From blogger to writer and back again…
by Features Editor Shelah Miner
A few years ago, armed with not much but a couple of babies, a dial-up internet connection and a well-used library card, I stumbled across some writing advice from Ray Bradbury: “You must write every single day of your life… You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads… may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”
I had a mad passion for books and was harboring dreams of becoming a writer, but I feared that I could only carry Bradbury’s advice so far– I knew from experience that the local librarians frowned on such activities as me and the toddlers climbing on books and putting them on our heads. Besides, I was more of a “look-books-up-on-Amazon-and-reserve-them-online” kind of girl. Consequently, it wasn’t surprising that after many failed attempts at starting “serious” essays, I turned once again to the virtual world to get me writing. I started a Mommy Blog.
For a while, I followed Bradbury’s advice in the best way I knew how. Most afternoons I fed the troops lunch, plopped them down in front of Nick Jr, and wrote about the kids, the places I was running and the books I was reading. I hastily read what I’d written for glaring errors, hit publish, and before Blues Clues was done, friends from Tennessee and Utah and Massachusetts would chime in with comments like “That happens at our house too!” and “Soooooo cute!” and “You are SUCH a GREAT writer!” It was immediate gratification of the finest sort. But it also felt like cheating– I could be casual and slangy and funny, but I wanted more. When I started blogging at Feminist Mormon Housewives, I couldn’t write exclusively about the cute things my two-year-old was doing any more, and had to find my way with more challenging subject matter and an audience not made up of friends and relatives, but soon learned the trick to getting lots of comments– a little bit of controversy spices everything up.
When I joined the staff of Segullah last year, I warned them that I was not a writer. I was a blogger. I knew that there was a distinction between the two, but I didn’t realize how different the worlds were until I started sweating over my first “real” essay. One of our editors gave me a general topic and I dug in. I wrote for at least twice as long as I’d ever sweated over a blog post (an hour, maybe two tops) and waited impatiently for her response. Instead of “This is SO funny!” I got a list of things to work on and change. It was hard work. To put it in a parlance I’m familiar with, it was training for a long-distance race, not going for a quick jog around the block, which is what blogging had prepared me for. A couple of months later, when we finally wrung the whole story out of me, the product felt like as much of an achievement as crossing the finish line at my first marathon.
At Segullah, we’ve been busy reading the entries for the Heather Campbell Personal Essay Contest. One of the unexpected things from an editor’s perspective is that it’s pretty easy to figure out which essays began life as blog posts. There’s an informality of language and subject matter, an emphasis on hooking an audience early and keeping their interest by making them laugh, that links these blog-posts-turned-essays together. These essays are fun, which makes them stand out– personal essays can be so serious.
Similarly, sometimes serious writers need to lighten up when they blog. This week, previewing pieces for friends that were to be posted around the Bloggernacle, I realized that the advice I give as a Features Editor or a member of the editorial board for a journal is quite different from advice I give as a blogger. Good blog abides by many of the same principles I taught as a middle school journalism teacher. Essentials include a snappy title, a good hook, an engaging topic and a context for discussion, all wrapped up concisely enough that the audience doesn’t pop open the Google Reader, look in horror at the length of the post, and skip directly to the next item on the list.
The transition from full-time Mommy blogger to part-time “serious” writer felt like a welcome challenge. I don’t update my personal blog as often as I used to, and I miss the comments, but often the posts that I pour the most of my soul into (yeah, I’m being dramatic– I’m a blogger) come up with the fewest comments anyway. Come to think of it, Ray Bradbury sounds pretty dramatic in the aforementioned quote with all of his sniffing and lurking. Born in another era, he may have made a darn fine blogger.
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February 2nd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Love this! Thanks so much for posting it. I used to consider myself a writer and then I started blogging and it has made it very difficult to return to “real” writing. I find it encouraging that others have the same struggle.
February 2nd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Mom Blogs – Blogs for Moms…
…
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I wish I could call myself a writer-I am still trying for loose grip on blogger, I love though that blogging has brough more people to a form of writing. I think the more we write, in any genre, the more we develop our skills of organizing thoughts, choosing words, finding voice.
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Great post, Shelah.
Blogging has been both good and bad for my writing. It’s good when it gets me writing. But for me, writing an essay takes a certain amount of creative energy, and when I blog, some of that energy turns into a blog post. Which, as you rightly point out, is a different genre than an essay, with different conventions. So I wonder how many potential essays have turned into blog posts?
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
I have had this exact experience and found it quite frustrating. I’ve more or less decided I’m not cut out to be an essayist. But when I caught the discussion about the blog post-turned-essay I found myself wondering what makes a good essay? How does one turn a good blog post into a good essay? (I’ve tried twice now and wondered if I really succeeded.)
The other reason I think I’m sticking with blogging has to do with editing. Every time I’ve been published it’s been all I could do not to grab the red pencil and edit the heck out of my printed word. I’m never completely satisfied with my writing. Blogging gives me the luxury of eternal editing capabilities. I love that!
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:21 am
Interesting. I hadn’t really thought about the difference but especially loved your perspective as an editor being able to tell what had started as a blog post. I can’t even transition from a mommy blogger to a thought-provoking blogger so the thought of moving to essays sounds like a huge jump. Way to make the leap!
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Laura– I know where you’re coming from. But I’ve read your “real” writing in our last issue, and you’re very gifted, even if that gift doesn’t always come easily.
Les– I love what you say about finding people through blogging. Like so many of the social networking avenues on the internet, I credit blogging with lots of friendships. The feedback factor of blogs is really great that way.
Emily– I find that I blog less or less thoughtfully because some of the things I used to blog about I now find myself “saving” for essays. Then I never write the essays. Or I write them and don’t get feedback, which makes me think I should just stick them up on the blog anyway.
Dalene– I love the ability to constantly edit on blogs too. I didn’t use it all that much at first, but sometimes I’ll just read what I’ve posted over and over (usually while waiting for the comments to ring in) and pick at words and phrases I could make better. I think that Segullah has done that for me, because I used to overlook all but the most glaring spelling mistakes and just let it be. And based on the essays I’ve read that you’ve written, I think you do a great job balancing both genres.
Courtney– you have such great material for Mommy Blogging. I’m so glad that you’re keeping it up.
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
The bad thing abotu blogging is it feels so temporary. It’s done and then buried in an archive never to be read beyond maybe a 3 day stretch? I love the essays I have written in the past they feel more timeless.
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:29 pm
No, silly, don’t stick your potential essays up on the blog. Just wait for lazy people like me to formulate thoughts and comment on them.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:38 pm
That comment was NOT directed at you, Emily.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Ah, that’s good. But it’s okay if you want to give us a gentle nudge to comment more too.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Thanks for the compliment and encouragement. I can never get enough of those
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 pm
Shelah, I know just what you mean. I’ve even attempted writing on this subject before. You do a much better job.
Is it tacky to post a link to my post? Well, here it is anyway. http://segullah.org/cjane-speaks/segullah-my-mentor/
Just thought you’d know that your post here resonated with me.
February 10th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
It’s been so long since I’ve written a real essay, I’m not sure I’d know how anymore. I feel lucky when I can put two ideas together coherently that don’t have anything to do with children. Someday….
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:40 am
Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
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