Sometimes, I think we new writers are so worried about our social media presence even before we actually write anything. Every single author I read has a blog, a twitter, a tumblr or something else to keep updated – and I think it’s great, because we can can see a little bit of their regular lives, what they’re working on, etc. But mostly, I noticed that a lot of us feel like it’s an obligation.
So I’ll confess to this – I’m a terrible, terrible blogger.
I like writing, sure. That’s what I’m dedicated towards and has been my dream for a long time. But writing for blogs? Errr… I’m not so sure. You see, once in a while, an idea pops up in my mind and I think – oh my god that would make such a great blog post! I could definitely write about that! But do you want to know when that happens? Once in a month, if I’m lucky. It’s just that I’ve recently found out that blogging is not really my platform.
It sounds like I’m commiting a crime when I say this out loud – No! I am not an adept of blogging! And I’m just not. I hate writing texts out of pure obligations, texts that don’t have my heart in it. And I think blogging is so great, and I see so many people having fun with it that I just think I’d also enjoy doing it.
But I’ve tried a couple of times – two book blogs (one that I maintain to post reviews every once in a while) and other three regular blogs. Recently I’ve started writing for a brazilian literature site called Literalmente – and I was having a blast with the first five posts I wrote! But after that… it just got kind of boring again. So with so many tries, why haven’t I given up yet? And I’ll be honest – it’s a little out of fear. Because all we see is people screaming ‘YOU MUST HAVE AN INTERNET PRESENCE!!!’ that I just shrunk down and my seat and bowed my head. But no matter how many times I try this, I know it won’t be different. Sure, I’ll still write from time to time – after all, every so often there’s a subject or other I like to file my opinion on, but blogging isn’t going to flow for me. That’s just not my style.
I feel like I’ve gotten a huge weight out of my chest – and of course, I’m enjoying writing this blog post! But it also just kind of popped up in my mind and I thought I might give it a try. The thing is, I don’t want to turn back to writing the blog like an obligation. It’s just going to be something I do every once in a while, when I feel like it.
And is that bad? No! I think it’s cool that so many authors love writing blogs and blog posts, because it’s a way to connect to them. But with the internet we have some different ways of connecting – although I don’t enjoy blogging very much, I love twitter! And I love instagram, tumblr and pinterest! Like all things, there are some we prefer more than others. So I’m not saying everyone should just quit social media at once, but find the one that suits you. Find the one that is your style and that you love communicating on. And that will feel more wonderful than any of the other medias you maintain out of duty, believe me (: I for one, am always up on twitter discussing something.
On another nore, and back to writing once again, I finally finished the WIP I was working on since Nanowrimo in 2014. I finished the first draft! Hooray! The problem is… it ended at 150k. I thought it was a little insane, and I’m taking into account that the book is both a fantasy AND has 4 main POVs in it. As a new writer, we tend to be worried about the industry, and that’s exactly what I thought when I’d finished it – I’m never going to sell this! But as I calmed down, I thought about something else, too – after writing 150k, I still loved my story. I still loved the characters in it and the plot. After spending four whole months working on it, I still love it so much that it hurts. So as fellow writers said, I guess the important part is not the word count or the market of the story – loving it is halfway there. Because of course, you can’t work on projects you hate – and if you love your WIP, then more will you want to work on it until it gets better!
I’ll see you when I see you, or when my mind finds another interesting subject to write about!