I Love This Blog, It’s Making Me Write
You know, I wonder if, without this blog and without posting entries about this journey into writing, I’d get as much done.I know I’m a whiner, up to a certain extent. I often think too much, wonder about too many things, and “whine” about them here, because as always, writing helps me to understand my feelings better, and to define what exactly is wrong. It’s somewhat efficient, but not always. After all, if I throw my words in a well, I don’t get any feedback, and it’s easy for me to forget about it, or rather, to pretend to forget.Then there’s you, my readers, who leave comments. I get them in my e-mail box, I can’t ignore them, I don’t wantto ignore them, and I know they’re not empty words, since lots of you are authors or aspiring authors as well. It’s not like I’m fighting this battle alone, without anyone who can understand me. Sure, in real life, it’s not the same; there’s no writers’ club, critics club or whatever else of the same kind in the area, and I can’t exactly talk of these woes without boring everyone to death. Here, it’s different.Take my dilemma about writing a story rather than finishing the one in progress. I’ve sort of ranted about it here, I got answers and comments, I got different pieces of advice, but in a nutshell, it came down to one thing: “been there, done that too, I know what it is”. Because it made me realize others go through this as well, it also gave me strength to go on, in a much “I’m not the only one, so stop whining and get your ass in gear now” way. Result, I added a chapter to the WIP, and started another one today. I didn’t feel like working on it, yet I just did it, and it still flowed by itself.Weird, how the writing goes. I’m not sure there’ll ever be a way for me to understand how all of this works. I guess I just need to take it as it comes, and try my best.Anyway, this was to be a “thank you” for the input left on that other post. When I say it helped me a lot to read your comments, it’s not even close to the truth here.
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Comments
Fredcq
I noticed that I work on my novel more and write better since I started my blog. I think it’s because I think about writing constantly now, whether it’s coming up with new posts or commenting.
Deborah
I second Fredcq’s observation, adding that blogs have been much better than writing forums. One of the greatest things about blogging is that you can look back and see how you’ve progressed as a writer.
Yzabel
What you both mention may indeed be an explanation too. I suppose it’s all contained in the logics of “writing better comes through practicing”, and as a result, I also like to write more, acknowledging that said writing isn’t as crappy as I had thought at first (and English not being my mother tongue, I often have such fears!).Not that it’s a bad thing, on the contrary 🙂
Cavan
Ah, comments. I love comments. Now, it might be somewhat vain of me to suggest this, but I sometimes wonder if I’d even bother with my blog if not for commenters.The whole thrill of blogging for me has less to do with the ability to rant about my own opinions, and a lot more to do with the fact that people out there are actually reading what I have to say.The whole experience of interaction with commenters is definitely the most beneficial thing to come out of blogging, in my experience.
Fredcq
Deborah – I tried the writing forums as well but I wasn’t able to find one tha twas really active enough for my tastes. My main interest in the forums was to meet other like minded writers. I have met more writer from my blog and reading other blogs than from the forums, which I have pretty much abandoned.
Benjamin Solah
I think when I started blogging, and talking to writers and such, I got a drive. There’s no one to push me forward at home. They think it’s a waste of time. So, here, on the net, I know what I do is understood. And when people are raving about how much they’ve written, and it inspires me.
Deborah
Yzabel: We are our own worst critics.Cavan: Comments from my readers encourage me to keep blogging. Otherwise, I might feel that I was talking into a void.Fredcq: When I first started writing, I would haunt the forums and Yahoo Groups with zeal, hoping I could glean some useful information from other writers who had more experience than I had. They were good until the members started flaming each other. Today, I prefer blogs over forums because they aren’t overwhelming like forums can get.Ben: I know exactly how you feel. Whenever I try to talk about my writing (blogging in particular), everyone’s eyes start to glaze over. I love reading what others have written, how they’re doing progresswise, or simply just how they’re doing.
Fredcq
Deb: I have written endlessly at my blog about how most of the people that I know don’t take my writing seriously. They look either look at me like I am crazy or they have no interest. I have come to accept this because the people that I talk to either know nothing about writing and therefore have no interest, or, in the case of my friends, they have the ability to write and be creative but for some reason do not pursue it. I have met enough supportive people at my blog to make up for it. I also try to lend out as much support as possible.
Yzabel
Cavan: Aren’t all of us bloggers a little like this? 😉 If we really didn’t care about people reading or not reading our words, we’d probably not even take the care to set a blog for starters.As you say, interaction is key here. It makes the whole thing much more interesting.
Yzabel
Benjamin, Deborah, Fredcq: about the whole “finding like-minded people”, this reminds me of a kind of conversation that came back regularly enough during NaNoWriMo. It was about people who were asked by their families/friends if they were to get their novel published, and when answering “no, I’m doing it for the fun of it”, got “then why do you bother?” remarks.In a way, I wonder if it takes a ‘real’ writer/author (‘real’ as in doing it, published or not, not simply having the ability to write and not using it) to fully understand why we’re going through this.
Fredcq
I still write for one reason; I just have to do this. If I get published, that would be nice, but I will keep writing regardless. It’s an impulse that I cannot ignore.
Benjamin Solah
I guess writers do understand eachother. But I guess other creatively minded people could understand what we’re doing too. Some people, like my parents, have an idea that life is about getting a job and having a family. Period. I’m driven by other things, and they don’t quite understand it.
Deborah
Yzabel: I would have to say yes, that it would. Before I started writing, I assumed that writing a story was effortless. After all, look at all the books getting churned out by the best selling authors.Ben: Yes, I think we understand each other, as far as going through the process of writing. As for getting a job, that is an unfortunate must for most of us. As for having a family, I think that is a choice that shouldn’t be rushed. As a mother of two, I can tell you that raising kids is the hardest job I’ve ever done. It pays to be ready both financially and emotionally.Fredcq: If we don’t support each other, who will?