I'm currently following 22 blogs, all of which have something (if not everything) to do with writing. Some (not all, sorry, soon) of the blogs are those of people who are following (big thanks, woo-hoo) my blog. At some point, I'll follow all those that follow me. I have, btw, checked out the blogs of each of my followers.
I'm just amazed at the amount of writing information available in the blogsphere. Who knew? Whatever a writer is searching for info on - querying, synopsis, pitfalls, contests, etc. - they can find it somewhere in the blogsphere. Woo-hoo! I seriously don't know how people survived before the blogs. Oh, that's right, that bought countless books about writing and filled their bookshelves to overflowing. They also had to snail mail everything. Woo-hoo for technology! Email rules . . . as do the blogs that provide all the useful information I need to craft the most brilliant query letter ever and get representation on the first try. Okay, so that's not gonna happen. I sometimes live in my own deluded little world. : )
Life is good in the blogsphere, though I am realizing that reading through all the blogs, especially the recent ones I'm following is very time consuming. Shouldn't I be writing the next most brilliant novel ever discovered by an agent? Shouldn't I be polishing up my query letter so that no agent, no matter how jaded and desensitized, cannot help but request the full manuscript, and a list of all other works of mine currently in progress? Shouldn't I be . . . Well, hell yes, to all those questions, and any more you can think of at the moment!!!!
Still, the blogsphere is a source of information and every (yes, EVERY) writer needs this information to succeed. There is no golden parachute, no magic wand to wave, and no fairy godmother (don't get me started on fairy godmothers - they somehow became a part of my current project out to query) to magically appear and solve all our problems. There is only perseverance, determination, and the dogged belief in our own writing to carry us forward day by day as we scan the gazillion blogs providing us with every bit of information we could possible need. Whew. I'm exhausted now.
So, dear readers (10 in all, though I'm sure there are a few trillion lurking in the shadows not yet comfortable to publicly follow me), fret not when you discover you spent 23 hours of the day scrolling through all the writing blogs. It is, in my opinion, time well spent. Yes, you could have written the next bestseller in that time, but at least you - hopefully - learned something while lost in the blogsphere. I know I have!
S
p.s. make that 23 blogs!!!!
5 comments:
Hello! I'm blog hopping this afternoon and recognize your photo (cute puppy!) from comments on Miss Snarks First Victim a few months back. Fun when you bump into a familiar face.
As for blogging - I try to prepare my posts on Sunday afternoon for the entire week....then I spend one hour in the morning and one hour before bed keeping in touch. That's the plan anyway...some days (like this one) I get sucked in and let everything else fall by the wayside.
I have been writing since I was around eight, writing seriously since I was about fourteen, and trying to figure out the rocky road to publication for years now. I have found more on blogs (such as yours :-)) written by people in much the same position than I've ever read in a book or learned in a class. Thank you! (And thank you if you've been reading my blog for that, too :-))
Hey Tess!
I'm always amazed at the people I recognize on different blogs. It truly is a small world.
I blog when inspiration strikes. Sometimes, there are long dry periods, and other times I'll do 2 to 3 posts in a single day. Go figure.
I just try and balance everything out: work, life, writing, reading, and everything else that seems to come out of nowhere and smack me upside the head. : )
Scott, we must be on the same wavelength! LOL I follow lots of blogs too, and I wouldn't have it any other way. :-) By the way, people are understanding if you miss a few days...especially when you need to write. Heck...miss a week, or two, or three. Well you know what comes next. *Puts sock in mouth*
Scott, I won't even tell you how many blogs I follow. It's A LOT. And yes, it's very time consuming, but in the end, I have to agree that it it is time well spent.
Balance is the key, and yes, it's very hard. I have to cut down on my commenting soon, but I'll always be reading! So keep posting. :)
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