Blog Virgin
Wow, my first blog post. How’d I make it two years into a romance writing “career” (I use quotes because career infers I’m getting paid for it, which I’m not…yet – see, I’m hopeful!) or perhaps I should call it an “endeavor.” Anywho, how’d I get this far without blogging? My CPs/writing friends blog. Look right and see links to their blogs. No linky for me. They’ve even asked me to guest blog and I never have. Fear? No. Lack of ideas? Maybe. Inability to be witty, snarky, or remotely interesting? Probably not. Deficit of time? Absolutely!
That said (you’ll see this is a favorite sequitur of the Mavens), Jacqueline assures me that blogging is addictive. Probably another reason I haven’t tried it. Same reason I’ve never drank coffee. (Yes, I live in the Pacific Northwest and I don’t drink coffee.) I’m sure I’ll like it, but do I really need it? (Uh, not when I drink at least one can of Cherry Coke a day.) I don’t even spend a lot of time visiting other blogs because I can see where I’d spend my entire day doing it and I have kids. And a work-from-home job. And, ahem, the writing. Not to mention the critting for our fabulous foursome (and occasionally fivesome – here’s a shout-out to Janice!).
So why now? Because I wanna play! One thing I’ve learned is that nothing beats a community of like-minded people. Like, say, romance writers. I LOVE going to my monthly Rose City Romance Writers meetings if only to sit in the room and soak up the vibe. The vibe we all share. The indescribable drive of creation that makes us writers. I get the same vibe from the Mavens and other writers I’ve met online. So, my hope is that this little blogsite will generate a lovely community of like-minded writers as we cartwheel through our individual and shared adventures.
YOUR TURN: So why do you blog? Or if you don’t, why do you go a-blogging? Do you think blogs are helpful to us as writers?
Do visit us often and keep us posted on your own adventures. Every success, no matter the size, is better when it’s shared. (I need to remember that.) And be sure to come back on Friday, June 22 when we will be awarding fabulous prizes for our Spectacular Launch Jamboree!
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28 comments:
I've just recently started blogging. It was after our TARA meeting with Shannon Aviles that I decided to start. Now I love it.
As far as going a-blogging I learn so much about the writers and authors that I enjoy reading (or will enjoy reading once their published)
I do think blogs help writers. It's not going to get them published but it sets up their community of friends and readers. They get to know you this way.
*pop*
(that was Maven Darcy's blog cherry!)
Yay to Vicki and Darcy for joining the blogosphere!
WARNING LABEL:
blogging is like crack...
Oh, great. Another fun place to lure me away from the wip.
I posted my first blog on Dec.31, 2006, mostly because everybody else had one. I wanted to see if I could produce short shuff and spur my real writing. I find the blog has helped, and I love having "met" so many people. It's also been a terrific dumping ground for the peculiar things that preoccupy my mind, and I love finding illustrations that compliment those ideas (wannabe writer AND artist here).
Congratulations on your new venture! Love the look.
Welcome to the blogosphere!
Blogging can be addictive, but I think it's worth it. It's a great way to network, to find like-mind to connect with, and to take a break from writing without having to melt your brain playing solitaire.
And thanks to Erica for pointing me over here. This one will be going up on my blogroll ASAP. =o)
Yay, Darcy, welcome to the blogosphere. It can be addicting. I agree. Oh and I LOVE Cherry Coke another addiction of mine...LOL
In my case, though, I have not been as consistent as I should be. But knowing you all are doing it, I feel inspired now. I'm thinking of what to blog about at my personal blog and at Romantic Inks.
I do have a question for all of you Mavens, how do you find time in your busy schedules to blog? With full time jobs, kids, household chores, writing, how do you do it? Do you plan your blogs ahead, or do you just sit in front of the screen and see what you come up with?
Have a wonderful day, I'm off to the daytime gig...
~Isabel~
You worked "jamboree" into your post!!
Pop goes the cherry :-) Great first blog. Here's to many more!
Darn. Erica beat me to it.
Sweet. I get to answer the question first.
Er, I have to admit I spend a LOT of time on my writing career. WAAAAY too much. So I probably am not the best person to advise you on time management unless it's to help you REDUCE the amount of time you spend on other things. Such as...Here's a good one: my local grocery store will deliver my groceries for free. I just have to go online (no hardship there, snort), order them, and then be there when the man comes. (And when do I ever leave my house? NEVA! Because I'm writing!)
I do write my blogs in advance. I do consolidate all my blog-hopping to an hour or so once a week. I run down my enormous list of Favorites and hit everyone at once. If you posted 3 blogs since last week, I read all 3. If you posted 1, I read 1. If you posted none, I stamp my foot, leave a snarky comment and head off to the next!
BTW, I'm liking the graphics and the look of the blog. Good job ladies.
Off to do some work at the daytime gig...
~Isabel~
Sadly, I can already see the addiction. My first blog post and I checked the comments BEFORE email. The horror!
LOL, Darcy. We'll get you yet...
I do write my blogs in advance. I do consolidate all my blog-hopping to an hour or so once a week. I run down my enormous list of Favorites and hit everyone at once. If you posted 3 blogs since last week, I read all 3. If you posted 1, I read 1. If you posted none, I stamp my foot, leave a snarky comment and head off to the next!
That's pretty good advice, Lacey. And yes, I need to update my personal blog. Maybe I need more snarky comments? *bites nails*
~Isabel~
PS: Too funny, Darcy, I do the same thing.
