This year has been a tough one for many of us, myself included, although I have been more fortunate than others. As a result, my writing has pulled me in different directions and there have been times (including just recently) when I wondered if I should give it up completely. This also included blogging.
I have been blogging for eleven years (that’s some milestone right there!) and throughout that time, I have met some lovely people around the world, built up a small community, and continue even now, to get followers.
With other forms of social media (and people can sometimes forget that blogging is a form of social media), there is only so much that can be said. As a writer, blogging is a form of creative expression and outside of writing my stories, blogging gives me the freedom to express myself to others. I feel comfortable doing it and I enjoy it. So, in the end, I have decided to stick with it.
When I began blogging, I had set out to make it part of my writing journey. It helped me write to deadlines, focus on my topic, and meet other writers. Lately, I’ve been hearing that blogging is ‘dead’, but that has been said for many years now, and yet blogging continues. Without blogs, I would never have read articles that would help me with my craft and learn how to be an indie author. I would also never have known about online courses and seminars that I have learned so much from. Without blogging, I may never have progressed as far as I have done. Without blogging, I may never have had author interviews or receive book reviews. I owe blogging and the blogging community so much!
Having said that, for some time, I was against the idea of doing a newsletter. It sounded so much like blogging and would only be another thing to add to my ‘to do’ list. However, after learning more about newsletters, I have recently caved. I am currently working on creating a newsletter and plan to have my sign up form up and running in January 2021. I’ll keep you posted!
As a result, this blog will be an extension of the newsletter and vice versa. Also, I will be blogging less – about once a month, although there may be other posts appearing from time to time.
This is just another step in my writing journey. I hope you’ll come with me! 😉
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year. Let’s hope that 2021 has better things in store for all of us. Stay safe!
And don’t forget, First Christmas is available on Amazon. What’s a shameless plug between friends? 😉
Recently after writing an 80k novel, I needed to take a break. I took a step away from blogging and social media and have only recently begun to catch up on blog posts, etc. Upon doing so, one post by a blogger asking this particular question caught my attention. It made me question my own blog.
When I began blogging many years ago, it was to stretch myself as a writer both in terms of craft and productivity. As an isolated profession, it was also a great way of meeting other writers and bloggers. Initially my blog was to be about my writing journey and what I have learned along the way and it still is. It has also been about what interests me and my genre/s. After doing some blogging and social media courses with author Kristen Lamb (which I highly recommend), one thing she mentions really sticks out: – talk about the stuff you’d talk about to friends – that makes the blog fun!
As a result my blog may be a bit of a mixed bag, which some people may or may not like, but it represents me as a person as well as a writer. After all, these days in the world of the internet, isn’t that what people want to see? Yes, I’m a writer and I talk about writing, but I don’t want to be the all-writing-all-the-time channel. That can get boring pretty quickly and there are plenty of writing blogs out there already from people with far more experience than me.
Author Anne R Allen believes that blogging can jumpstart your writing career even before you publish, where we need to treat it like a magazine. So in answer to the question my blog is about writing, the paranormal, history, film & television, crime/mystery and anything else that may take my fancy. I think having a blog showing a wide range of interests can be less inhibiting than focusing on one particular niche, although at times it can make one easily distracted. 😉
Blogging, like other forms of social media should be something we enjoy doing, therefore it doesn’t become such a chore and it’s a great way to build a community.
So, what is your blog about? Do you focus on a particular niche or do you have a wide range of interests? How has your blog evolved over time?
When it comes to blogging, there can be times when you wonder what it’s all for, but every now and then something happens that makes it all worthwhile. It came as a surprise to be given an award for my blog once again, so a big THANK YOU goes to Adam at Write Thoughts for giving me the Liebster Award. I really do appreciate the recognition and it’s a great motivator to continue blogging. It’s good to know that my blogging efforts are appreciated. 🙂
Adam has asked me a couple of questions and some had certainly given me pause for thought! So this week, in answer to these questions, it’s time to get to know a bit more about the person behind the keyboard.
1.We’ve all heard of comfort foods. Do you have any comfort stories? Stories you go back to when you’re feeling vulnerable and you just need to laugh, or be reassured?
