Do you use blogs?

[WritingChick]

Hi Everyone,

When writing, do you keep a blog for yourself or on your website for others to read? And if so, do you write only about your writing and the process you're taking to write? Thanks :)

[Pellegrina Leoni]

I don't write a blog, but there are blogs I enjoy. Among them:

storytelling (http://www.saralaughs.com/blog/)
Maud Newton (http://maudnewton.com/blog/)
Moby Lives (http://www.mobylives.com/)
Making Light (http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/)
BookAngst 101 (http://bookangst.blogspot.com/)

[Fresie]

I do keep a blog, but it's strictly for my own use although some of my friends visit it sometimes when I ask them for advice. It's just a way of motivating myself to stay on track with my WIP, some sort of report. A few years from now it might read funny and nostalgic, and I like this kind of stuff -- reading old diaries. That's mainly why I keep it.

And yes, I only write about writing stuff (style! :\ ). If ever I mention anything else, it's always in connection with my WIP.

[EGGammon]

I am going to have a blog on my upcoming website and I am not going to limit the entries to just about my writing. I think that people are interested in the PERSON behind the writing, too. I think this is especially good for an upcoming writer. The people who visit the blog read about the writing but also about your life. They start to enjoy it, and maybe even start to like you, making it HARD for them to not want to read the writing you put out there. I know when I read a good book, I am always curious about the person who wrote it. What are they all about? Where did this idea come from? So, blogs shouldn't JUST be about your writing, unless you don't feel comfortable telling personal stuff. But I think that if you put yourself out there, people will think it is fascinating and get drawn in, knowing that you care enough about the people who read your writing that you would share such deep thoughts and feelings. They will not only follow your blog but probably your writing career, too.

E.G. Gammon

[arainsb123]

I've kept a blog regularly for almost a year. I switched from Xanga to Blogger back in October. It's strictly a writing blog, though my Xanga is more personal.

[pepperlandgirl]

I have a livejournal that I use for all my fanfic, a very few pieces of original work, and day to day thoughts.

[WritingChick]

EG, you make a good point. I find myself wondering more about who wrote the book, not just their writing style and ideas, but about their life in general. And Bruce...I've read some of your blog entries :) Pepperlandgirl...what's your livejournal addy?

[Jyndral]

I find myself wondering more about who wrote the book, not just their writing style and ideas, but about their life in general.

To that end, I have a personal one on LiveJournal. Have had for a while. It's full of just about anything under the sun, even big rants.

The one I have on blogger is just for writing-related things, not necessarily just about current WIPs, but writing and related activities I'm involved in. The link for that one is in my little sig-file here.

[katdad]

I don't have a blog per se. I do however update my website with news and other stuff from time to time:

Sam's Website (http://www.waas.us)

I just don't think that my daily mindless musings are anything people would care about reading.

[NicoleJLeBoeuf]

I started keeping a blog my second year in NaNoWriMo, mainly so I could have an appropriate URL to put on my profile page. Also to give myself a place to "brain dump" and thus not be tempted to bore people with it over dinner. The only audience it has really is my husband, a few friends, and - during November - a couple of fellow 50K-words-in-30-days maniacs who are curious to see how their comrade in writing misery is coming along.

Now that I'm actually revising one of those drafts for agent submission in the spring, I find it's pleasant to have somewhere specific to whine about that process too.

I know most folks grab a copy of MT or get a LJ account, but I'm a bit of a computer geek, so I ended up writing my own PHP/MySQL "software." I was also trying to get up to speed with CSS2, so I tried separating out the blog by which novel each entry pertained to, and giving eack subblog its own distinctive "skin." Each entry also shows how many words the draft is and how many hours I've spent editing it. The result is, this blog has become more of a record of my progress than it has any kind of forum.

It's kind of neat to look back and go, "Wow, I wrote half my 2003 novel in five freakin' days, but in 2004 my progress was a lot more even. Whatever I did in 2004 worked."

www.littlebull.com/nanowrimo/ (http://www.littlebull.com/nanowrimo/)

[DarkHaven80]

I don't use a blog. I suppose it would be good for strengthening writing - but I'm already so pressed for time. I'm spread out between multiple groups on different topics (all important to me on different levels), contribute to two groups as a 'staff member', have been designing, construction, and writing content for a personal site I've been working on a year and a half, learning new programs, etc. Besides that, have to do the writing of course ;) And that's just computer time. Besides that there's a three year old, work, and a relationship to keep up :o Yes, my place is a mess as a result.

So nope, no planning to blog.

[michelle217]

I <a href="http://www.strangemuse.com" target="_new">blog</a>, therefore I am. I try, at least lately, to keep it focused on writing only. <img border=0 src="http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/happy.gif" />

[mistri]

My livejournal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/mistri) was set up primarily as a writing journal, though as time has gone on I've found it a useful place to rant and chat about my day to day life as well.

