ON BLOGGING

                                            

I love making New Years Resolutions. They suit the side of me that loves to make lists (I make lists for everything!) Occasionally I stick to one or two resolutions, at least for a few months. In my writing journal, I make a list of resolutions specific to my writing career, mostly to do with word quotas, deadlines, finishing first drafts and so on. Not too daunting.

This past January, I added a resolution that I’ve been avoiding like the plague. Get into social media.

That’s where the world is (the young world, anyway, that makes up most of my readers.) So I need to be there too. I know that but I avoid it.

I pride myself on having an up to date website. I also answer emails from kids all over the country. I bought a book called 55 Ways to Promote and Sell Your Book on the Internet by Bob Baker. I even participated in a chat room with girls across the U.S. Surely that’s enough? Not any more.

So I made two New Years Resolutions. Start a blog. Get into Facebook.

The problem is, I didn't think I liked blogs all that much. I’m not interested in reading (or writing) about day to day trivia.   Then I read an article about blogging that suggested you pick an area of expertise and blog about that. Aha! That sounded better. So I came up with this blog of writing tips and strategies.

I made a commitment in February to blog for a year. I aimed for once a week, but now am happy with every ten days or so if I’m busy. I keep a bank of blog entries, ready to post, so if I travel or have a lot of other things going on, I can pull one out of there.

Is anyone reading my blog? I don’t know. I read that you should ignore statistics on how many readers you have for the first year. Makes sense to me. I don’t want to worry about this blog. I want to have fun

And I am. I’m digging into all my how-to-write books for ideas and inspiration. I’m thinking about what works and what doesn’t work for me. I’m remembering old tips and strategies that I’ve forgotten and I’m incorporating them into my writing. Best of all, I get to practice a different form of writing than juvenile fiction.

And I get a thrill when someone (rarely) posts a comment!

As for my second New Years Resolution . . . er . . . something to do with Facebook. I do have a Facebook Fan Page and I try to post things on it but it’s not really working for me yet. The problem is, I don’t really get Facebook.

Anyway, I’ve got an idea for another blog so Facebook can wait . . . for now.