Do you ever have the feeling that the left side of your brain doesn't know what the right side is doing? Or vise versa?
I had this feeling a few weeks ago.
Aha Moment
After I wrote my "Getting to the Malleable PhD" post, it occurred to me what my personal narrative really is: I am an historian who strives to make well-researched history accessible.
The medium doesn't matter. I write, speak, and work with digital platforms.
My quest to make history accessible is why I am interested in how historians can write better, get published, use social media, and establish platforms.
We need to know how all of this works to produce accessible history projects.
My blog has always been about the practicalities of how to make history accessible, however I did not consciously realize this until my "Aha Moment" a few weeks ago.
It seems my left brain did not know what my right brain knew.
The Evolution of My Niche
Blogging pundits will tell you that maintaining a blog is all about niche.
They advocate for as narrow a niche as possible because the more specific your interests the more likelihood you will find a dedicated group of readers.
Over the last 16 months or so, I have been widening my perception of my niche.
Initially, I blogged with an idea that I would write about being an independent historian, which is how I work.
A few months later, I started writing more about writing, so I thought I was writing for historians and non-historian writers.
Now I realize that my writing and interests have always been about history how to make it more accessible. That is the real reason why I write this blog.
This means I write for you, someone who is also interested in history and how to make it more accessible.
Conclusion
My realization won't change the types of posts I write, but it has helped me write more focused posts.
I hope that my realization will help you too.
I hope it will encourage you to think more about why you research, write, and present history.
These are fun and important ideas to think about.
Share Your Story
What is your niche/personal narrative? How do all of your interests connect?