The Printed Fox: To Blog, or Not to Blog...

Friday, May 3, 2013

To Blog, or Not to Blog...

I haven't been blogging lately because the few minutes I can squeeze in writing in-between everything else, I've done that instead of blog. In the long run, this blog is pointless if I'm not continuing to publish books. Sure, my viewership has suffered a little, according to the numbers, but I'm not worried. I have plenty of time to build it up again, and I'm fervently hoping that after school ends for me in November, things won't be so insane around here.

But when it comes down to it, I sit down to blog and my mind goes blank. What to write about? The best advice to succeed in blogging --and most of life-- is to just be genuine. My passion happens to be helping people to be better writers. I'm not quite the touchy-feely type about it, though. I'm more the, "You wanna be a better writer? You wanna see your stories up on the shelf at bookstores? Then quitcherbellyachin' and work!" 

Not a lot of people like that. But honestly, I think we need more of that than the, "Oh, but not everyone can be a great writer!" So what? Everyone can learn to be better, and the craft of writing is no less worthy of our best.

I literally spent an extra ten years developing my style, learning style nuance from my favorite authors, and exploring a genre that was true to myself despite the stigma attached to it. And writing in a new genre meant starting over from scratch. Ten extra years. Does it fill me with loathing and resentment to see these wannabe hacks throwing their crap on Amazon and calling it publishable? You betcha.

Not everyone loves the English language nor respects the publishing industry as much as I --and others like me-- do. Fine. But everyone who wants to be an author damn well better, and it better show in the quality of their writing.

Sometimes, though, I don't feel like handing over all of the knowledge I worked so hard to gain. I'd rather be using that knowledge to write more lovely stories for people to enjoy. And I get tired, and stressed-out by my mundane life. If to mine own self I must be true, then I'll choose writing every time.

Maybe next week I'll have more blogging time.

Ciao,








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