Sometimes I wallow a bit too much in self-pity, but I plan to make it more writing focused again now it's 2005. If I put my goals out in public, even if it's only on LJ, I'm more likely to want to accomplish them, or else be humiliated.

[pepperlandgirl]

My livejournal. Welcome to the Pepperverse (http://www.livejournal.com/users/pepperlandgirl4)

[WritingChick]

Mistri- Good point on putting your goals out there. Thanks for the link Pepperlandgirl and thanks to everyone that commented and posted their blog links :)

[Medievalist]

One of the virtues of a blog even before you've published is that you have a place for "free writing," that is, where you can write about what you want to write, without worrying about those pesky characters. Sometimes it's useful as well to have a place to "think out loud." that said, keep in mind that blogs are designed to be public; you do have an audience.

Some writing related blogs I enjoy:

Making Light ( hhttp://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/) from Teresa Nielsen Hayden; she works as an editor at Tor. Teresa and her readers/commenters are interesting people and writers. Lots of practical advice here.

Paper Sky (http://www.livejournal.com/users/papersky/) Jo Walton writes SF and Fantasy, and has practical advice about writing, and is another smart and interesting person.

Both of these will lead to others.

You don't have to be a geek to have a blog; Live Journal and Blogger are both free, and easy to use. Live Journal is a bit different in that it focuses on community more than most blog systems do.

[WritingChick]

I went to Paper Sky LJ and got a kick out of the fruit cake entry :)


Laura Hickey is author of Mysterious Chills and Thrills for Kids. Ten Short Stories to Tickle the Imagination. "Spooky" "Awesome" "Unpredictable" Isn't it time you entered the world where shadows lurk and each page turn could be your doom... www.laurahickey.com (http://www.laurahickey.com)

[Greenwolf103]

I have a blog (http://dawncolclasureblog.blogspot.com/) but I try to keep the personal stuff at an absolute minimum. I post on it weekly (though I wasn't able to last week) and I focus on one major aspect of the writing life that happened during the week to make that my "topic." Some of it may be helpful to other writers out there (and that's my big hope), but some of it is also meant to explore the writing process and challenges. Writing about these things can really help me to solve problems and gain a better perspective on things.

I tried having a personal journal on my Web site but later decided to turn the theme of that journal into a book (which I'm doing now). Aside from this, I don't feel comfortable posting too much personal info for all to see.

--Dawn

[maestrowork]

I have three blogs, but you can start here:

Ray's Reel Reviews (http://reelreviews.blogspot.com)

[publishorperish]

I've kept a blog for roughly 3 years now. Its mostly a place were I exercise and rant. No one reads it except for myself and my family and friends. Anyone is welcome to however: www.apocalypsecow.org (http://www.apocalypsecow.org)

[annied]

Yup, I have a blog. I've linked it to my creativity website. It mostly has my musings on day-to-day life and my opinions on topics, and has pics of my family.

Sometimes I'm curious to know about the writer behind the words. What his his/her background and how did it influence his/her writing style? What kind of writing life do they have? What's happened during their writing journey? Knowing that info might deepen my appreciation of their writing.

Blog: kyangelslogbook.blogspot.com (http:/skyangelslogbook.blogspot.com)

[MarthaOConnor]

I've started a blog about what's been going on with my publishing journey, literary news, etc. I'm kind of new to this whole thing, but I love Neil Gaiman's blog, and I wish more authors would blog. I also like to know the "person" behind the words.

Martha

[Greenwolf103]

My only blog is devoted to writing-related stuff. Sometimes I entertain the notion of starting a personal, sporadic blog, but then I remember there are SCARY PEOPLE out there in cyberspace and get too creeped out to do it.

[macalicious731]

Dawn, I know LiveJournal offers a "friends only" feature where you can "lock" your journal, allowing only certain members to access your blogs. I'm sure other blog sites offer this as well.

[Greenwolf103]

Cool. I didn't know that, macalic! Thanks. :)

[JanaLanier]

I just started a blog, and I'm really enjoying listening to myself talk in cyberspace.

Here's my question: in an agent query, do you tell them that you blog? Maybe to demonstrate your willingness to self-promote?

My blog: The Confabulator (http://janalanier.blogspot.com/)

[Richard]

I don't have a blog, but I do have an Online Journal. The differences are subtle, but many. For starters, I don't call it a blog. However, at the moment, it's really just where I throw up whimsical stuff, rather than an actual workblog.

[Dawno]

I have 2 livejournals, one for venting, general silliness, and staying in touch with my LJ friends list and one I just started for a place to store my writing. I keep my WIP on it and have two very brave and kind friends who give me feedback.

