I've Been Thinking

I was up kinda late last night, thinking about what I'd write about today. No...make that over thinking about what to write. So I didn't actually fall asleep until around midnight. After the fact, I probably should of gotten up and just wrote this damn post, but I didn't, and now it's 9:30 A.M. and I'm finally writing it. Let me warn you in advance that you might get snared in the babbling a bit.

So what did I think about. Mostly about not writing in this blog anymore. Lately I've seen a lot of posts in other blogs with advice on what to write in a blog. Number one (or maybe two :-)), don't write about yourself. I have to say I can't argue with this way of thinking. I also have to say I glance over other blogs where people rant on like I was or just talk about themselves. This includes writing about the struggles of writing. It's what I do for a career, right? So by writing about writing, I'm essentially writing about myself. Except of course if I'm writing about writing from a technical perspective, and guess what? There are lots of other people who write about writing and publishing, and I love reading their blogs, but I personally have no interest in doing it myself.

So I thought about how much time I spend blogging, yet again. If you've read my blog in the past, I've been complaining about this for awhile. And the answer is TOO MUCH TIME! I get sick to my stomach when I think about the amount of time lost on blog posts when I could be writing fiction. But, I've decided not to dwell on it. Reason? I also thought about popular writers who've written over ten books. Not many of them feel the need to blog regularly, yet here I am with three blogs. Well, technically two. The Courier's blog is the actual book. Another reason I've decided to not sweat it is because I'm a toddler when it comes to fiction writing. I'll admit I don't like to always think of myself as such a youngling because I wrote nonfiction for so many years, but they are completely different animals. So trying to portray myself as a seasoned author or give advice about fiction writing really seems absurd considering I'm not even published.

I really sorta figured it out last night while finishing up the parts of Mary Kay's book I wanted to read. These are some of the wisest words I've ever heard:

"We fail forward to success."

I'm not a professional blogger. I'm a fiction writer. I want you readers out there to read my fiction, not my life story. So, struggling every week to add content to this blog is one of my failures because I'm not producing what I want you to read. Admitting your failures is a huge step, and so now I breath a sigh of relief and give up this blog. Well kinda. The whole format will basically change/return to a home base with links to my fiction accomplishments. Sorry, but this also means the Writer Wednesday Blog Hop ends, although I'll add influential links as I find them.

So, in closing, I leave you to go do what I long to do...write fiction...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I admit, I'm not the best at keeping up with blogs. I have a personal one and I don't even think many people read it - but that's okay. I write it for me.

The whole point is for us to reach readers, right? Until our books come out the only people we truly reach are our friends, supporters and fellow writers (who sometimes fall into the first two spots also!).

I've come to the realization that if I must blog, I must blog smarter. I want to reach people, but I don't have the time for several spots a week all over the internet. Things have worked out so well on the Write In the Shadows blog because we have eight writers.

I share a day and it means I blog twice a month! On Wicked we've added some new writers this week and will be adding some more in the next two weeks as well - hopefully taking us to ten writers total. Again, I will only have to blog twice a month with that one.

A heck of a lot better than the eight times a month I was doing and numerous guest bloggers I was lining up for three months (that was hellish).

Would you consider coming back and joining us on Wicked and sharing a day with Jimmy? We wanted another horror writer to round it out and you'd only have to blog twice a month. On topic or off, whatever you'd like. Or we could add a third writer and you'd only have to blog once a month.

I'd just hate to see you give it up. You've got an incredible voice and have a lot of people who'd miss hearing it. Perhaps finding an easier balance so it stays fun and not a chore is the best angle for blogging.

Please think on it.

BTW - I missed my installment of Bloodleggers! I haven't been on your other blog in a bit so I'll stop by there and see what the dealio is.

Cheers,
C.J.

W.J. Howard said...

Thanks for taking the time to write such a thought-provoking comment. I admire your ability to run a couple blogs and write for them as well as work on your novels.

I set some pretty strict and measurable goals until November, so I just don't have time at the moment. I do blog a little over at Bloodleggers though.

And speaking of... No part 2 until next Wednesday, so you haven't missed anything.

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