Lack of Blogging

Blogging is hard for me, but it is especially difficult in the summer because my kids are home and our house becomes a place of chaotic adventure and frenzy.  I’m not complaining, as at any given time I would much rather be busy than bored; still, there are moments when I find myself craving the gentle quiet of the days when school is in session. 

During the summer, by the time I find a free moment to steal away to my computer, I am mentally and physically exhausted.  Sometimes I stare at the screen without a thought in my head, thus making it difficult to blog.  How does one blog about nothing?  Seinfeld created a successful television series about nothing, but I doubt my words, void of all meaning, would find the same welcome.  All of that to say this:  please forgive my lack of blogging.  I will jolt back to life mid-August when I once again have a quiet room in which to string together thoughts that will hopefully inspire, uplift and make you smile.  ~

Readers ROCK!

Whenever I complete a manuscript and head into the editing process, my blogging slows down, which is what has been happening these past two weeks.  Editing is not as much fun as the creative process of writing, at least not for me; though I will say that I don’t despise it altogether.  It is a necessary evil, but the outcome is good.

So, please bear with me these next few days as I attempt to fine tune my manuscript.  After which, I will resume blogging regularly and will share some very funny letters I’ve recently received from readers. 

As always, thank you for reading my blog and my books.  Readers ROCK!  J

Blogging Blues

Blogging can be demanding.  Though I see the benefits of it, it can become overwhelming because my writing time is limited and I would much rather be working on my next novel than carrying on about nothing.  It’s not that I feel that bloggers, such as myself, ramble pointlessly; quite the contrary.  I enjoy visiting a handful of blogs that prove to be informational and entertaining. 

 

However, when it comes to consistent blogging, I often find myself behind the eight-ball, so to speak; and it makes me crabby.

 

My life in general is not that different than those in my demographic.  I do all of the normal things that most forty-two year old, married women do.  I pluck my eyebrows, wax my upper lip, color the gray in my hair, and consistently rub my face with revitalizing, uplifting, plumping, wrinkle-reducing, age-defying creams.  I take care of my children and the dog, satisfy my husband, clean my house, do the laundry, keep everyone’s schedule organized and spend a greater part of my week driving to practices, games and rehearsals.  Around all of that…I write.

There are days when I have a cohesive block of time to let my creative juices rage, and those are my most fun writing moments.  Four hours of uninterrupted creativity is very fulfilling.  Unfortunately, those days are not the norm for me.  Most of the time I am squeezing in thirty minutes here or an hour there, hoping that my brain can easily pick up where I left off and continue the story.  It’s a challenge.  I find myself hurrying to my computer and uttering a silent prayer, "God, please let the words flow quickly, because I don't have much time."

Between phone calls and emails, the time to write dwindles…and then I realize, crap, I’ve got to post a blog.  Ugh.  There goes any hope of getting another chapter done today. 

And then I sing the B-L-O-G-ging Blues.

I don’t know if most writers feel this way?  It would be fun to conduct a comparative study and see if the majority of writers love or loathe blogging; but that study will have to wait until I get my next novel completed.  J

 

A Silent Stance

I have a pet peeve... actually I have many pet peeves but I'm only going to address one in this blog.

Between my personal email account and my author email account, my facebook accounts, twitter and linkedin I receive anywhere from 70-120 emails every day.  A lot of these are spam and I delete them; but the majority are from individuals who are either asking me a question or sharing a tidbit of information with me.  I do my very, very best to respond to every personal email I receive.  Sometimes my response is a simple "thank you"... but it is a response nonetheless. It is at the very least an aknowledgment that I have received your email and appreciate the time you have taken to correspond with me.

I do this for two reasons:  first, because it is just plain polite.  Second, because it's a good business practice.  I want people to know that I am interested in what they have to say and that I do not take the fact that they have written me, lightly. 

SO... when I take the time to write to someone and ask a question, but receive zero response, it unnerves me.  It makes me feel unimportant and even a little hurt.  Honestly, how much effort does it take to hit reply and answer someone's question.  OR, if you haven't the time to answer, simply reply by saying you will respond at a later time.  At the very least, be polite enough to aknowledge that someone has contacted you instead of taking an aloof attitude of silence.   ~

Blog Q&A With a Prize Giveaway

I'll be honest...I'm not the best blogger in the world.  In fact, truth be known, I hate blogging.  Every time I sit down at my computer to blog, a wave of frustration rushes over me.  I stare at the blank screen, growing more and more edgy and irritated.  What should I write?  I mumble to myself.

Here's the problem:  I don't think my daily life is all that entertaining to think that anyone would want to engage in reading about it on a regular basis.  I realize blogging is all part of marketing-my-books, and that readers want to feel like they know the author better; but it seems like a waste of valuable novel-writing time, doesn't it? Wouldn't readers rather I finish the next novel than know that I got up this morning at 6:30am, took the kids to school, threw in a load of laundry and re-heated my coffee five times because I kept setting it down and walking away? Are my personal hygiene routines really blog-worthy or is it good enough to assume I shave my legs, color the gray from my hair and pluck my eyebrows, and leave it at that? 

Since I am in the process of writing two novels and one short story, and can't come up with good blogging ideas, I'm going to leave the blog topics to my readers.  Tell me what you'd like to know and I promise, unless it gives away a plot from one of my novels, I will blog about it and do my very best to answer your question.

You can either post your topic or question in the comment section below OR email me at:
AuthorSRClaridge@gmail.com   Put "Blog Q&A" in the subject line of your email.

I'll even go a step further.  The first ten people to comment or email will receive a free download of one of my books in any form you would like (pdf, ipad, sony, nook, kindle, etc.).  So, bring on the questions!