#zephyrthejester

This is a very complex question, but I’ll break it down into a few important bits.

First, be aware that liveblogging is very intense.  I’ll confess to enjoying a little bit of validation every time somebody tries picking up liveblogging and goes “OH MY GOD I’M NEVER GOING TO MAKE FUN OF LOREWEAVER FOR HOW LONG HE TAKES AGAIN”.  Liveblogging is a very intense, very time-consuming process that alters the way you experience media and requires lots of mental effort.  It’s not for everyone, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and most importantly, it’s not fun for everyone!  Keep your own enjoyment in mind.  For all my foibles, trials, and troubles, I enjoy doing this very much.  It’s rare for me to actively dislike liveblogging something; usually, even with stuff I’m not enjoying, I find something cool to do with it.  People like to cite my Rising Tides/Crashing Skies liveblog as one of their favorites, and it’s because I disliked the episode so much that I conjured an entire alternate canon for Ronaldo’s blog and fanbase, one I enjoy adding to to this day.

Second, protect yourself from spoilers.  I’ve done what I can to encourage easily accessible resources for people to use--most new liveblogs are able to snag an ask screener from a general stable pretty quickly these days, for example--but you NEED one if you’re going to liveblog with any integrity.  It’s not that people want to spoil things for you, either.  Well, there are a few jerks who do that, but the real problem is that people get excited about the things that they love.  What we do here is...well, you know that feeling you get when you’re showing a friend a movie you love that they’ve never seen, and you have to clamp down on the impulse to elbow them every thirty seconds and go “Hey.  Hey.  Hey, look at this.  Hey, pay attention, this is awesome. Hey.”?  We’re the oblivious friend, and we’ve got hundreds or thousands of people eager to nudge us and try to point to things to pay attention to.  Unfortunately for them, surprise is the best thing for both us and them--a more pure reaction, better bewilderment, and funnier face-planting makes for a better liveblog.  Your confusion and bewilderment and especially your excitement over the show will make your audience happy, and that means having to protect yourself from being spoiled in weirdly small ways.

Third, pick something you’re going to have fun with.  People enjoy different genres, paces, media types, levels of quality.  Some people like liveblogging hot garbage, while others prefer high-quality fare.  Some people enjoy science fiction, others enjoy romantic comedies.  Some people like long shows, others bite-size ten-minute episodes.  Some people like episodic stories while others like ongoing narratives.  Find something you’ll be able to get into, and don’t be afraid to switch things up if it gets stale.

Fourth, if you care about success, don’t expect it overnight.  I know people like Zephyr and Minda and I made big names for ourselves, but all of us in one way or another made ourselves about liveblogging to a high degree to get there.  If you’re doing this as a hobby, word of mouth will only spread so quickly compared to those of us who do it very regularly; I almost worked myself to death in that first month in 2015, doing something like forty episodes of Steven Universe in just over a month.  This is a weird, niche genre of entertainment, and it takes an odd approach to work out for people.

Fifth, don’t be afraid to share your stuff with larger communities.  Hell, I have a whole channel in the LWU community discord dedicated to people advertising when they’re streaming or liveblogging!  if you’re starting a liveblog, make yourself known.  Who knows, you might get a shout-out ;)