Blogging Your Way Back To Writing

posted in Blogging, Writer's Block, Writing on by
Blogging Your Way Back To Writing

Jenny SpyingAs a writer, I have difficulty in finding a balance between writing and blogging. I always question my blogging motives. Why write a blog post for free when I should be revising a story I want to sell to a magazine? Writing is my focus, not blogging.

But I discovered something interesting about blogging. Blogging is a cutoff jeans style of writing. It’s spontaneous and uncommitted. It’s that draft you wrote and may never use. A virtual journal like skywriting in the clouds, though the words linger here, at least for a while. It can be a slice of time. A moment of introspection. Something you jotted down on a piece of paper and forgot.

Blogging can nudge you out of a writing slump when your thoughts become mired in sludge. It can extract you from a page when you get stuck on a word or phrase, while your inner voices spew insults at you. “You’re not a writer. You got lucky the last time that magazine published your piece.”

Inner voices can be as judgmental as your fashionista neighbor who stink-eyes you when you get caught wearing a summer handbag after labor day weekend.

Ignore the voices and meddling neighbor. Put that handbag on your desk next to your keyboard. It’s writing time. Your creative safe place, a Kravitz free zone.

When you start blogging, don’t worry about a beginning, middle or end. Don’t worry about a title. You don’t need one until the end. All you need is your butt in the chair and fingers on the keyboard. Maybe a source of inspiration: use a picture, find a headline, consult your dog or cat. They might harbor hours of anecdotes you can use.

Don’t worry about blogging every day. Blog on your own terms. You set the rules. Blog in blissful ignorance of what others may think is the right way to write. Blogging is your failsafe way to get words on the page. It can instill you with confidence and motivate you to continue a project. Blogging is the child in you who needs an occasional break during homework. It’s your escape when life gets in the way. No worries here. Just free-range words running wild on the page.

Don’t think about where you’re going, or how to get there. Let your thoughts take you away on any train. The thrill is in the ride. You’ll remember the journey if you unplug from the Internet when you’re done–before you get lost online in the place where time is elusive and GPS is a fantasy.

Quit and be reborn.

Write on!

53 Comments → Blogging Your Way Back To Writing

  1. Agent54
    Twitter:

    Writing my short stories for my blog is compulsive for me. Sometimes the stories pop into my head and won’t leave me alone until I type them out. I try to put a finished product out when I post. Sometimes the story evolves a little as time goes on but, usually it’s complete when I post it.

    The only thing I get from my blog is satisfaction when others say they enjoyed it. That’s good enough for me.

    Reply ↓
    1. Lauren
      Twitter:

      Don’t you love it when a story pops into you head and won’t leave you alone. : )

      I don’t think there’s such a thing as a “finished product.” Months after I’ve published a post, I always find something I want to change. It’s a vexing problem.

      At this point, I’m using my blogging to jumpstart my writing. In the past, I’ve always written using freestyle writing. Somewhere between now and then, I stopped. Blogging is my template for impromptu writing.

      Reply ↓
    1. Lauren
      Twitter:

      Do you write and blog or just blog? I write essays, short stories, and completed a 65k word book.

      That’s great that you figured out how to earn extra cash from blogging. How’d you do it?

      Reply ↓
  11. Tushar Jain
    Twitter:

    Blogging means write your thought regarding a topic, way you visualising things and express it through different digital media is now spreading across web.People love blogging because they love to think and write as per audience. In current market blogging consider as one of the leading platform where general people would like to share and comment.

    Lauren your flow of writing is really phenomenal.Keep writing, it’s inspiring us.

    Reply ↓
  13. omarbradley
    Twitter:

    I am also write a blog when i blogging started, the first blogs were really glorified online journals, and in all likelihood, becoming a professional blogger and making money online wasn’t the goal. Since then, the blogosphere has evolved, and now people blog for many different reasons. There are even distinctions among types of blogs – business, lifestyle, fashion, food, and entertainment blogs, among others. one important thing is blogging also improve our writing skills.

    Reply ↓
  18. Harish Negi

    “When you start blogging, don’t worry about a beginning, middle or end. Don’t worry about a title. You don’t need one until the end. All you need is your butt in the chair and fingers on the keyboard.”
    Really it requires great motivation to complete the article. I agree that you need not to worry about the article & its SEO effects until you finished it. The SEO could be the second phase. first is to put your thoughts in witting.
    Thanks

    Reply ↓
  23. Trisha panda

    Hi Lauren,
    Great article.You have given such a good additional knowledge about difference between writing and blogging. You have mentioned nice points.

    Thanks for sharing nice article

    Reply ↓
  26. siteflu

    Great concept!
    Would you mind to check out my site as well please 🙂
    Siteflu.com is a website design & development company in Pune India offering professional Website design and development services at low price / budget.

    Reply ↓
  27. beaujour

    Thank you for your sharing Lauren. It really help me so much in the wiring business. Very great if you keep your sharing with us.

    Reply ↓
  29. Al-Amin

    Your article is really helpful. I am working on a new website and I am relatively new into word press and website development.
    I am always careful when it comes to free domains as nothing that reads free is usually free .

    I was really finding some suggestions for video SEO on the web and just found yours. I have thoroughly read it and hugely upbeat as i am shortly going to work on the topic for my client’s site.

    I have bookmarked your blog on my browser.

    Thanks for sharing some ideas in your post for us. I liked the one Posi rank as I’ve become more SEO aware once again.
    I am a new one in blogging… I am a regular visitor of your blog…

    This article was very helpful .

    I love your article information it is so precise and you have good insights about search engine optimization. Good job, keep posting..

    i hope i help your post . Great post !

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply ↓
  31. Teri S

    Hi Lauren!
    Writing and blogging: both have positive and negative sides. Writing is more accepted, you will be respected as a professionnal in your area, blogging? … hardly.

    But you know what? blogging gives you the amazing opportunity to reach a vaste public, as I have lived abroad and want to maintain myself as connected to american culture as I can, I have discovered that there are people outside the U.S. looking for information in English that are fabulous and avid readers. True, they won’t buy your last title on amazon if it isn’t available in their country but they will become your faithful blog readers for sure.

    Reply ↓
  32. Lauren
    Twitter:

    Hi Teri,

    That’s what I love about blogging — the vast audience. It’s great connecting with people across the globe. How long have you lived abroad? Blogging is a great way to stay connected.

    I’ve been thinking about the blogging and writing forms. After a lot of thought, I concluded that blogging is another genre of writing with a different set of rules.

    Thanks for commenting.

    Reply ↓
  35. jackluter
    Twitter:

    Lauren, it’s best opportunity for both beginner and the experienced blogger to learn the best points listed in the above article. You motivated me from struggling to give the blog title.

    Reply ↓
  39. Helen

    A very awing web log post. We have a tendency to be very grateful for your web log post. you’ll notice plenty of approaches when visiting your post. i used to be specifically looking for. Thanks for such post and please keep it up.

    Reply ↓
  41. James

    Excellent post. I did more gidding on the topic but found this one is the good one and apropriate one.

    I am recommending your blog to my peers . Thanks again!

    Reply ↓

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