As a form of writing, one of the greatest
advantages of blogging must surely be its flexibility, for not only can a
blogger decide what type of content they’ll post, but they can change their
format at any time. Length, artwork and presentation - right down to font
choice and size - are other elements that bloggers prescribe for themselves.
But it’s not all easy street. You do need discipline to post blogs regularly - one of the basic must do’s to be successful - because otherwise people stop checking your site as there are too many other interesting ones with new content which are easy to find. I know I’ve occasionally been writing until late at night when all my brain wanted to do was zone out and my body was having difficulty staying vertical, but having committed this venture, I kept going.
I started my blog hoping to create a marketing tool for my writing, to build a platform for the novel on which I’m currently working. The novel is now (hopefully) nearing the final stretch despite the goalposts magically moving back each time I think I'm approaching them. However, I wasn’t sure exactly what format my blog would take, what exactly to say, and found myself posting blogs that informed people about different aspects of writing. And that was fine. Occasionally, as I’m doing today, I simply feel like chatting. And that’s also okay. That’s one of the beauties of blogging.
But it’s not all easy street. You do need discipline to post blogs regularly - one of the basic must do’s to be successful - because otherwise people stop checking your site as there are too many other interesting ones with new content which are easy to find. I know I’ve occasionally been writing until late at night when all my brain wanted to do was zone out and my body was having difficulty staying vertical, but having committed this venture, I kept going.
I started my blog hoping to create a marketing tool for my writing, to build a platform for the novel on which I’m currently working. The novel is now (hopefully) nearing the final stretch despite the goalposts magically moving back each time I think I'm approaching them. However, I wasn’t sure exactly what format my blog would take, what exactly to say, and found myself posting blogs that informed people about different aspects of writing. And that was fine. Occasionally, as I’m doing today, I simply feel like chatting. And that’s also okay. That’s one of the beauties of blogging.
Some people use their blogs to write about issues,
political and social, that mean a lot to them. I haven’t done this yet but I
think it’s a great forum for airing views. Occasionally you’ll come across a
rant – not so interesting – but each to their own and it's an easy click to another site.
You can also use your blog to help others.
Interviews make great content and give someone else valuable PR. Or you can promote a good cause and there are
plenty of those – I’ll read anything about human rights, refugees and children.
What goes around, comes around. But here I hang my head because this is another
area I’ve not tackled. But as I consider myself a relative newbie to the
blogosphere, there’s time to develop something in this area.
And you make friends. Appreciation and
reciprocation are the lifeblood of bloggers. They let us know someone is
reading and enjoying what we write. As you can see at the top of this page, I've
received a Very Inspiring Bloggers Award! Wow! It’s my first! Yeah! Thank you, Alana. Alana Munro is
the founder of the Support-a-Writer Google + community and is genuinely
interested in helping other writers. (She’s also the author of ‘Women Behaving Badly’ a book which looks as various aspects of women's interactions.)
Adrianna Joleigh hosts
a fantastic website and also extended the hand of friendship when she offered
to post a link to my blog from her site and provide a forum (Writers Surgery) for me where writers
can have their questions about writing answered. Yes, please send those questions ...
We help each other, and thereby help ourselves because that’s what people should be doing – not fighting wars and killing each other!
We help each other, and thereby help ourselves because that’s what people should be doing – not fighting wars and killing each other!
Blogging still feels like a relatively new
adventure: keeping up with social media and technical aspects can be a challenge - but it's one I’m settling into and as soon as I finish
one post, I find my brain starts churning over what I’m going to write about
in the next. This has become a journey I’m enjoying.
So, there you are: giving information, personal journaling,
airing views, canvassing for causes, promoting other writers and their work – the choice is yours. And that’s the beauty of blogging.
Today’s Haiku
SEPARATION
the honeyed laughter
of your voice warms my ice heart –
why do you leave me?
SEPARATION
the honeyed laughter
of your voice warms my ice heart –
why do you leave me?
Useful
Links:
This is a treat for Stephen King fans:http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57591492/stephen-king-and-his-compulsion-to-write/
http://alanamunroauthor.com/
http://adriannajoleigh.com/
http://bit.ly/11dD1zQ
writerssugery@gmail.com
Reading Recommendations:
http://amzn.to/18SbSaG Gold Dragon Haiku - my first attempt at publishing poetry!
Join me on Twitter at: teagankearney@modhaiku
To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.
http://alanamunroauthor.com/
http://adriannajoleigh.com/
http://bit.ly/11dD1zQ
writerssugery@gmail.com
Reading Recommendations:
http://amzn.to/18SbSaG Gold Dragon Haiku - my first attempt at publishing poetry!
Join me on Twitter at: teagankearney@modhaiku
To all story lovers out there, good reading, and to those of you who write, good writing.
I'm glad you won the award Teagan, I'm really excited for the eventual release of your book. I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter. It's encouragement from writers like yourself that help keep me going.
DeleteRight, better stop cleaning the dust out from between the keys on the keyboard (it's one of those days) and focus!
Teagan, you make some valid points. I am such a lazy writer and I am always getting behind in my blog—often struggling to create content. And since I took my blog-novel down, agents give the evil-eye over such practice, I have been trying desperately to create writings to fill 12,000 words of empty space now.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Glendon for your positive comment.
DeleteRe: 'create writings to fill 12,000 words of space' my 2 cents worth is - don't.
To paraphrase what they say in AA (not the Automobile Association AA, the other one), take it one word/sentence/paragraph at a time. Don't try to catch up: start fresh and look at your blog with the view of what you're going to do from now on.
The other thing - which I'm doing myself - is to reduce frequency. Although there is some pressure out there to blog as often as possible, I read some bloggers who post only once a month because the content is good enough to keep me coming back, and in the long run quality wins over quantity. Reading other blogs is always helpful - seeing what others are posting can spark ideas. And you can keep it short and sweet.
If it's a choice between your blog and your novel - you know which is more important. Just don't stop writing!