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In blogland
Oct. 15th, 2005 12:10 pmI have been thinking about this for a long time, pondering how pretentious it is or how silly or embarassing, but I decided to bring it up to my writing group today and since we were short a lot of people, we didn't get too deep -- so one person suggested I bring it up here. I don't know much about the world of blogs. I used to participate in a group blog (and still have posting privileges there, but I have drifted away from a lot of those folks, so I only visit occasionally), but if it isn't LJ, I don't know much about it. I have on occasion read a few that I like, but I don't know much about how they work, how those people started, etc., and they're not really people I can ask. And I stay as far away from any of the political/commentary type blogs as I can.
But I've thought more and more lately of creating a blog outside of LJ, which for me is a very fannish place and not always my favorite interface, for collecting and posting creative nonfiction about my twin sister, her illness, and the aftermath of losing a twin. I have this really bad tendency, which is that if I don't have a concrete goal in mind, I won't write. Whether it's sending out a story to a publication (which I hardly ever do anymore, since I'm convinced no one would buy one of my stories again), or posting reviews, or even just posting fanfic, unless I have someplace specific to take it, I won't bother writing it. And though I've always been more into fiction than nonfiction, creative nonfiction has been the thing that I keep getting published for, even though I don't understand why. I think most of it is crap, but people seem to like it enough to publish it. So, that leads me to think that maybe I should try putting the things down on paper that I've been grappling with for so long; I've had ideas and snippets of stuff rolling around in my head for a long time, but never written them down. If it turns out to be anything decent or cohesive, it might also be a way for me to compile something like a manuscript.
Doing searches on how to start a blog, though, and the types of places where one can start one has been an exercise in frustration. It's hard to get pinpointed info. I don't know what kind of services outside LJ exist, and how to do it. Hell, I've never even DLed the client here for posting; I just use the web update option on LJ, this is how lame technologically I am. (And I should add, I don't expect anyone to read it; it's not about that, for me, right now.)
Anyone on my flist have any experience with a non-LJ blog type thing, especially in a place with hosting rather than on your own space? Or just general better knowledge of the Intarwebs than me? Willing to tell me how you got started, and give me any advice? You can e-mail me at gwyn_r at livejournal dot com, and I would be grateful to hear about your experience and pick your brain (is that not the most gruesome expression ever?). Even if you just want to tell me it's a dumb idea, I'd still be glad to hear what you have to say.
But I've thought more and more lately of creating a blog outside of LJ, which for me is a very fannish place and not always my favorite interface, for collecting and posting creative nonfiction about my twin sister, her illness, and the aftermath of losing a twin. I have this really bad tendency, which is that if I don't have a concrete goal in mind, I won't write. Whether it's sending out a story to a publication (which I hardly ever do anymore, since I'm convinced no one would buy one of my stories again), or posting reviews, or even just posting fanfic, unless I have someplace specific to take it, I won't bother writing it. And though I've always been more into fiction than nonfiction, creative nonfiction has been the thing that I keep getting published for, even though I don't understand why. I think most of it is crap, but people seem to like it enough to publish it. So, that leads me to think that maybe I should try putting the things down on paper that I've been grappling with for so long; I've had ideas and snippets of stuff rolling around in my head for a long time, but never written them down. If it turns out to be anything decent or cohesive, it might also be a way for me to compile something like a manuscript.
Doing searches on how to start a blog, though, and the types of places where one can start one has been an exercise in frustration. It's hard to get pinpointed info. I don't know what kind of services outside LJ exist, and how to do it. Hell, I've never even DLed the client here for posting; I just use the web update option on LJ, this is how lame technologically I am. (And I should add, I don't expect anyone to read it; it's not about that, for me, right now.)
Anyone on my flist have any experience with a non-LJ blog type thing, especially in a place with hosting rather than on your own space? Or just general better knowledge of the Intarwebs than me? Willing to tell me how you got started, and give me any advice? You can e-mail me at gwyn_r at livejournal dot com, and I would be grateful to hear about your experience and pick your brain (is that not the most gruesome expression ever?). Even if you just want to tell me it's a dumb idea, I'd still be glad to hear what you have to say.