One of the reasons I decided to put WIP on a (separate) LJ was that no matter where the writing bug hits me I can log on and store my work, I don't have to open up a word doc on a specific computer. I decided to start a separate LJ so I could be very selective about who gets to see my stuff, only people I 'friend' can read it. I can also lock down as private anything I don't want even them to see yet.

[ElizabethJames]

We keep ourselves busier than we should with a journal, which has attracted a small-but-dedicated following. It's really quite amazing how much people enjoy silliness and personal nothingness from someone they totally do not know.

[Kate Nepveu]

Here's my question: in an agent query, do you tell them that you blog? Maybe to demonstrate your willingness to self-promote?

You might try "Ask the Agent" over on Bewares and Background Checks, but my guess is that an agent first wants to know if you can write novels, and blogging is orthogonal to that.

[Greenwolf103]

I wouldn't mention it. I mean, if the agent happens to check out your Web site/blog, etc., more power to them. But it's not like you have to tell them you're blogging just to prove anything.


Asides, blogging is a whole 'nother animal compared to writing a book!

[Tish Davidson]

I admire all you folks who can blog and write, but I write nonfiction for a living and fiction for myself and there are only so many words in me every day.

[TashaGoddard]

I have an LJ, where I keep up with a select group of friends - most of whom are friends from another board (bronzebeta - yes, I'm a Buffy geek). It's all just personal junk and doesn't use my own name. If (When) I get published (or possibly just when I start submitting) I intend to set up a writing-oriented blog (probably using Blogger or something similar, rather than LJ), which will use my real name (or whatever name I end up publishing under). However, I don't want to do this until I'm ready (i.e. when I feel I have written something worthy of publication and might be able blog something that really is of interest to other people, rather than just the wild ramblings about my fairly ordinary life).

I love reading authors' blogs and wish more authors would blog. (Although, I'm happier for them to just keep churning out good books, if they don't have time to do both!) Neil Gaiman's blog is a particular favourite.

[sthrnwriter]

As you can tell from my signature, I do have a blog. But that one is about paranormal stuff. I do keep a writing blog on writing.com or at least I started one.

[Robin Grantham]

I started my blog (http://bellibean.blogspot.com/) after my daughter started one and begged me to “comment her”. You had to start one to be able to comment on others' at the time. (They recently changed that on Blogger, though.) She lost interest about three seconds later. Too bad, because her spelling was making my eyes bleed, and I was hoping it would help her in that department.


I recently decided to post my blog at Publishers Marketplace (http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/RobinGrantham/Publishers) for a while, too. I’d miss having non-writers come in if I closed down my blogspot, though, so I’m going to hang on to it for now. **Oops -- I'm not sure why the link doesn't work. The name of the blog is Curious Distractions.

:snoopy: Love this smiley!

[maestrowork]

Everyone is having a blog now. :) But be careful what you do with it. USA Today had a report yesterday that people are getting fired because of their blogs -- they were using their blogs to gripe about their bosses or employment issues. Apparently that's a no no to a lot of companies. Same with publishing -- if you gripe about your publisher or agent in your blogs, you may get into trouble.

[Richard]

I have a pretty strict rule on mine. I don't talk about colleagues, friends or family, and I don't say anything I wouldn't say in the office. Not only do you run the risk of people finding and reading it then, things like archive.org and Google Cache mean that what you say could be stuck to you until the end of the internet.

[Coco82]

I have one for other things, but not for writing. That's a good idea though.

[JanaLanier]

It's so true that everyone seems to blog these days. I'm jumping on the blogwagon!

For me it's just a way of thinking out loud (since no one reads it, ha ha). Hopefully someday it will be a good place for my dedicated readers to come and get to know me better.

Jana, always optimistic

[MacAllister]

Uncle Jim's livejournal (http://www.livejournal.com/users/mist_and_snow/) --charting the current Doyle Macdonald WIP. I'm finding it completely fascinating to watch this process. He posted the link in the Uncle Jim thread, so I thought I'd pass it along, here.

Making Light (http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/) --Perhaps the best blog around, and one that sporadically contains a lot of very valuable information about writing, editing, and publishing.

And of course, the link to my blog, in my sig. :)

Love blogs.

[PixelFish]

I've had a blog and/or an online journal pretty much ever since I've had a website. (1998. Holy God, seven years. In internet terms that's practically ancient.) Up until I moved out of Canada, three years back, it was always hosted on my own personal site, but recently, it's been solely on LiveJournal. LJ is pretty decent although it makes searching through old entries a bit of a chore, despite calendar months and subject header searches. You can make posts friends-only as was already noted, or post into communities you are a member of, or even filter your friends list into different groups. It's free and I recommend it if you are starting out or if you don't have consistent interweb access.

