Comments on: Writer’s block

By: D. C. DaCosta

D. C. DaCosta — Sat, 25 May 2013 17:43:04 +0000

On another topic…writer’s block. If and when I ever blog, I will begin by amassing a stack of index cards on which I will put random ideas for topics. On uninspired days, out they will come.
Always have something in reserve.

By: D. C. DaCosta

D. C. DaCosta — Sat, 25 May 2013 17:40:59 +0000

I love the phrase “talking into the wind”. I just returned from a writers conference at which there was a presentation about use of social media by authors to promote themselves and their books. Someone asked, “Isn’t this like standing on a cliff shouting into the wind and hoping someone will hear you?”

Several years ago I read an article that stated that 99% of blogs are not read…by anyone. Tweets and Facebook updates are quickly superseded, like leaves floating down a stream. If everyone is talking, who is listening?

By: D. C. DaCosta

D. C. DaCosta — Sat, 25 May 2013 17:36:08 +0000

Ditto. This is one of the few blogs I follow, because it actually has meaningful content.

By: Rina

Rina — Fri, 24 May 2013 02:51:38 +0000

I’ve always enjoyed reading DGLM blog. I think readers like me eventually sort through the barrage of info sources to find the ones we enjoy the most, and then check those first. And I think the fact you’re concerned about providing a unique/insightful perspective says a lot about the integrity of your posts.

By: Joelle

Joelle — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:04:58 +0000

I feel your pain! I’ve made significant changes and periodically, I pare down even more. I felt the same way about blogging that you do, but as a writer hoping to connect with readers (and yes, sell books), I feel like I need some regular content on my website. So I challenged myself to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while anyway. Every Wednesday I post a new (not recycled) comedic essay.

I generally only tweet on Wednesdays, after posting my new essay. I tweet about it and give myself some splurge time to check in and chat with my twitter pals.

I have no RSS feed. I don’t watch the news. I don’t read the papers. And I only read six blogs regularly, and of those six, none of them post more than a few times a week.

I have no e-reader, and I don’t surf the web. Recently, I had to start limiting the podcasts I listen to because combined with internet baseball games, I was hearing voices in my head all the time. The Cubs are making it pretty easy to give their games a miss this season, which helps, too.

Now, if I could just stop commenting on the six blogs I do read, I’d have even more time!

By: DGLM

DGLM — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:17:03 +0000

Good advice all the way around! And glad our blog isn’t TOO bad.

-Michael

By: Kevin A. Lewis

Kevin A. Lewis — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:07:21 +0000

Although I believe that social media is the digital equivalent of crack cocaine and you should immediately stop if you’re wasting time therewith, it’s understandable if your brain is tired because of all the work-related input you have to process. My advice is to catagorize and prioritize, i.e., no movies on smart phone or PC; movies are supposed to be a shared experience shown on at least a 27-inch screen, and books are suposed to read in book form unless you’re on a plane to Bologna or something. (Stephen King’s next book is only coming out in hard copy, so people will have to buy and read it IRL, so there) And I admit that most agent blog postings tend to be either bland infomercials for their client’s latest release or platitudinous observations that sound like they were lifted right out of Readers Digest. (Not so much this blogsite, fortunately) Go home and watch the season finale of Grimm, delete your facebook account and check back next week; you’ll feel better soon…