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[pnh]

I dunno, call me crazy, but it seems to me possible that for some writers, blogging is a time sink and a creative drain, while for others it's a source of connection, energy, and inspiration. It might even be that human beings, not just writers, are all different from one another. I realize that this reveals me as prone to wild, nutty speculation

Comments

[autopope]

Judging by the usual trajectory of such squibs, two outcomes are possible: (a) Robin Hobb ceremonially burns her word processor at the stake and goes back to using a quill pen on parchment, or (b) in six weeks or so robin_hobb on LJ will have 2964 friends and spawn comment threads 500 postings deep.

[pnh]

The latter seems plausible, since she's actually an intelligent and charming individual. (I've always liked her books, and I finally actually met her last year.) It could be that she sees all too clearly how successful she could be as a blogger, and believes she isn't wired in such a way as to able to do that and write books. Demonstrably, though, some people are.

Maureen McHugh once observed that 99% of all relationship arguments boil down to shocked cries of YOU'RE NOT ME! I suspect the observation can be generalized even more widely.

[neutronjockey]

If you simply track word count of some of the most prolific bloggers that are also published authors --- you could probably squeeze 2-3 books out per year. Again, based on word count alone.

However, blogs (as you've stated) aren't necessarily about writerly related persuits or (always) about shameless self-promotion. For some writing outside of profession is somewhat cathartic I suppose.

Everyone has to eat. Most people like to eat. No one wants to eat steak all the time...which is why I suppose many authors blog. Mmmmm steak.

[bluetyson]

Chapter 1

Paragraph 1

Word count 1327. And I washed the cat. Had leftover lasagne.

...

[lauriemann]

"It might even be that human beings, not just writers, are all different from one another."

Please, oh please it's too early in the morning to laugh that hard!

(also, too early to realize I wasn't logged in to LJ yet)

[mrissa]

I'm going to creep further out on this very same limb and suggest that different blogs require different things of people, and that even the same person might find one type of blogging a time sink and a creative drain and another type of blogging a source of connection, energy, and inspiration.

Nah, that's crazy talk. All blogs are the same, which is why they all have identical composition and size of audience.

[redbird]

Quite. For some people, blogging about writing might be very different from blogging about things other than their work. Just for example. (I'm not a writer in the sense discussed here--which means that I don't need to worry about blogging any more than any other hobby using up my time.)

[matociquala]

Did I miss a kerfuffle?*

I must have been too busy blogging. Or writing.

I've noticed, for me, the frequency and quality of my blog posts goes up when I am writing productively and well. And that the nattering about writing I do in my blog helps me work through things I might be stuck on.

Hitting refresh on lj when the writing isn't going well--now THERE is a timesink. But I'm one of the writers who derives inspiration from talking about books and process, not one of the ones who has to hold everything in tight to her chest and not let it get out until it gets out on the page. (I've also been told that by talking about my books, I'm ruining them--I'll use up all my drive and inspiration before it hits the page. This does not in fact seem to be true.

But people respond badly to the phrase, "Dude, you're projecting.")

*(NB: Firefox wants to change "kerfuffle" into "muffler.")

[yendi]

Did I miss a kerfuffle?*

I think a bunch of us did, but Google Blogsearch is our friend (or not, if even reading blogs affects one's productivity).

*(NB: Firefox wants to change "kerfuffle" into "muffler.")

Don't we all?

[matociquala]

Mmm. Muffler.

That would be a transformation worthy of Letterman.

[ckd]

"I'm not going to pay a lot for this kerfluffle!"?

[kristine_smith]

I always miss all the fun...

[justinelavaworm]

Only because you're wasting your time blogging!