Why Blog?

There are so many reasons to blog, I’m sure I’ll miss many but here’s my take as a writer.

Blogging fulfills an essential need in me to express myself regularly. In my writing ambitions, that need is critical and should be fed as often as I can manage it. This was my favorite part of being a newspaper editor – my weekly editorials. Blogging has taken that small satisfaction and magnified and multiplied it many times over. Now, I express myself and people around the world read my piece immediately. That’s a trip!

Regular posting also keeps my mind sharp and my fingers warmed up for my great love, fiction writing. This is a fire I must always stoke because for me, that’s the heavy lifting. Blogging or editorializing comes fairly easy to me, but pumping at a lengthy story takes Gatorade, aspirin and fortification. I love it, I truly do, but it’s seldom simple for me. I recently wrote about the experience of easy, joyful writing, so it does happen but it’s not the norm.

As a recent post by Bert Carson (The Indie Writer Two Step To Success) pointed out, it’s also an essential ingredient for building and maintaining a readership base. I’m not sure how many of my blog readers have bought a book but I’m sure there’s a few and that’s good. Blogging gives readers a chance to see if they like your writing in a general way and possibly decide to take a chance on one of your books.

Another great aspect for me is being able to support a cause or encourage others. Blogging allows you to do good things in the world. That’s probably the most important one to me in the end.

So, if you’re considering starting a blog – jump in, the water’s fine.