Blogosphere: A series
Part One: Why Bother?
Sometimes it feels like Uphill Writing has been around forever. Blogging has become a very important part of my daily activities, and I feel it is time to share some of the lessons I’ve learned.
We’ll get into some (perhaps) sickening detail down the line, but for now let me submit to you that there are a number of reasons to create and manage a blog, and one reason not to.
Let me start with the simple—and negative—reason for blogging:
Everybody else seems to be doing it. OK, I get that. It does seem like a lot of people are blogging, but part of the reason it seems so is that you read blogs. What we pay attention to is what we see. It’s like that time you decided on a certain car you were going to buy, and once the decision was made, you started to see that model everywhere. It is selective consciousness.
The problem is that “…just because everyone else seems to be…” isn’t a good enough reason. A blog needs to be more than just a place to write things. There needs to be a reason for it. A goal. Something that the blog is really about. 
Well, OK, there are blogs out there that are just people talking about their lives. Some of those blogs are fairly interesting, I suppose. But a blog about nothing will not draw the kind of readers you want. Unless you are blogging only for yourself (and if so, why bother?) or for your friends or families, you may be wasting your time.
This then , is my first challenge to you. Do you have a reason to write and support a blog?
More on this and other questions next time.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio... and isn't it time you experienced some of them?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you RikScott: I believe I have several good reasons:
1. To improve my writing
2. To write a story (about the sixties) which does not include philosophy in the story.
3. To comment on that story philosophically, using it as an example of a life, in order to promote the idea, and familiarize people with the methods of poetic interaction.
Hopefully, I shall learn enough to begin again, with a new start which hopefully, will create a better ‘first impression.
I’ve got to ‘get it together’, as I mentioned to Cindy on her blog today. That might mean, paradoxically, splitting up into ‘multiple personalities’. Expect to learn something too following Cindy’s blog, as I learn a little at a time – ‘ad hoc’. It’s bits and pieces, but hopefully I will get ‘my act’, together.
To begin, I’ve opened a folder called ‘Uphill Blogging’.
How grateful I am that you have the need to hone your presentation for that other gentleman, t(my apologies, forget his name). But I expect to receive major benefit from the undertaking. Thank you.
Tsuchigari, on June 26, 2010 at 7:50 PM Said:
Will this be similar material to what you will present with Mr. Belew?
Thanks Tsuchigari for the name. I didn’t want to offend.
I started blogging to create an archive of memories for my daughter, because she would never know her grandparents. At the time I was not aware of the social interaction that would ensue.
My posts became popular and eventually caught the eye of a publisher who commissioned me to write fiction for young adults.
That blog space became overwhelming and I moved to WordPress, where I continue to blog because I enjoy the meaningful interaction with other writers.
Blogging, for me, is still primarily a cataloging exercise.
Dear Cindy: Thank you for sharing a little of your personal and professional history. I enjoyed hearing of the publishing success, and your experience with your blog is very encouraging to others. Trust you are still writing for young adults. All the best.
Continued in Part 2 needs a link now that there is a part 2. (I am fast on the draw, aren’t I. :-] )
Good articles as usual. thanks.
This is an amazing series of posts about blogging. Thanks so much for creating it Richard! I have already made some changes to my blog based on some of what I have read, and I am only a short way through your series.
Shirley! I am delighted you find some value in those posts. Thanks for reading and commenting!
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