Maggie: I hear you re: meeting people. I love the sense of community blogging evokes. =)
B.E.: Don't use your wiles to lure me from my Spider Solitaire!!! *g (And thanks for blogrolling us!)
Isabel: What a great question. The honest answer is I don't have time and typicallly end up shirking something else, such as sleep or lunch. (But never ice cream. There is always time for ice cream.) And, like you, some days I just don't blog. That's what's so great for me about the MM blog--it's only a one day a week commitment. Easy peasy. =) P.S. Thanks for digging the graphics! Yay!
Lacey: Oh, how I miss ordering groceries online! I had that luxury when I lived in Cincinnati, but in Tampa? Nada. I have to go get them myself (oh, the horror!) when I much prefer to never leave the house at all (unless I'm going somewhere really, really far, in which case I'm all for leaving the house.) I've been trying to blog in advance and only succeeded with that once or twice, but I too do a mass blogroll visit rather than onesy twosy throughout the day. (Typically. If I only have a couple minutes to spare, I *do* use that time to visit my blog friends.)
Darcy: Bwa!
*erica rubs her hands and cackles*
I'm so addicted I do the mass blogroll every day :) As for blogging myself, I find that I think of things to write all day long and then get in front of the computer and am like "duh...ummm..." and come up blank. So I've actually started emailing blog posts to myself as I think of them. Sometimes I let too much time pass because it gets away from me, but I'm trying to do better :)
Maybe I need more snarky comments? *bites nails*
I've thought about it! I left the one a long time ago and I didn't want to get demanding. But I'm still waiting...
Carrie, that's a great idea! I keep a list in my handy little purse notebook. There's about three pages worth of blog ideas there. Nothing beats being organized for saving time (up to the point where you spend more time getting organized than working, I suppose!).
Isabel asks where how we find time to blog. My answer? Beg, borrow, and steal a little time from everywhere else.
Today's been hectic, though. Already almost 11:00 and I'm JUST getting around to commenting on Darcy's maiden voyage. See, she really was a beautiful maiden! And she's still beautiful, of course. (Doncha just hate her for that gorgeous glamour shot? Speaking of which, I will have something to post on the subject of professional photos when I do my first post next Tuesday!)
And I'm now cackling that Darcy's checking comments like a crack fiend. Told you :->!
And methinks Janice, Friday's guest Maven, will be the next domino to fall. Mua-ha-ha.
Maybe I need more snarky comments? *bites nails*
I've thought about it! I left the one a long time ago and I didn't want to get demanding. But I'm still waiting...
I know! I've been terrible. *Blushes*
And for the record I'm already addicted to this blog, I've stopped by at least five times since I first commented.
~Isabel~
LOL, Isabel. We are proud to feed your addiction!
I visit my blogroll every day, rain or shine. It's what I do in the morning to get my brain ready for a day at the computer.
I just started my own blog a few weeks ago, and so far I really like it. It's a thrill getting a comment from someone I've read regularly for ages — I feel like Courtney Cox in that Bruce Springsteen video. :-)
Congratulations on your first blog post, Darcy. If I’d known you were ready to get rid of your blogging virginity, I would have saved my comment virginity for you. Alas, Jacqueline got it when she made her first sale. But it’s not like I’ve been blogging around, you’re only my second time for posting a comment. For those of you into the whole cherry popping theme going on today, the Mavens are posting my guest blog (my first blog ever) on Friday. Darcy, call me and we can compare our first times.
Janice
Janice
This blog looks great, ladies!! Wow!
I started my blog to build my audience and prove that yes, there IS one for the sort of fiction I write.
But something happened as I set out to meet that goal... I started having fun. I felt like I became part of a really neat community of other writers, and I found myself crazily inspired. To write and create and world build and bring it all to you guys.
In a sense, I don't care if I ever get published, I'm having so much fun. But to be honest, it'd be a shame if my novels never get their due. So keep on visiting, world! Come be part of my fictional vision!
Susan, it's great to hear what a success blogging has been for you. And I share your sentiment about my books dying a lonely, quiet death under my bed. They're so funny, and sexy, and emotional! (But, I'm biased. Ask the Mavens, they'll tell you!)
Well, I've a day behind me in the blogosphere (and I only asked my husband about five times, "have you posted to my blog yet?" he swears he'll get to it later, shyeah - I actually expect Mr. Burke to pop in here fairly regularly) and while I may not yet be an addict, I am well on my way! Thank you Vicki, Isabel, Maggie, B.E., Carrie, Heather, Susan, and of course, my somewhat partner in blogging virginity (ew, that sounds really awful), Janice, for stopping by today! Be sure to come back Friday for the jamboree!
Be sure to come back TOMORROW for my wonderful awesomeness, you mean!
And yes, Maven Darcy writes all of the above AND her heroes are to die for.
Congrats on the first post! I blog because I like the little blogger community, and because it's an outlet for me. I can open up, bitch and complain, and celebrate more easily via the blog than in person.
Good luck keeping your distance. ;)
I will be back, :) Congrats again, Darcy.
I'm off to write.
~Isabel~
why blog? communications-community :-) writing is a lonely business.
Hi, Darcy, and welcome!
I started just about a year ago because I wanted to post a comment on Diana Peterfreund's blog and joined blogspot in order to do so. Then, like you, I dipped my toe into the water, found out it was fine, and plunged on on.
WARNING LABEL:
blogging is like crack...
As usual, Erica is (w)rite on target! ;-)
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