Comments on: Writing and Reading, blogs and books

By: Kay Lynn

Kay Lynn — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 12:38:00 +0000

I think it’s good to re-evaluate why you blog and if it’s something to continue once in a while. In the five years I’ve sold one blog, just shut down another after three years and and still write often at a third.

This blog keeps me accountable to my goals and if it provides inspiration, information or entertainment to someone else that’s all the better.

By: Mark Paxson

Mark Paxson — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 02:46:00 +0000

In looking at your replies to other commenters, it seems you’re in the same place with blogging that I am with both blogging and writing. What exactly is the point of it all? That is a constant and daily struggle for me. I have so little time to devote to this stuff after the day job and family responsibilities, I am in regular battle with whether I should even bother with blogging and writing. But, it seems to have gotten into my blood — it is now a part of who I am, so resistance is futile. But, yes, I’m right there with you — trying to make sense of it all and figuring out where I want to head with it.

By: janegassner

janegassner — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 18:49:00 +0000

After ten years, the question I still have is–is all the stuff that goes alongside the writing really important to me. And why? When I taught a course in Blogging, the first day’s work was to think hard and long about WHY each person wanted to blog. There are different reasons and they don’t all lead to the same road.

By: janegassner

janegassner — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 18:45:00 +0000

The salient phrase for me, Ally, is “my own expectations about what is good and what is successful.” This, more than anything, tends to run me off the rails. I’ve said it before: I wish I could put those blinders on the use with horses to keep them looking straight ahead. I so need to mind my own business and listen to my voice as opposed to the loudest one in the crowd. So–I’m curious, what are your “expectations, etc….”?

By: janegassner

janegassner — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 18:41:00 +0000

Love your taxonomy of blogging, Mark–and I’m not surprised that you’re the one to come up with it. I’m not sure that it’s fiction I want to be getting back to writing so much as…well, I guess that’s what I’m trying to figure out. There’s definitely something going on with me and I hope I have the patience to just let it evolve.

By: The happy midlife woman

The happy midlife woman — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:20:00 +0000

Hi, I’ve been enjoying your posts for a couple of weeks, and started a blog of my own recently. I started blogging because I love to write, but didn’t realise how much it would be about all the stuff that goes alongside the writing! The writing is easy, the rest not so much! But, as part of my midlife adventure I decided to give it a go, and will persevere. Good luck whatever you decide, and hat off to you – it’s way harder than it seems!

By: Ally Bean

Ally Bean — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 21:21:00 +0000

I’ve kept a personal blog off and on for over 10 years, occasionally taking a few months off here and there. I understand how defeating and repetitive blogging can be. I’ve found that for me the key is to remember that I create my own expectations about what is good and what is successful. So I give myself a break about being dynamic with every post– and take comfort in the fact that I show up. Plus I also consider other bloggers to be friends who deserve my support regardless of what they write, so I read what they post & when possible leave a comment. I keep my friend circle small, so I’m not overwhelmed with commenting. Small changes in how I keep a blog have allowed me to stay involved in the medium this long. And as for the future, looking good.

By: Mark Paxson

Mark Paxson — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 03:37:00 +0000

I think there’s a cycle to blogging just as there is with so much else. I haven’t been blogging as long as you have, but I have gone through a number of phases with my blog that seem comparable to you. First, there’s the initial stages — dipping the toe into the water to see what this might look like. Second, if something clicks, the blogger develops a desire to say something every day (or if something doesn’t click, the blog dies an invisible death). Third, followers began to show up, stats matter; and you start reading other blogs and are intrigued by all these incredibly talented people out there. Fourth, the blogger sticks there for awhile. Fifth, at some point it starts to seem somehow artificial and all of those talented people? Well, they’re saying a lot of the same things and wasting a lot of your time. And, hey, isn’t this like the seventh time you posted about how you’re not finding the time to write or do what you really like? Sixth, you realize you’re saying the same thing over and over again and reading the same stuff and the reality is that great big blogging world isn’t really as big as it seems. It’s actually a pretty small universe of bloggers that are following each other. Seventh, you retrench. You step back. You don’t post as much, you stop following new bloggers, maybe even delete a few. Eighth, you turn the page and start something new or go back to something old. I think you’re in the eighth stage. I also think I may have just applied my blogging experience to you without any basis for doing so. Personally, it sounds to me like you want to get back into writing fiction. Not for your blog or for your classes. For yourself.