Some Monday Stuff
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This picture isn't really relevant to the article--I just liked it.
A Monday post? Yeah… I’m re-thinking the blog schedule again. Not in a major way, but I know a lot of people are doing this at the moment–balancing blogging with the rest of one’s life. For my part, I’m looking at stats, and trying to discern reader habits. When do people seem to visit my blog? I know some read whenever I post something new, and some check periodically during the week. I also use my own blog-reading habits as a guide. In short, I don’t want my blogging to be a burden to my readers, and want each blog to be useful–fun, informative, insightful–not just the day’s obligation (for me or for you). I have ideas, and I’ll let you know when those ideas translate into changes.
Janet Reid posted the results of the INSURGENT ARC contest last night. No, I didn’t win, but the entries were so good you really should read them if you haven’t already. I can’t tell you how beneficial an exercise contests like this are in “remove useless words.” For someone like me who tends toward verbal diarrhea verbosity, being given these sort of parameters really helps me tighten my writing. So, win or lose, it’s worth it. Keep an eye on Janet’s blog for the next contest, and give it a go! This time around, I want to give a special shout out to my blog friends (at least the ones I noticed) who entered: Mrs S. (who was a semi-finalist–woohoo!), Elodie, Emma Maree, Isabel Bandeira, my wife, and my FirstBorn. You all entered a tough field, and–at least in my opinion–you can hold your heads high: your entries were great! Well done.
Lastly, if you’re looking for an agent and not following Agent Vickie Motter’s blog, you should check it out. Last month she blogged on the subject of querying. This month she has been posting on “requests,” i.e., the various aspects of responding to an agent’s request for a partial, or a full (notes, formatting, nudging, etc.). The articles are not overly long, and are very informative.
Have a great Monday!
Thanks for the shout-out! I liked the twist ending of yours 🙂 That was a fun challenge–I want to play more with very constrained writing like that.
A deserved shout-out, Mrs. S. In fact, I just updated the article since I went back to Janet’s blog and noted that you were, in fact, a semi-finalist, not just an “honorable mention.” Congrats again! 🙂
Thanks Colin .D This contest was definitely fun and I also find those flash fiction bits helpful to narrow my writing down a bit 🙂
In regards to the blogging schedule, I am pretty random these days…
You’re welcome, Elodie! I wouldn’t want to pit scheduled blogging against unscheduled blogging. Each blogger must decide what works for them at any given time. I think the discipline of a schedule is good for me. It’s just finding the right schedule that keeps blogging fun, but doesn’t allow blogging to eat up all my time.
Thanks for the tip on the blog to follow. I’ll check it out. Also yes that is why I don’t have a schedule for posting…I like to be spontaneous. That’s what I call it anyways. But I read blogs I follow whenever I’m online and have some time, so I’ll keep checking in.
You’re welcome, EVe! Like I said to Elodie (above), whether or not you keep a blog schedule is, IMO, a personal thing. I appreciate everyone who follows this blog–you included! That’s why I want to be sure it’s fun and useful. And for me, that means having a schedule. Right now, though, I’m still thinking through exactly what that need to be.
Thanks for the shout-iut and the compliments, Colin. 🙂
I try to keep a rough schedule with my blog (book review on Monday, RTW, and an image post on the weekend) but it doesn’t always work. Sometimes I decide to pull a review because I’m conflicted about my feelings about it, or I don’t have the time to read, and other times I can’t think up a satisfying RTW response. I like to post the odd story from my personal life but ‘blog-worthy’ events are fairly rare.
I think I’m going to keep to the rough schedule though, as when it does work and there’s posts planned ahead it’s a nice way to take the weight off my shoulders.
I’m not fussed about other bloggers having a schedule, because Google Reader updates me whenever there’s a new post to the blogs I follow.
Somehow Agent Vickie Motter’s blog had slipped under my radar, so thanks for the link. 😀 An excellent new addition to my followed blogs.
You are very welcome, Emma, and thanks for your thoughts on blogging. There are definitely advantages to keeping a schedule, especially for me. But, as I’ve said above, I think it is a personal thing, tied in very much with the way you work, and your purpose and goals for your blog. I enjoy reading your blog, and I do read your posts, even when I don’t comment. Even the techie ones! You never know when at least knowing where to find that information may come in handy. 🙂
And isn’t it fun referring to Literary Agents as “Agent so-and-so”? It’s like they work for the FBI. 😀
I agree that Janet’s contest was fun! I loved the prompt and everyone’s entries were great.
Sigh, if only we could all get ARCs of Insurgent…
Yes… if only! Oh well, we’ll just have to wait until May. I need to re-read DIVERGENT anyway before I read INSURGENT, just to be sure I haven’t missed or forgotten anything important. 🙂