I have a couple of comfort books, which I go back to every now and again because I really enjoy them and it feels like visiting old friends. One is Dragonwyck by Anya Seton, a gothic novel set in New York during the 1840s; another is Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, an Australian mystery/gothic set in 1900 that has basically gone down in Australian folklore and the last is the Poldark series by Winston Graham, set in Cornwall during the end of the 18th century.
2.Do you have any stories you generally recommend?
When I think stories, I think of the short story, so there are a few authors I recommend. As I grew up on Stephen King, I really enjoyed his short stories. More recently I’ve read some good ones from Daphne du Maurier, Susan Hill and Ramsey Campbell. As these stories are of the horror/paranormal/suspense genres, they may not be for everyone, but they are good examples of how to master the craft.
3.Have you ever found yourself in a situation so absurd that you had to stop and take a moment to recognize the absurdity of it? Or just burst out laughing?
Too many to mention! It doesn’t help that I can sometimes be the cause of it all as I have a tendency to either say or do something stupid. This usually happens when I’m amongst other people I may meet for the first time or still trying to get to know. I can have a tendency to say things before thinking things through and then laugh at myself. So I guess, when people first meet me they may think I’m a bit of an air-head, but I’d like to think I’m getting better at it as I get older. This is why I’m much more comfortable with writing. 😉
4.When having fun with friends, would you rather get up early and get started, or linger late into the night?
That has certainly changed over the years! After I left High School, I was a bit of a night owl and I would come home late at night (once arrived home after partying at 6am), and sleep until midday. These days though, I’m the complete opposite and prefer to get up early.
5.What was the last song that you heard for the first time and went, “Wow, this is something special”?
This is a tough one, as I haven’t listened to the radio for years (yes, it’s true) and can be a bit behind the times when it comes to music these days. However, after having heard ‘Chandelier’ by Sia for the first time I couldn’t get it out of my head.
6.What villain, super or otherwise, do you most feel a kinship with?
I’ve always been a strong advocate for the underdog, so ever since I read Frankenstein, I’ve always been sympathetic towards the monster. All he ever wanted was love and friendship, but instead received rejection through fear and misunderstanding. This kinship has only been strengthened by his portrayal on the television series Penny Dreadful.
7.Would you rather have the power to stop time (and not age during those frozen moments, but be able to interact with things), or live forever (not growing older, and gradually healing from any injury/malady)?
Given those two choices, I would have to say live forever. By stopping time, you might not always be in a good place (emotionally), so it would be nice to keep moving forward. By living forever, you have more time to do things/visit places and hopefully have a far lesser chance of regrets.
8.What’s a hobby or interest that most people would be surprised to learn you have?
I would have to say true crime; of special interest is murder and serial killers. I’ve always been fascinated by people’s reasons behind committing such acts, how their minds work, their M.Os, etc. This is why I watch a lot of crime shows and listen to podcasts and why I chose to work within the NSW Police Service upon leaving high school. During my first year of study at University, I even did a subject in criminology. The legal side of it put me off, whereas I prefer the psychological aspect of crime.
9.After writing, what would you say is your second passion?
That would have to be the paranormal, which is as much a part of me as writing. I’ve always been interested in the unexplained. I’ve inherited a belief in the spirit world from my Scottish father and I’m a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), so I have a tendency to pick up on things a bit more than others. As a child, there was an incident that left me wondering if I had some special kind of ‘ability’ and in more recent years have had some ghostly encounters.
10.What first led you to consider/try blogging?
Back in the late 2000s, when blogs were really taking off, I read that in order to help build your platform, you ‘had’ to be on social media and that included having a blog. I began blogging in early 2009, but stopped shortly after, wondering if it was worth my time. However, a few short months later, I picked it up again and have continued to blog ever since.
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So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed finding out a little bit more about me as it certainly put my little grey cells to good use coming up with some of these answers. My thanks once again to Adam for this award and giving me the opportunity to share.
Are there any questions from Adam’s list that you would like to discuss? Have you ever been given an award for your blog? What do you consider some of the best aspects of blogging?
