I was reading the wise words of my blogging friend Sandra this weekend, about why she has a blog page on her website, and it reminded me very much of my own thoughts about blogging. You can see Sandra’s post here.
In this Information Age, a lot of people share a lot of information, and much of it is, in my view, pointless. I struggle with Twitter because it has such a high noise to value ratio. When I log on, I am overwhelmed by the number of messages I could read, most of which are of no interest whatsoever, a few of which are idly diverting and only occasionally is there something I’m glad I’ve stopped by to see. On Facebook, I enjoy the chance to catch up with friends and to keep an eye on the major life stories of acquaintances, but I am endlessly confused by the updates which talk about incredibly private, personal details of either the poster or their family members. Do these posters not realise just how many people can read what they write? Or has it suddenly become appropriate to share details of relationship breakdowns, bra sizes and toilet habits with the world at large?
The same can be said of blogs. When I flick through blogging sites, I’m overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content, and how much of it I can’t imagine being of interest to anyone at all, except possibly the spouse or parents of the blogger.
BUT
I love my blog. When all my other writing projects go to the wall, this is the one I defend to the last. I enjoy the discipline of posting three times a week, according to a schedule which works for me, and hopefully provides something for readers too. I enjoy the writing challenges that Inspiration Monday and the Friday Fictioneers give to my writing, and the chance to exercise the muse regardless of what else she’s doing (which is frequently editing, something neither she nor I enjoy). And most of all, I enjoy the community: the small band of readers who stop by every week to give me feedback and encouragement, and to reassure me that I’m not talking to myself here.
Not only do I love my blog, I also love the blogs I read. For various good and bad reasons, I read a lot fewer novels now than I used to, and that is a sad development in my life, but one I’m not currently in a position to rectify. However, the addition of blogs has allowed me to get a healthy dose of fiction almost daily, and in bite-sized chunks. They exercise my imagination, they feed my muse, and they sate my inner editor when I want to keep her away from my own work for a while. And on top of that, I feel as though some of the other bloggers have become my friends, and you can never have too many friends.
Now I accept that if I spent less time blogging, I’d have more time to write “proper” pieces for submission and even to read the novels my life seems to lack, but I’m not sure I would actually do more of those things, or whether I’d procrastinate in other ways. Plus, my biggest publication success is Reader’s Digest – which was a direct result of my Friday Fiction compositions.
So until someone persuades me there’s something better, you’ll find me here at elmowrites – writing, reading and critiquing to my heart’s content. I hope to see you around!
elmowrites 