I’ve noticed something. Now that I have a functional blog, all I want to do is blog. Well, when it comes to my personal writing time, that is. I have a bunch of short stories in progress, many edits that need to be completed and I just keep blogging away.
What does this mean? I’m not sure. But my intuition is telling me that the more I write about writing the less actual* writing I do.
(*Blogging is actual writing, but not fiction writing, which is what I’m referring to. I hope that makes sense)
Don’t have too much else to say other than that. But I thought I’d throw it out there. What do you think about the writing about writing vs. writing fiction predicament? Do the two compete for your time? Is one more satisfying than the other? How do you finish your projects when all you want to do is share your rejuvenated love of blogging with everyone you know? Don’t mind my manic screaming on the way out.
Your point is taken, although i personally find Twitter worse than any blog. Why does the grass always seem greener everywhere you’re not standing? Is it a focus question?
Yeah, Twitter is pretty bad, too. But it doesn’t require as much thought as formulating a blog post. Although, the time spent on Twitter over time does really add up. I think it is a focus question. I’m never really happy with what I’m working on when I’m working on it. It’s always some other bright and shiny thing that has my attention.
Story of my life: blogging vs. fiction writing. I tell myself that I’m pursing a writing career in the tech age. Most if not all authors have blogs, which they must update regularly, and twitter accounts. Instead of book tours, debut authors go on blog tours. There’s no escaping the blog, so why not embrace it? As a reader, if I like a book, I immediately check out the author’s website and blog. If the author doesn’t have a blog, I scratch my head and secretly think “Get with the program!”
That being said, blogging takes A LOT of energy…energy that could be spent on fiction writing. I still feel guilty every time I spend much too much time composing a post and then feel zapped of all creativity for my fiction. On the other hand, blogging has kept me writing more or less every day since I told myself I wanted to pursue writing as a career. Looking back, it’s definitely improved my writing. If anything, blogging teaches you the merit of brevity and how to hook your readers with the first sentence.
How to balance the necessary ingredients of being a writer in the tech age (blogging, reading, writing)? Don’t get over-ambitious and start 3 blogs! It can all be done, you just have to master time management (something I have yet to accomplish!).
P.S. This is the longest comment I have ever left on anyone’s blog…EVER.
It definitely does seem like the authors of today are all online, all the time. The blog tour is very popular and appears to be an effective marketing tool. I guess the positive is that blogging is so different from fiction writing that it can be a sort of relief valve–a time to decompress from agonizing over a scene, making a character compelling, etc, while still keeping your writing skills honed. Balancing is very tough. I don’t do well with it. In fact, I’m more of a binger–I’ll blog tons for a while, writing stories for a while, read a ton of books, but never all at the same time. My brain does know about a little thing called moderation. This is my main blog, but Matt and I have two others we’re working on, really just for our own amusement. This is my main blog focus though. Hopefully, I can stick with it this time. And I feel so honored to have your longest blog comment ever! ::does a dance:: =)
This writing-about-writing has exercised my mind (taking me away from other creativity, of course!) ever since i began blogging. (I agree with both Jeff and Brenda that Twitter’s a same-only-different kind of distraction.) It is so tempting to think, and write, about it instead of doing it. Doesn’t really make interesting reading either – unlike the blogs out there about blogging, which can be very informative and useful.
Heck! Beware commenting about blogging or tweeting about writing or tweeting or blogging…
It’s repetitive cycle, I think. For some reason, us writers never seem content with actually writing what we say we want to write. There’s always something else that demands attention. I think we might be the most productive procrastinators in the world…