Writers have a natural edge when it comes to blogging. That’s because we can write.
A lot of people who have blogs, even very successful blogs, are less than great writers. Sometimes it’s hard to follow what they’re saying.
So why do so few writers blog? I think part of it is tradition. Writing is not kind to the child prodigy. (Think of it … do you know any writing prodigies?) Writing is the sort of craft that a person learns over many years of practice and an equal number of years of maturity and life experience. A four-year-old may be able to compose a symphony, but few four-year-olds can write a great novel because, well, quite frankly, they don’t have that much to say.
Because writing is a craft that must be nurtured over many years, most people who are writing now didn’t start in the past year. Most didn’t even start in the past five years. Even “young” writers can have honed their art over the past decade or two.
What that means–follow me here–is that most people who are serious about writing right now grew up wanting to write books. People like me desired writing assignments from prestigious magazines or publishing houses. We wanted to see our books printed. The world of pixels seems drab and insignificant.
That’s why so many writers miss out on online writing. It’s a great opportunity and writing are so well poised to take advantage of it…but we tend to think in terms of the old best-seller list rather than online information products.
Writers can find out more about blogging (a great way to test the online waters for the reluctant writer) at http://www.bloggingsecretsforwriters.com.
