Blogging For Writers

We all know by now that the days of an author writing novels in an ivory tower are long gone. Sure, we can still do that - my ivory tower is a bed with a broken footboard (long story) - but we're also creating content that we disseminate through the ever-growing cloud. Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, G+ *, and any other number of social media sites that have yet to really explode are patiently waiting for writers to figure out how to maximize their potential. 

Hey - remember blogging?

Yeah, it was that thing where we wrote words that people read. 

Some time ago I questioned whether or not blogging was still a valid outlet for authors in a world with an ever-shortening attention span. People want 140 character snippets. People want pictures. People want an easily digestible glimpse of you.

But here's the thing - I'm a writer. And I'd like to think that most of my audience is comprised of readers. So I blog. I do all the others things too (boy, do I ever), but blogging remains my focus. I've questioned that. I've asked myself if I'm wasting my time creating blocks of text when people really want one sentence and a picture of my cat. 

And then I was contacted by Robin Houghton, who was writing a book for Writer's Digest called Blogging For Writers: How Authors & Writers Build Successful Blogs. She wanted to talk to me about my blog and social media outreach. It was kind of amazing to get that kind of recognition, and I was even more flattered when she sent me a copy, which I devoured.

Yes, the fulfillment was totally awesome and then... I got sucked in by the book. It reaffirmed to me that blogging is still a useful and valuable tool for writers to reach our audience. In some ways, I'd argue that it's the best tool for us to use. Any personality can use the other social media outlets, and use them effectively. 

But can they write?

I've been blogging for years, and this book still taught me a thing or two. Even better, it walks the uninitiated through starting a blog from scratch on either Blogger or Wordpress, and explains the pros and cons of each. Worried about content? This books walks you through how to create engaging posts, and make them visually attractive as well. It even has a breakdown of how to use various social media outlets to get your blog noticed, and drive traffic. (Ahem, look for some screen caps of me in there).

So... I thought maybe you might want to check it out. Yes, the giveaway I've got marked below has a TON of entries, but there's a reason for that. It should give you a little tour of what's out there in social media, and how to use it. I'm pretty much everywhere, so you can go take a glance at me and see what I'm doing in all those places, then decide if it's the kind of thing that you might want to do to  up your exposure as well.

And if you're not sure, I bet this book will help you figure it out :)

The Stuff Of Dreams

If you visit this blog or read any of my interviews you know that the concept for NOT A DROP TO DRINK came from a dream that I had. Sometimes inspiration comes like that, in a bolt from the sky that you can't ignore. The words pour out, and anywhere from a weeks to a few months after that lightning strike you've got a finished (messy, but finished) first draft in your hands.

And... then there are the other times.

There are the times you sit in front of the laptop and nothing happens. The screen glows accusingly, and there's not nearly enough black streaking across all that white. There are the times when people ask what you're working on right now and you have to answer honestly... nothing.

I don't believe in writer's block. I honestly don't. I think writer's block is what happens when you're too scared to sit down and force it, resulting in procrastination that is rooted in our self-esteem, not our capabilities.

But I do think that concepts can't be forced. They have to happen organically, like that storm in your head that suddenly delivers a story you can't stop spinning, or a dream that delivers your next novel, gift-wrapped.

Here in Ohio we had a short blizzard, followed by an ice storm this weekend followed by... thunderstorms today. Let's hope all the meteorological dust up sinks into my mind.

A lightning strike would be much welcomed :)

School Visits: Bouncing May Occur

Mention doing school visits and some authors cringe and try to collapse into themselves. Trust me, I get it. Facing a room (or worse, auditorium) of teenagers - some of whom are being forced to be there - is totally intimidating. You've got a mic in your face, a picture of yourself behind you, and are going to be talking about yourself or your book for at least half an hour... maybe more. If a bucket of pig's blood doesn't drop down on you, you'll call it a success.

But it can can also be totally awesome.

I spend 40 hours a week talking to teens who (trust me) could not be less impressed by my publishing credits. I'm just their librarian. I've even dropped so far as to pick up the nearest book and start reading aloud with a fake Irish or British accent just to gain their attention. (This totally works, by the way, and I highly recommend everyone use this trick).

That being said, I love doing school visits. Sure, there are kids that don't want to be there, but once I start talking about how extreme dehydration makes your eyelids stick inside your skull and your tongue swell so much you can't close your mouth I usually have their attention too. Even if they despise reading, they're interested in me talking about horrible ways to die. And I totally excel at that.

But you also get kids that are thrilled to meet you, kids who want to have pictures taken with you (sure!), ask for signed bookmarks (no problem!) and bounce up and down while you talk to them (sometimes I bounce too just for fun). You also get emails later, from the kids who weren't quite up to the picture taking and bouncing, lovely emails where they want to share what the book meant to them and how much they enjoyed meeting you.

And you get stuff like this... kids who wrote an original song inspired by your book. I'm floored.