I love these sleepy days between Christmas and New Years. I sleep late, nosh on leftovers, cook soda bread, watch movies with my kids, take Thing Two out sledding, run at the gym with Thing One, marveling at his new speed. (Two years ago, he pushed himself to keep up with me; now he laps me, gunning for a spot on the track team in the spring.) Thanks to my wife, I have a hundred movies ready to watch on Roku and instant access to what feels like endless music; thanks to me, we have a lovely bottle of 100-proof Rittenhouse Rye to sip while I mull over possible resolutions.
The one that’s got me dithering, albeit in a peaceful, late-afternoon way, has to do with blogging.
I started my first blog, mostly about teaching and poetry, back in April, 2005. A month later, I started a second one, focused on Jewish topics. I was on leave at the time, and had the time to write for both of them–they put me in touch with old friends, got me thinking about new topics, and generally let me keep my mind active without having to limit myself to a specific, publishable project. Back in ‘06, I founded Teach Me Tonight, a collaborative blog for some of us academics who work on romance fiction; that one was intended to make sure that other newbies to the field wouldn’t feel as isolated as I had, starting out.
Five years on, though? Well, Laura Vivanco carries Teach Me Tonight, publishing brilliant work there, and a few collaborators post now and then on my Big Jewish Blog. Mostly, though, my own blog has gone silent, and I’m not sure whether I should vow to bring it back, next year, or let it go.
As I look ahead to the New Year, I have plenty to be excited about. I’ve added some new romances to my syllabus–Victoria Dahl is in the roster this winter, for the first time, and in the spring I’ll have brand-new books by Laura Kinsale and Ann Herendeen to read alongside my students. I’m wrapping up some overdue projects, and really feel like writing again for the first time in ages. But the writing I feel like doing? Essays, not blog posts. Books, maybe, even. Will blogging help them along, or just distract me, slow me down?
Ah, well–it’s only the 28th! No need to make up my mind just yet. I’m going to log off, curl up with a some sherry and Sherry Thomas (I’m sipping my way through Delicious), and let this decision simmer a little.
Are there any blogs you’ve read for years? If so, what keeps them fresh for you–or, if you write one, what keeps it fresh for you as a blogger?
No related posts.
I believe bloggers need to have the ability to adapt for their own needs as well as their readers.
You might try blogging only one day a week. If you do you ought to post that fact at the top of the blog so your readers know to come back on that day or to sign up for the Feed.
Recruit others to post on your blog.
Or disable all comments and leave the blog up as a ‘Read Only’ blog, so readers new to your work can read it even though you’re no longer posting. Be certain to alert the readers to this change at the top of the page.
There are many things you can do, but consider your priorities, schedule, and such before you make the decision, and certainly before you hit the Delete button.
Whatever you do, keep your readers in the loop or they will be annoyed with you.
Thanks for the suggestions, Kimber An! I’m not sure how many readers I have, by now, but I like having all of these options.
There’s many blogs I follow but I must admit that I don’t read all of them regularly. As a reader I want to learn something and if I’m entertained in the bargain – bonus. Sometimes an interesting premise can be as simple as the 90 + blogger who just blogged on his day to day life. The fact that he was 90+ and blogging was enough to attract many followers and it was interesting. Not being a 90+ blogger what keeps things fresh for me is the challenge of keeping it fresh for my readers. I try to be light on the day-to-day mundane activities that fill everyone’s life and instead provide something of interest or value to my readers – that is the challenge!
Happy New Year!
I understand totally, Eric. I have my own blog and work with a group on another. I try to blog at least once a week on my own and every few weeks on the other, but there are soooo many other things to do. The blogs I visit over and over again are the ones with news relative to me as a writer. Pirating issues, publishing news, promotion stuff…
Interviewing others on your blog can help you out and draw in new readers.
There are many reasons to blog and it seems the use of a blog to express yourself has evolved to become a place to offer something to others as a tool to promote yourself. Like so many things that start with people expressing themselves, it seems blogging has turned more into a business tool.
Having said that, you should analyze what your blogging purpose is. For me, it’s just a place to express myself. I probably started blogging about the time you did and not as many leave comments or even read it for all I know – compared to the early days when blogging was new. But it’s my artistic home and I enjoy blogging. It’s a nice break from novel writing and working. And it allows me to think outloud.
I started blogging because “writers were supposed to have blogs”. All I had was a contract for one short story, but I started my blog a couple of years ago (seems hard to believe I’ve been at it that long).
Since then, I’ve tried to focus more on writing, but there’s still a lot of just plain talk as well. (Today’s post is my take on the Sherlock Holmes movie, both as a writer and a Doyle fan)
I host guests once a week and stopped posting on weekends to give myself a break.
To me, doing the blog posts fulfills a “writing” need even when the manuscripts are slogging along.
As the year draws to a close, I’ll probably re-evaluate the focus of my blog, but it’s something I enjoy doing.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by EricSelinger: To Blog or Not To Blog, that is the question: http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2009/12/28/to-blog-or-not-to-blog-3/...