Why writing a blog is (sometimes) more difficult than writing a novel
Yeah, you read that right. Sometimes writing a blog is more difficult than finishing a novel. And now you think I’ve gone from slightly loco to completely bonkers. While I may admit to being slightly loco at times and often even bonkers, I’m trying to be serious here. On Sunday afternoon, I was staring at my blank computer screen and wondering what in the world I was going to blog about now! I may have been getting just the teensy weensy bit annoyed. Why oh why does writing a blog article seem like so much work? Oh wait – maybe this is a good blog idea. I put my thinking cap on and came up with three reasons why I struggle with blog writing:
- Brevity. Blog articles need to be short. I always aim for around 500 words. Seems easy, right? Wrong! Because the blogs are brief, they need to be able to capture readers’ attention quickly. Otherwise, readers are just going to move onto the next blog or newsletter or social media website. This translates into trying to write a catchy introductory paragraph for Every. Single. Blog. If I wrote my novels in this manner, I’d never get past the first page. Can you say pressure?
- Time. Another pressure point. One of the most effective manners to gain readers for my books is to have a popular blog. Unfortunately, a blog in which there is no content is never popular. One of my writing goals for 2016 is to write two blog articles a week. I normally don’t give myself deadlines for my novels. I just write and write until I’m nearly finished. Then, I decide on a deadline and start going balls to the walls. In my case, blog writing is can be more stressful on a day-to-day basis.
- Time (again!). Because of the time pressure, there’s no time for beta readers or editing. Logically, I understand that most readers accept mistakes in blogs more quickly than in a novel. I have to admit, though, if I read a blog from a writer which contains a ton of mistakes, I’m not going to read their novels. I end up reading and re-reading my blog articles until my eyes are blurry. And I still miss mistakes! Which, in turn, stresses me out.
Luckily, not all days are like yesterday. I have a lot of days in which the words for a blog article flow so quickly from my mind that my fingers simply can’t keep up.
Reblogged this on dustbury.com in reserve and commented:
By now, I should have written a whole shelf of novels. But no, I fritter away my thousand words a day on news, weather, sports, and cultural ephemera.
Or you can put all those blogs together in a collection?
I’ve never written a book, but self-imposed blog deadlines almost wiped me out this weekend. For the first time since starting my daily blog over a year ago, I simply could not post to it on Saturday. I knew what I wanted to write. It wasn’t writer’s block. It was, I believe, just mental and physical exhaustion and my body told me to get away from the computer. I did. the next day I woke up feeling the same way. I didn’t want to see a keyboard. The solution was getting away from my office for a short trip to the coast for a couple of hours, seeing the sun and the ocean, and letting it heal the deep depression I seem to have been in.
When I got home the energy had come back and I got three posts written before I went to bed. I think sometimes we just need a change of pace to get the creative juices flowing again. Now I have two more blogs to get out of the way today.
I think deadlines can steal the creative juices right out of you! I agree that getting away from your desk (I often just go for a walk with the dog) is the best solution for writer’s block or just plain lethargy. Glad to hear you’re feeling more energetic!
Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog and commented:
So true. Coming up with a topic is hard for me. Then when I do, I tend to write too long.
I hardly ever have a problem with writing too long but of course I’m working on a blog post now and I’m way over the word limit.
I agree. Finding the TIME is pretty hard for me also. So I have to use my time wisely but not as easy though.
I’m really lucky that I have the time to blog in addition to my other writing. The problem for me is that I seem to have a limited amount of time to be creative each day. Using time wisely is an issue for me as I seem to get stuck on social media more and more.
Social media is a curse and a blessing. 🙂