It is now three months since I started this blog and I have been taking stock. I chose WordPress as a blogging platform by chance. I was working with post-graduate teaching trainees and the course team had decided to restructure the procedures for presenting assignments, using a course blog. This was a good way for trainees to present their work and get feedback from their peers. A bit of a challenge for me though, because back then I didn’t even know what a blog was let alone how they worked. So I started to investigate and stumbled across WordPress. Having discovered the basics principles of Bloggery I moved on and the blog languished in obscurity.
Three years later, having retired from teaching, I came across the empty WordPress blog, managed to remember the login password (I am not very imaginative with passwords) and signed in. As luck would have it, just as I rediscovered the blog, BloggingU offered its courses Blogging 101 and Writing 101 and I learned a lot from both. The trouble is that I think that I’ve created a monster. It can be seductively addictive this blogging lark!
On the positive side, I enjoy blogging. I like playing with my blog, trying out new themes and formats, checking the blog’s stats, analysing who my audience is and what they enjoy reading.I enjoy reading blogs and connecting with other bloggers from all over the world. Publishing my writing stops me from being lazy and too self indulgent. I have followers (yes honestly!) which means that I have readers.
Am I spending too much time reading other blogs when I should be writing. Should I target my writing at my current readers or should I just write what I want, publish and hope they stick with me? Who am I writing for? Should I be writing for myself or for my readers?
The question is, am I a blogger or a writer, or both. Help me out here, what do you think?
Write In the village 
Both and keep going you are inspiring me too
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Thank you.:-)
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My thoughts exactly. I think a bit of everything helps.
When I read blogs it helps me to think differently and expand my own creativity. I am concentrating on posting but enjoy reading blogs too.
Lately I have stepped away from my blog for a couple of days a week which refreshes my enthusiasm. Also I am planning to concentrate on writing short stories one day a week.
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I think stepping away from the blog for a couple of days a week is a good idea. I think I might try that and concentrate on my fiction projects.Good luck with the short stories, I hope you intend to publish them, as I would be interested to read them.
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Hi Marilyn, I think a good mixture of writing your own posts and reading other blogs is the perfect balance. I get so much inspiration from reading other people’s blogs that if I did not do it, then I would not have written as much. Connecting with other bloggers and following their blogs also builds a community where we can also help each other (just like you did with me a few days ago when I was asking how to add the ‘bloglovin’ button to my posts).
I’ve written quite a few short stories and posted them on my blog and my friends and family are telling me that I should concentrate on writing more short stories. However, I also enjoy writing other articles and recently also discovered photography having seen some great pictures other bloggers had posted. So for now I’m going to carry on with my mix and sit back and think about the short story aspect.
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Sounds like a good plan, Hugh. I enjoy your articles and your short stories, so please keep going with both 🙂
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Blogging allows you to mix it up and try out new ways of writing, which I am enjoying. Reading other blogs and seeing where around the world your blog is going I think also helps with the inspiration to write. http://www.inspiringmax.com/
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I agree. Writing can be a very lonely business and being in a community of people who understand is very important.:-)
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As long as you are putting pen to paper ( so to speak), you are a writer. To me, blogging is just another form of writing, like poetry, short story or a novel.
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Good point, thank you for the feedback. Where do you publish your writing?
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Writing 101 was great. I love reading other blogs’ responses to the same topics I am tackling. You guys give me perspective.
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I agree. I’ve noticed that WordPress are offering Writing 101 again this month. I might go again and do the challenges I missed last time.
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As long as you are writing, you are a writer. Blogging is just another form of writing, like short stories or poetry or essays.
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I guess the important thing is to just keep writing 🙂 Any thing that keeps those writing muscles in good shape must be good.
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Yes, indeed!
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You have described my love for the blogging lifestyle.
I enjoy the reading the blogs that have given me insight into many perspectives I would not have encountered.
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We must be kindred spirits! I teach a general ed writing intensive course as a part-time lecturer (in addition to other courses). I had wanted my students to blog in the class, but haven’t gotten that far yet. I am about to retire from 35+ years of working in parks and recreation field. I had not been too consistent with my blog and like you, needed lots of time to write posts. The blogging 101 course was a huge help! I see in your main photo a lonely windsurfer off to the far left 🙂 I look forward to reading your blog!!
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Hi I’ve nominated you for an award… check it out at http://ramblingonblog.wordpress.com/2014/10/24/liebster-award-blogging/
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