Writers Blog

This week's topic, "Why --------- Should Blog" was custom-designed for Writer's Edge (no, I haven't suggested a topic yet.) I've already expressed some ideas about writers keeping journals here and in various Orkut.com forums for writers and bloggers (invites available, ask by email or comment). I do find value in curling up in the corner of the couch with a favorite writing instrument to noodle around ideas or scratch out a poem on paper on a rainy day. Still, the ordinary writers' world has gone electronic. Blogging requires digital devices and connections and holding still long enough to keyboard. Disciplined blogging (sounds vaguely S&M) encourages daily writing, keeping the juices flowing, like regular sex or bowel habits. It's part of a healthier lifestyle, she enthused, tongue planted firmly in cheek. I'll admit to controversy over personal vs. business blogs being an issue even for writers, or authors (writers flogging novels). I do a bit of both in my blog, using personal tidbits either as spurs or examples of professional points offered. In these autumn years, blogging is the easiest way to share accumulated mistakes in hopes of easing another writer's path. It's more fun than writing a book and faster than teaching a class. If I want to complain about the leaking roof, I email family and friends, which looks and feels just like blogging and returns more satisfying results. In brief, writers can benefit from blogging by:

building disciplined writing habits
participating in current required formats
improving logic development
storing a cache of story ideas
providing insights for other writers
building fan bases
teasing editors