Weather report from the wet coast: all the snow is gone.
I wonder if we'll have a green Christmas?
I think, from time to time, all bloggers face "the question"--should they continue to blog?
Years ago, I turned to blogging as a way to write regularly and be accountable to others to maintain that commitment. It worked and it continues to work.
I'm a passionate blogger. I love to share my writing with interested readers; I enjoy networking with authors; I reveal in my ability to help promote others in the publishing industry; I like to re-read old posts to see how much I've grown, and... The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. But there are disadvantages. At times it can feel like eating too much chocolate cake -- one more piece and I'll throw up. I face the cold screen and struggle to find a topic. Or worse know that what I've written is boring or junk or (supply your favourite adjective). But I keep going and soon my fingers are once again merrily dancing on the keyboard. Remaining a motivated blogger may mean making a change to my blog's format, choosing to blog less, becoming more engaged with other bloggers or...
Should I continue to blog? I think that's an important question to face. Remind yourself that there is more than one way to promote your writing or to keep writing. You don't have to blog... Blogging is just a tool -- use it if it works for you.
Sharing my author journey...
On Monday, December 1st, a friend asked, "Hey, Leanne, do you have a funny story about a cat?"
She needed it for a project she was working on.
Never one to pass up a illegitimate, new publishing venue, I was quick to say, "Yes, I read a funny story about a cat at Mayne Island's comedy night, last August."
She was pleased. So was I. All I had to do was find the story. Easy. Or it should have been. If I were organized it would have been. But sadly...
I searched my computer -- file after file -- but it wasn't there. I searched the big box were I keep a lot of my past writing projects, but it wasn't there, either.
A journal, it must be in one of my journals, I told myself. And it was. Fragments of it. Notes.
Archaeologist uses bones to reconstruct dinosaurs. I gulped and faced the challenge of rewriting my story using those notes.
It's impossible, I told myself.
I could have cheerfully punched a hole in my computer screen. But that would have hurt and been expensive. So, instead, I clicked my pen and started writing.
A day later, on Tuesday, December 2nd, I re-read my story and got the same taste in my mouth that I get after eating a delicious meal. Strange but true. Or maybe it isn't strange. Maybe it does make sense -- writing well nurtures me.
This Friday, December 12th, I will read a story at Mayne Island's open mic night. I can't wait. Hope you can be there. It will be a blast.
