Blogs: What do you like to read about?

[Mark]

I've maintained a blog in some form or another for the last ten years. For most of that time it was really just a travel journal that lay dormant when I wasn't going anywhere, but since I quit my job and decided to take a year to write full time, I've been trying to write about writing. I'm not one of those daily bloggers who has a theme for each day of the week, and I try to only write when I have something I feel others can learn from, but I sometimes wonder why people read what they do and what they'd really like to read about.

So my question is, what do you want to read about when you visit writing/writer blogs? Are you looking for particular information? Just want to comfort yourselves with the daily travails of other people in the same situation? Looking for excerpts of work in progress?

What keeps you reading the blogs you really enjoy?

[Margo]

Wow, no responses yet? I'm disappointed. I was interested in people's answers.

Okay, so I'll pitch in. I follow a few blogs. This is what they offer and why I keep coming back to them:

1) short stories or excerpts of novels (upcoming or otherwise)
2) writing tips
3) reports on what a particular conference or workshop was like
4) an insider look at the industry (from agent, editor, or published author)
5) industry developments
6) genre-specific discussions (where is it headed, what are its origins, who is doing it well, etc)
7) agents' or editors' wish lists and I-never-want-to-see-another-vampire/mad Russian scientist/loony televangelist/whatever lists

I generally don't have much interest in chatty personal information about family members I don't know, personal traumas, etc, unless it relates directly back to writing (how I met my deadline even though I was taking care of my three neices because my sister was in the hospital with pneumonia). It doesn't bother me if it's occasional, or just part of a post, but I've seen too many blogs that were 99% workplace gossip/mundane family life/tangents about the joys of knitting or playing the harp.."oh, and I wrote 1200 words today."

The exception would be a blog I started following recently of a certain young fellow. His life was improbably interesting, to the point I started wondering if he was embellishing or outright lying. After the most recent post, which went waaaayyy over the top, I'm just watching out of curiosity to see how many people call him out on his lying. I hope he wasn't using his real name on the blog, because I think it could come back to bite him professionally.

[Harper Karcz]

I follow 100+ blogs. I need to cut back!

I started following writing-related blogs about 5 years ago. I still follow writing blogs, but the things that interest me have changed over the years.

For instance, when I started following writing blogs, I was looking for:

- guidelines on query writing
- guidelines on synopsis writing
- information about particular agents
- submission protocol -- for example, how to deal with requests for exclusive submissions, what to put in the "bio" section of a query letter, how to talk to agents and editors at writing conferences, etc. That sort of thing.

Probably a lot of writers go through that period of discovering there's SO MUCH information online about writing nowadays, and having a few days / weeks / months of crazed blog reading. Back a few years ago, there weren't as many agent blogs / publishing-industry blogs as there are now, but I went nuts reading the ones that existed. I think I read all of Kristin Nelson's Pub Rants entries in a single evening.

Then I realized that my novel sucked, and was in no shape to query. So off I went on another mission -- seeking out information about plotting, scene structure, working with a narrative arc. Blogs turned out to be handy for this, too. If I see a writer's plot post linked in their sidebar, or linked on Twitter or Facebook, I click over immediately.

Other stuff I like to read on blogs:
-- book reviews, particularly when they look at a particular aspect of a book from a writer's perspective -- looking at how a particular novel built suspense in the first few chapters, or how an important secondary character was developed.
-- funny anecdotes about the writing life
-- posts about learning from one's mistakes
-- posts about trends or patterns noticed in a particular genre
-- posts about writing-related experiences -- going to a book signing or conference or writing retreat

[Mark]

I generally don't have much interest in chatty personal information about family members I don't know, personal traumas, etc, unless it relates directly back to writing (how I met my deadline even though I was taking care of my three neices because my sister was in the hospital with pneumonia). It doesn't bother me if it's occasional, or just part of a post, but I've seen too many blogs that were 99% workplace gossip/mundane family life/tangents about the joys of knitting or playing the harp.."oh, and I wrote 1200 words today."

This is exactly what I've always avoided, but lately I've been taking some time away from writing, and since I don't want to write any more about not writing, I'm just not updating the blog instead of loading it with filler. After missing my second week, I started wondering if maybe I just wasn't thinking about the focus of my blog the right way, and that maybe I was missing possible avenues for posts/discussion.

Still interested in what others think.

[Margo]

This is exactly what I've always avoided, but lately I've been taking some time away from writing, and since I don't want to write any more about not writing, I'm just not updating the blog instead of loading it with filler.

Perhaps blog about some of your favorite books until you're back in writing mode?

[Sommer Leigh]

I can't say I have a list of content that really draws me so much as the voice of the blogger. I read author blogs, agent blogs, editor blogs, and writer-hopeful blogs, and none of them have all that much in common aside from writing and writers. Some of them are strictly for information...how-to posts that I find particularly insightful. Others, particularly the writer-hopefuls, I enjoy for the voice. I like the personal stories, especially tied into their writing journey. I think because I'm a writer-hopeful I like to see others on the same path as me and how they deal with the same issues.

I think I enjoy about 50% work-related, publishing-related, writing-related content and 50% silliness and personal stories and bits of inspiration.