In celebration of reaching 203 blog followers I'd like to get a discussion going: "Blog Writing Ideas: How do you keep your blog fresh and entertaining?" I for one have fallen into bit of a rut and haven't given my Write What Inspires You! blog the attention it deserves, so to spark my creativity I decided to get the juices flowing by holding a 203 blog follower celebration and hopefully my enthusiasm will get a good old virtual slap.
To add to the celebration for all visitors who leave comments, become a follower, and Tweet about this discussion you will be automatically entered at a chance to win:
"What drives you to write? How does a particular piece of writing come to exist? And how do some people's lives come to revolve around writing? In Inspiration and Discipline, more than one hundred accomplished authors set aside talk of character and scene to address the more private aspects of their writing lives, including such topics as family support (or lack thereof), using autobiographical material, and the responsibility of writing - sharing their personal and philosophical approaches to this most strange, heartbreaking, and wonderful of artistic vocations. There may never be an explanation for where stories come from, but the wisdom, humor, and advice of the writers in these pages will provide you with the inspiration you need to keep your writing life moving forward."
Discussion and contest giveaway ends: October 31st at 12 midnight.
Winner announced: November 1st.
Be sure to leave your blog URL with your comment so I can follow you back if I'm not a follower already.
Thank you for visiting, I'm looking forward to interacting with you and conducting a lively discussion.
Be well!
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Best wishes,
Donna M. McDine
Award-winning Children's Author
The Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://guardianangelpublishing.com/pathway.htm
You picked the very topic I've been struggling with. It seems like my mind goes completely blank as soon as I sit down to write a blog. However, I've found that picking a theme helps a great deal.
ReplyDeleteJoan K. Maze
www.joanmaze.com
http://sleuthingwithmollie.wordpress.com
http://homicideandmayhem.wordpress.com
I can find topics and have no problem writing them but I get discouraged when I have written several good posts and then I get no visitors or no comments. I retreat and find myself lagging at posting new and fresh ideas. This will jump start my enthusiasm again and hopefully get me back on the blogging track.
ReplyDeleteHey, Donna,
ReplyDeleteI have several blogs that I post to at least a couple of times each week.
I think the key is to have several categories for posts. It just seems to be easier to come up with posts when there are categories. For example, at my coaching blog, I have a category for writing tips, a category for freelancing writing, and a category for children's writing, so all I have to do is think of something for one of those categories.
Of course, before you create categories, be sure you know WHO you are trying to target to your blog and WHY you want them to visit. That will help you create categories that will be easier to write posts for.
I hope this helps!
Happy blogging!
Suzanne Lieurance
www.workingwriterscoach.com
www.workingwritersclub.com
www.suzannelieurance.com
I owe posts to Pen and Ink. I have done best with my first paragraph blogs. Pen and Ink is coming up on our third anniversary and we will also be offering a giveway.
ReplyDeleteOne idea is to find weird holidays and blog about them.
It's been a long time since I've blogged. I find it stressing and time consuming.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read blogs, however, I enjoy those that are short (around 300) and that are thoughtful or revealing or insightful in some way... to write these types of posts is hard, which is why I say that I find blogging stressful.
I think that many bloggers post whatever just to meet that weekly quota. I think that's a big mistake. If you're not going to have something insightful to say, don't say it at all. There are millions of blogs out there. How can you compete?
I'm mostly referring to fiction authors here.
It's easier with nonfiction because you can always write articles related to your nonfiction book to attract buyers/readers to your blog. As the author of a nonfiction book, you can be an 'expert' in that topic.
But, to be honest, I'm clueless when it comes to blogging about my own novels and picture books. Yes, I can do reviews, interviews, announcements, etc... but is this enough? Is this smart, when you really go down to it? Or am I better off working on my next novel instead?
Mayra
Great topic, Donna. I never seem to have a lack of topics to blog about, just the time to write and post them.
ReplyDeleteTerri, brought up a good point about putting time and effort into blogging and not getting comments or followers to your site. I feel the same way at times, but always realize that you just never know who may happen upon your blog.
And, I wonder the same as Mayra. There is so much time involved in posting regularly to a blog, time that might be better spent actually writing for paying markets or my next book. I'm still struggling with this one.
Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing
Hello ladies...thank you for visiting and commenting.
ReplyDeleteJoan: the theme idea is terrific.
