experimenting and making mistakes.

I started blogging so that I could better understand what’s involved with blogging in a broader sense. SEO? I only really understand the basics. Email marketing? I have no clue.

I started Bookish Bitch in large part because I like to read, yes. But I also wanted to learn about new authors and genres that I haven’t experimented with before.

I started She Treks because I wanted to learn more about Star Trek, its fandom, and its impact on science fiction television.

I wanted to distract myself.

In 2024, I was diagnosed with some health issues. These issues will be ongoing into 2025. I’d be lying if I wasn’t concerned about how the administration entering the White House here in the US will impact the kind of health care I’m able to access going forward.

I’m hoping to use blogging as a way to distract myself from these fears for a little while. I find that when I’m feeling anxious about something, it helps me to feel like I’m doing something productive with my time.

I wanted to connect with other people.

I’ve been interested in the concept of community for quite some time. What makes something a community? What do all communities have in common? How do we use communities to connect with other people and feel fulfilled?

I started blogging to better understand the answers to these questions.

To document some journeys.

She Treks started as a way to document my journey with the Star Trek franchise. I didn’t think anyone would care initially and I was surprised how many people started following me on Threads just because I said I was starting a blog. This may not translate to readers, but it was certainly very motivating.

I started blogging here at Sage’s Pages in order to document my journey blogging. I may also use this space to document my health journey, but I haven’t decided how much I’m willing to share online.

Challenges I think I’ll face.

As excited as I am about starting my blogs, I anticipate some challenges.

Let’s talk about them.

A board that reads "Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations." — Photo by Nik on Unsplash

Time management.

I’m worried that I won’t be able to manage my time in a way that is conducive to meeting my blogging goals.

Working around other obstacles/unknowns.

With everything that’s going on with my health, it can be difficult for me to get things done. Sure, I have good days, but there are other days when I have a hard time getting out of bed.

It can be hard to plan for things when there are so many unknowns – like what direction my health will take or what kinds of treatment I’m going to need.

Staying motivated.

There are a lot of things that can kill my motivation. This includes:

Not being able to keep up with the content goals I set for myself.
Trolls and negative feedback.
Running out of ideas.

As much as I enjoy writing, one of the things I feel I struggle with is coming up with ideas. What if I can’t come up with enough ideas to keep myself going?

There’s a learning curve.

I know I mentioned that I enjoy learning and I’m looking forward to learning things like SEO and Email marketing. While I’m sure I’ll be glad I learned these skills in the long run, getting there may prove to be a frustrating experience.

I’m sure I’ll make mistakes – that’s part of the learning process. I just hope that I don’t make any catastrophic mistakes that have ripple effects into other elements of my life.