The Perks of Blogging

"The heart and soul of blogging is the individual and/or the group of individuals opining on the fly and responding post-haste to one and all." - Michael Conniff

Last week I posted advice from famous authors. Much to my delight fellow bloggers left equally good, if not better advice, in their comments. So this week I am publishing the suggestions, let’s say…from newly famous or soon-to-be famous authors and illustrators.

Elisabeth at Sixth in Line:
The best advice I ever heard about was to do with 'bum glue' and the need to keep yourself at your desk.

Joanne at Whole Latte Life:
Some of the best writing advice I've received is regarding blogging. Before I set out with my blog, I was advised to give it a specific theme, or focus, which would help in writing blog posts. I borrowed a general theme from the fiction manuscript I was writing, and I'd have to say that's worked out well for me.

Elizabeth at Mystery Writing is Murder:
"Write every day" is a tip I received and try to live by.

Darcia Helle at A Word Please :
A piece of advice I like is to let the creative juices flow and just write. Don't stop to conjure up the right phrase or word, particularly with fiction writing, because it breaks the creative flow. Deal with those things in your first editing phase.

Karen Walker at Following the Whispers:
The best advice I've received about writing is to let it come from the heart, not the head.

Elspeth Antonelli at It’s a Mystery:
The best advice I ever got was to remember you can't get it perfect the first time through.

Galen Kindley at Imagineering Fiction:
My best advice was, "Don't fall in love with what you've written." It was offered in the context of don't be afraid to aggressively edit "great stuff" out.

Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs:
Coffee. That's it. Gotta have great gourmet coffee with cream.

Rayna M. Iyer at Coffee Rings Everywhere:
My favourite advice is the one I have culled from all your collective wisdom - keep writing.

Journaling Woman:
"Write even when you don't feel like it. Otherwise one would never write."

Jan Morrison at Crazy Jane:
Show up every day. Sit down and write. After awhile read what you've written and have at it. Repeat.

Patricia Stoltey:
The best writing advice I ever received? "Never give up."

Theresa Milstein at Substitute Teacher’s Saga:
For those who struggle with show and not tell, I pulled this from Francine Prose's, Reading Like a Writer:

“…a form of bad advice often given to young writers-namely, that the job of the author is to show, not tell. Needless to say, many great novelists combine ‘dramatic’ showing with long sections of the flat-out authorial narration that is, I guess, what is meant by telling. And the warning against telling leads to a confusion that causes novice writers to think everything should be acted out…”

Christina Rodriguez:
I like Richard Ford's advice not to drink and write. If I were talking to my peers (book illustrators), I'd say, "Hey, have that drink if you want to. It worked for all those French impressionists!"

Good advice isn’t the only perk from blogging. Recently I’ve won Galen Kindley’s soon to be released, Hearts of the Morning Calm. If you haven’t visited his blog, Imagineering Fiction you may want to stop by. His contests are easy. I won simply by having lived in Korea at one point in my life.

I’ve also won The Stillburrow Crush by Linda Kage at Nancy Parra’s This Writer’s Life. I was excited to find that Nancy included an autographed copy of her own book Mr. Charming.

Darcia Helle at A Word Please usually has some sort of contest going on. I recently received a signed copy of her book, Hit List.

Finally, I’d like to thank Tamika at The Write Worship for passing along The Butterfly Award to me on March 3. If you are not familiar with Tamika, she writes beautiful and inspirational blogs.

Making blogging friends, receiving advice, being introduced to new writers and new books, and being honored by awards are just a few of the perks of blogging. What do you enjoy about blogging?

Thanks for stopping by.