The Dangers of Blogging (for a Writer)

Writers want to be read, and blogs achieve that goal…

…which can be a problem if you want to appear in print someday.

Having run a blog in the past, I know too well that logging in, drafting a post, and deciding you’re done for the day is an easy trap to fall into.

For authors, the lion’s share of the writing must happen between blog posts, outside of the viewerships’ eyes. Followers just have to trust you’re doing what you say. Otherwise, you’ll eventually let your followers (and yourself) down. Not a good feeling.

This is a non-fiction blog about writing fiction. Do you see an incongruity here?

Writing your fiction directly into the blog seems like the obvious solution…until you realize it lets the cat out of the bag. It sucks away that, “Wait ’til they get a load of this!” excitement one feels as they write their manuscript. That passion is important!

If you ever want to not write a book, go tell your friends and family all about your plot before you’ve written it. That “wants to be read” feeling will be achieved in the cheapest and laziest way possible, and your desire to get the story out in the world will lessen.

A Brief List of Other Challenges:

• Non-fiction always comes easy for me, whereas fiction does not.
• I find it difficult (and may even hate) facing down a blank page when writing fictional scenes.
• I hate getting stuck mid-scene and not knowing how to proceed.
  This kind of “writing constipation” can last for days, weeks, months, even years.
• I’m too much of a perfectionist for my own good, so I can easily fall into editing hell.
• I have a full-time job.
  Though I recently finished college, so at least that’s out of the way.
• I already make enough money to live comfortably, and I like my job, so there’s not that “need for survival” thing that drives so many writers.
  But I’m here, which means I at least have some drive to pull this off. Whether or not that drive will be enough remains to be seen.
• I tend to get distracted easily.
  Although I suspect this is true for all writers. But I may be worse than most.
• If I’m ever lucky enough to achieve a “flow state”, there are events that tend to knock me out of that state.
• I love video games, and so do my children.
• I’ve yet to find that “trick” that keeps me writing.

To combat these challenges, I’d like to keep these posts as brief as possible. I don’t want to feel satisfied with my writing output before I’ve even opened a manuscript.

And I’d like to blog somewhat consistently. I’m hoping this will reinforce a habit of writing every day.