"Stay true to yourself and your voice. People don't care to follow sites so much as they care to follow people." (Chris Pirillo, LockerGnome)
Jeff Goins maintains that your voice is "the most important, yet overlooked part, of blogging." People aren't concerned so much about what you say, but how you say it. (https://blog.bufferapp.com/blogging-advice-for-beginners-from-16-experts)
When you are starting a blog, it is tempting to conform to what other bloggers are writing. You don't want to be judged, you don't want to stick your neck out. But resist the temptation to blend in. Find your own voice and own it. As blogger Derek Halpern points out: "What blends in gets forgotten. What stands out gets remembered." (http://socialtriggers.com/find-your-voice/) You want to be remembered. You want to stand out in the crowd.
If you want ideas on how to find your voice, read Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott (http://www.amazon.ca/Bird-Some-Instructions-Writing-Life/dp/0385480016). Sally Hogshead also writes about voice in her book How the World Sees You (http://www.amazon.ca/How-The-World-Sees-You/dp/0062230697).
Be forewarned: Finding your own voice takes work. As blogger Scott Berkun points out, great authors like Ray Bradbury or John Updike didn't just wake up one day and write a bestseller. Group of Seven Painter Jackson Pollock didn't just create a masterpiece overnight. It took him years to develop his "all-over style" of painting. Scott Berkun adds: "All makers require long, disciplined hours to develop their talents." (http://scottberkun.com/2012/how-to-find-your-voice/)
Scott also points out that there exists a gap at first between your ambitions and your abilities vis a vis your craft. Many writers or artists have a hard time putting up with their own mediocrity (especially perfectionists). Many quit in the first year or two. But if you keep at it, you will reach a point where that gap will start to close. According to Ira Glass in This American Life: "Do a huge volume of work...and the work you make will be as good as your ambitions." (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/)
In the meantime, enjoy the process. Don't always focus on the product. Take delight in your progress, no matter how small. And remember the words of the great jazz trumpet player, Miles Davis: "You have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself."
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