Someone else in the class mentioned that our Tuesday readings felt a little like a review or "blogging 101," which seems strange now that we've been writing our own blogs for weeks. That is at least a little bit true. We read a lot of "What is a blog?" discussion, but for me it was very timely.
I've decided that this blog isn't really my blog at all. It's a pre-blog of my blog. Or maybe blogs. I think I might need more than one. See, there's a lot to blog about, and the idea of the "niche" blog really resonates with me. I'm not especially interested in most people's "Story of My Life" blogs, but the niche ones get exciting, if I'm in their niche. (Great word, niche... I noticed that Jake pronounces it "neesh," whereas I've always leaned toward "nitch." As in stitch. Or bitch. Anyway, I looked it up and it seems that both pronunciations are acceptable, however the French will appreciate Josh's finesse, as he is preserving their influence. My French ancestors will meanwhile roll over in their graves.)
Speaking of ancestors, St. David's day is coming right up. That's right, Welshmen! Seeing as I've married into a Welsh family, I like to claim it for my own, and I'll be serving leeks on March 1st for lunch. Unfortunately there are no daffodils to decorate with, but we'll do our best.
See what I mean? It's so easy for blogs to lose focus! So I'm thinking about my niches. Not necessarily to make a profit, although if the farming ever takes off for me, it could help. More just to improve my writing. Like sentence fragments. And stuff.
The freedom of blogging is to do a lousy job about whatever you want, and nobody cares. But you can also do a great job of blogging about exactly what you blog about, and let the market (or lack thereof...) come to you. Allons! Dal ati! Daliwch ati!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
...just for one day.
See, that's what you get for being punny.
I think you're on target here. These blogs feel a little, hmm, prepackaged. So did the first blog I started--also Donna-prompted--but after that, it appeared that I needed one, which I sequestered away and only shared with a few select folks. I recently went bigtime ;) with it, linking it, among other things from this course blog.
I really do appreciate what the heroes said about picking a niche, however, I JUST CAN'T. Rather, I see my blog at least, as a place where I'm the niche. (well I wish, anyway). Much like I can listen to Johnny Cash sing any song, any style, and always have the landmark of his voice to come back to, I would love my readers to be able to do the same with my thoughts on my blog. For my money, it's what tags are for...
I'm glad you were thinking musically, too! Moulin Rouge sing-a-long, anyone?
I agree that it is important to pick a "niche" (I’m personally not sure on the pronunciation either! ha) and stick with it, otherwise it's just too difficult to stay focused. It is really cool how there are people out in blog world who had interesting blogs that ended up taking off. For example, the woman you mentioned in class the other day whose blog about cooking (I think that's what it was at least :/ ) served as a stepping stone for her to a marketed cooking book. So, if there was one characteristic I would try to stick to the most when making future blogs, picking a 'niche' would definitely be the one I will try to remember!
You all are so clever with your writing! You crack me up!
I bet if we had a contest to choose whose voice is whose on sample writings, I'd be able to pick yours out ... and Aa, isn't that what you're hoping for when you go out into the "real world" (as opposed to this "fake world" of class-induced blogs) ... your writing voice to be recognized?
My favorite YA author is Gary Paulsen and I believe I could identify his voice anywhere because of the rhythm of his prose, the simple words he uses, the way he tells his stories. Like Paulsen, and Cash, Elton John and Martina McBride, the best voices are easily recognizable. (Wonder who sang Moulin Rouge?)
Post a Comment