Terri: I feel the pain on no comments.
Suzanne: Thanks for the valuable tips and focusing on a target audience is great advice.
Susan: Congratulations on the three year anniversary. I love giveaways!
Mayra: The questions you present are the one's I'm grabbling with. One's I need answer personally and come to terms with.
Karen: The balance is tricky. But then everything in life is about balance.
Thank you one and all for getting the conversation going.
All the best,
Donna
Interesting post, Donna. And congrats on reaching the 203 follower mark. That is quite the achievement indeed.
ReplyDeleteRegarding how I keep my blog(s) fresh & entertaining?
I have 2 blogs: one is a writing lifestyle blog; the other ... a chocolate travel blog. Both very different, yet similar in that I write personal stories and sentiments on each one. I post to each every other week, so I have 2 weeks to maintain comments on each and 2 weeks to come up with a new subject for the next post. I usually let life's experiences lead the way to help me choose topics for the writing blog. We have great discussions there. Please drop in at http://doreenisthewizardofwords.blogspot.com/.
Thanks, and happy weekend!
Doreen Pendgracs
Hi Doreen:
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea that you let your life experiences provide you with your latest topics. Love it!
All the best,
Donna
Finding the time to blog is very difficult for me. I teach full-time. I try my best to blog about things that readers will appreciate. I think it is better to not post than to post for the sake of posting.
ReplyDeleteNicole Weaver
Trilingual Children's Author
http://marieandherfriendtheseaturtle.blogspot.com
http://mysisterismybestfriend.blogspot.com
http://mybirthdayiseptembereleven.blogspot.com
This is a topic that has been giving me difficulties for the past several months. So, I just post book reviews on one of my blogs an almost nothing on the newest one.
ReplyDeleteWith NaNoWriMo getting so close..I did make a post to my newest blog yesterday.
I really need to figure out how to keep my posts fresh as well...I don't have just tons of visitors...but I would like to keep the ones I have and even increase the traffic to my blogs!
I will be watching the comments here for ideas. Thanks a lot for this post!
http://www.deesbibbmusings.blogspot.com
http://www.deebibb.com
I have just one blog, but I write about a variety of topics--author interviews, book reviews, family, and the environment. Maybe I should not mix things up. Woe, is me.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I agree with you...posting informative information is much more important than just posting anything. Makes your blog more credible.
ReplyDeleteDee - I started out with book reviews, but as my interests and job responsibilities have changed and expanded I've had less time for reviewing.
Barbara, I personally like the mix. It's finding the right balance I find tricky.
All the best,
Donna
Great interaction and information, Donna. I've been wrestling with the same and find myself posting for posting sake often and, it is in these times, that coming up with an idea to write about that is relevant and interesting to others is most a struggle. I think the idea of having themes or categories is a good way of staying focused and on target with posting consistently. I'll have to get better at that!
ReplyDeleteKarin
Hi Karin:
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of themes too. Sometimes I wonder if we put too much pressure on ourselves to create the perfect post rather than just write from the heart.
All the best,
Donna
Even though I only have about 20 followers and most of them don't participate when I ask a question, I still try to try to write a blog post twice a week.
ReplyDeleteUsually one of them is about a new market or one with a call for submissions, a book review, or trivia.
For the other post, I like to do a running topic. Like my "This Is Me" posts. I usually do a few week's worth of posts at a time. So when the muse strikes with ideas, I list them all and pick and choose from the ideas when it's time to write the posts.
I find some of my ideas by reading magazines or watching TV. You know how it is, someone will say a word or phrase and it just clicks.
Denise
http://denise-roomtowrite.blogspot.com
Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteMy blog focuses (mostly) on writing for children, so I do a lot of interviews with people involved in children's publishing. I love meeting and learning more about my guests and I love the conversations that start when my readers learn about them. So much fun! (I'm always looking for guests, everybody!)
That steady content takes the pressure off of me to come up with new content on my own. However, I do also blog about the books I've read and writing challenges and victories. I really love blogging.
http://kaistrand.blogspot.com/
Denise:
ReplyDeleteGreat idea with creating a list of ideas that you can expand on. Thanks for the tip.
Kari:
At one time I hosted many fellow children's authors with interviews, but have lacked in that area and really need to get back in the swing.
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Best regards,
Donna