[Kasey Mackenzie]

I keep an LJ for writing, and dabble with another blog off and on--more off than on it seems. I try not to go into specifics about work or family, and I also don't give full names for anyone I might mention who isn't already a major public figure. I also refrain from complaining about work other than vary vague generalities.

[Elizabeth]

I think the important thing to remember about the blogging and how it relates to folks like agents and editors is that it's a representation of you. It's speaking for you, quite literally. So, not a bad idea to have it reflect how you want to be percieved by total strangers, including folks you may want to work with someday. If you're trying to hook up with professionals, it's probably not a bad idea to keep the dirty laundry (whatever form it takes; that's up to you to decide) to a minimum.

[Karen Junker]

Heh. I have a Publisher's Marketplace blog (http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/WritersWeekend/) and a Livejournal blog 'writersweekend' where I talk about my conference and all my writerly friends. Lately, I've been holding my friends 'hostage' for guest blogs from other people.

I don't edit anyone's guest blog...we support the writer at whatever stage he or she may be in the process. We can all learn from each other, even the not-so-great writer. I'm not worried about what people think when they read an article on my blog that's written poorly. It's simply a place for folks to say what they think and get to know each other, get a little advice or support. Maybe meet someone who can help them learn how to be a better writer...

My suspicion is that agents and editors have too much work to do to notice if you say something stupid once in a while. At least I hope so. So far, none of my rejection letters has included any mention of my scathing commentary...

[Greenwolf103]

I used to think NOBODY reads my blog. Then after I posted a comment on how I wasn't hearing from a certain bookstore, the manager called me up the next day. Now I wonder...

But it's true people are getting fired from stuff they've written in blogs. Anyone hear about how someone got into a White House Press Conference with a fake ID and credentials? Bloggers found that out. I was ready to comment all about this and other issues stemming from the blogging craze last week but couldn't. Maybe another time, in the off-chance I don't have something to write about. Meanwhile, the news about blogging and bloggers keeps coming in.

Still, blogging can have its downside, like being a distraction. This is why I keep mine to weekly postings and not whenever I have something to say or just ramble about every day. Life has a way of stepping in, and if I can't post during one week, I'll get to it the next.

[Medievalist]

I've been tracking the "fired for blogging" stuff for a while. You can see my list of links http://del.icio.us/medievalist/FiredForBlogging.

With one possible exception, every case I know of where the blogger was let go specifically because of the blog, the blogger was behaving unprofessionally, and sometimes, idiotically. That's good news, in a way. I'm hoping we can prevent that happening in the future, and also, protect both confidentiality and right to free speech, so to speak.

Part of the problem is that often employers don't have clear guidelines, and often employees don't read/think/ understand the guidelines that are in place.

These guidelines, from Tim Bray, a VIP at Sun seem sensible.

http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2004/05/02/Policy

[maestrowork]

Just remember, a blog is simply a home page (with a specific "journal" format). And your home page is basically your business card online. Unless you use a fake name and have absolutely no association with your blog in real life, you need to be careful what you say and how you present yourself online.

[Jamesaritchie]

I've been keeping a blog for something more than a month now. I find it helps. It's pretty eprsonal. I think self-censorship is bad for a writer, so I write whatever comes to mind. Editors and agents have better things to do than read my blog, though I haven't yet had a reason to be nasty toward any.

Blog http://jamesaritchie.journalspace.com/ (http://jamesaritchie.journalspace.com/)

Mirror: http://jamesaritchie.blogspot.com/ (http://jamesaritchie.blogspot.com/)

[SJB]

James, I like your blog, especially the poem.

Did you realise that while there is a comments function, only a "team member," ie. someone who writes for the blog, can leave a comment?

[maestrowork]

You can read my blogs by clicking on "Ray's Review" in my sig. It has all my reviews, but it also has links to my other two blogs. I'm not very active in updating them, but once in a while I'd put something up there.

[kdfrawg]

I am a writer. That's what I do. On the side, I host a writers forum. All too often, the end of the day comes and I still have words dangling dangerously down the precipice that leads from my brain to my fingers. I don't want those words to clog up the pathway, so I need to get rid of them.

In order not to clog, I blog.

[AnneMarble]

When writing, do you keep a blog for yourself or on your website for others to read? And if so, do you write only about your writing and the process you're taking to write? Thanks :)

Sometime after starting one of my works in not-so-much-progress, I started a blog because other writers had one. I realized early on that blogs have one great incentive -- if you tell other people about your progress, you will force yourself to write more. :D

I ended up writing about more than just the writing progress. For one thing, sometimes there wasn't much progress to write about. :( Also, now and then, something inspired to go off on a tangent. For example, when ads for PublishAmerica came up on my ads, I started blogging about how to avoid writing scams. :)