That probably makes for much better blogging material than a SAHM, sort of aspiring writer like myself.
That probably makes for much better blogging material than a SAHM, sort of aspiring writer like myself.
I think, as Firebrain and others said, I should make myself do it 2-3 times per week -- write a blog entry, I mean -- b/c I probably would do better with a deadline. Great, I'll just pull more time out of thin air...most likely out of sleep. I do not have tiger blood...I would not want to try to compete in that arena.
Thanks, though.
Here's another question -- right now my blog is at Goodreads.com. Anyone think it should be at wordpress or blog spot, or some similar place?
So blogging is sad, but writing incest stories are cool and cred-worthy, hmm?
Blogging and twittering are about networking and marketing. You'd be silly not to make the most of them as tools if you're planning on self publishing (or just publishing, in fact).
So blogging is sad, but writing incest stories are cool and cred-worthy, hmm?
Blogging and twittering are about networking and marketing. You'd be silly not to make the most of them as tools if you're planning on self publishing (or just publishing, in fact).
) and Puck Daddy (swoon). I don't watch tv for entertainment (well, except March Madness 
); I read blogs.I'm not sure how you can say that blogs are pathetic without reading them. One of my relatives hasn't read a book since high school, and he tells me fairly frequently that books are boring. I'm not saying you have to necessarily like the blogs you've come across (or that I made a perfect comparison with that); I'm just saying that making a blanket statement is kind of silly, and maybe you should do some investigating.
I admit that I'm biased. I read close to thirty blogs with varying degrees of frequency (from every few hours to monthly), ranging from Andrew Sullivan and Greg Mankiw to Ask a Frenchman (no idea why, it's a recent obsession
The best blogs, in my opinion, are those that include insights into a specific, pre-stated topic(s) that a reader would otherwise not have access to. In other words you, the blogger, have a specific knowledge base that you are sharing with the world. You entries should be delivered in an informal manner (no essays, please, unless you are Michael Chabon and are guest blogging... again, swoon), in real-time. Quirkiness is a bonus, as are random obsessions (e.g., Andrew Sullivan's beards or Puck Daddy's Friday Jersey Fouls).
I'm not saying you should tell us about the minutia of your daily life. In fact, please don't, unless you, I don't know, got an invite to the White House or had a random conversation with the creators of South Park or something.
For authors with the goal of promoting your work, I think blogging can include story background, insights into your own process, excerpts, some how-to's (I just looked at firebrain's blog, and she included her "dialogue this" how-to there) etc. So... why did you write a story about that song? Why did you name your Chinese-American character Dmitri; it's kind of weird, no? You wrote a sequel to Story A five years later; was Story B always in your mind? Also, if you cut out a bunch of background to make your story flow better, this might be a good place to put it. A blog, in other words, might be like the nifty dvd commentary you get from directors/writers/actors etc.
Not everyone will be interested in what you write, but if someone makes the effort to go to your blog, they either a) really liked your stories and want to know more, in which case you are making a reader happy and perhaps more likely to read your future work, or b) someone is considering looking at your stories, in which case the more you can do to sell them with your blog, the better.
I think some updates are good, but too many without other information (X is up! check it out!) and your blog reads like a boring twitter feed, and people will stop checking.
Oh, and PS: There is a danger to blogging, of course; start spouting off about politics etc. and you might lose readers, so try and keep that stuff to a minimum.
And PPS: I think it might get dull if you are always blogging about the same, long running story, but that could be just me. Variety: the spice of life and blogs.
I'm not sure how you can say that blogs are pathetic without reading them. One of my relatives hasn't read a book since high school, and he tells me fairly frequently that books are boring. I'm not saying you have to necessarily like the blogs you've come across (or that I made a perfect comparison with that); I'm just saying that making a blanket statement is kind of silly, and maybe you should do some investigating.
I admit that I'm biased. I read close to thirty blogs with varying degrees of frequency (from every few hours to monthly), ranging from Andrew Sullivan and Greg Mankiw to Ask a Frenchman (no idea why, it's a recent obsession
The best blogs, in my opinion, are those that include insights into a specific, pre-stated topic(s) that a reader would otherwise not have access to. In other words you, the blogger, have a specific knowledge base that you are sharing with the world. You entries should be delivered in an informal manner (no essays, please, unless you are Michael Chabon and are guest blogging... again, swoon), in real-time. Quirkiness is a bonus, as are random obsessions (e.g., Andrew Sullivan's beards or Puck Daddy's Friday Jersey Fouls).
I'm not saying you should tell us about the minutia of your daily life. In fact, please don't, unless you, I don't know, got an invite to the White House or had a random conversation with the creators of South Park or something.
For authors with the goal of promoting your work, I think blogging can include story background, insights into your own process, excerpts, some how-to's (I just looked at firebrain's blog, and she included her "dialogue this" how-to there) etc. So... why did you write a story about that song? Why did you name your Chinese-American character Dmitri; it's kind of weird, no? You wrote a sequel to Story A five years later; was Story B always in your mind? Also, if you cut out a bunch of background to make your story flow better, this might be a good place to put it. A blog, in other words, might be like the nifty dvd commentary you get from directors/writers/actors etc.
Not everyone will be interested in what you write, but if someone makes the effort to go to your blog, they either a) really liked your stories and want to know more, in which case you are making a reader happy and perhaps more likely to read your future work, or b) someone is considering looking at your stories, in which case the more you can do to sell them with your blog, the better.
I think some updates are good, but too many without other information (X is up! check it out!) and your blog reads like a boring twitter feed, and people will stop checking.
Oh, and PS: There is a danger to blogging, of course; start spouting off about politics etc. and you might lose readers, so try and keep that stuff to a minimum.
And PPS: I think it might get dull if you are always blogging about the same, long running story, but that could be just me. Variety: the spice of life and blogs.
