Okay, so the last few posts focused on writing and blogging, but, today I want to focus on blogging. After reading, a post on http://careycarey-carrymehome.blogspot.com/,called I'm Blogging from the Cheap Seats...can you hear me? I realized that needed to write this post, I'll tell why later.

In the post Carey (the author) talked about how he's new at this blogging thing and made the metaphor that blogging can be like being at a concert, yelling from the nosebleed section where no one can hear you. Not only is this assertion true, but, it seems that alot of bloggers feel this way. Why? Because most of us don't really know what we're blogging about and so, of course it is hard to obtain readers.

Therefore, I would like to teach you how to choose a blog niche. How do you do this? Find a central point to blog around and then do it. Like if you interested in Fashion, then you can blog about fashion but, twist it and blog about Fashion don'ts instead of fashion dos. Or if you like Comedy then make your blog, humor based but, highlight comedians of the past. Whatever you blog is about just make sure it's unique and different and the accolades will come.

Also, you can do what I did for my other blog, The Loudest Pen Ever, and develop an editorial calendar. When I say editorial calendar, I mean that I wrote down each day of the week, and wrote a blog post title that I would blog about on that day. This gave me more direction and took a lot of pressure off of me, because, all I now had to do was write the actual post. The hardest part of blogging is figuring out what to blog about. But, if you have an editorial calendar, you now have a theme-based blog, and you never have to worry about what you will blog about and neither will readers.

Anyways, I hope this post has helped my fellow bloggers. And as my promised, I will be explaining why I wrote this post on tomorrow's post. The post is tentatively titled, How You Know You're A Blogger. So stop by tomorrow to check it.

Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.

First of all, I would like to announce that both of my blogs are finally starting to get read and commented upon. Any blogger knows how great that feeling is. But, let me get to the point. Today's lesson is How to Find Joy in Writing.

As I discussed in my last post, it is hard for new writers/bloggers. You're just starting out so, it's hard to find your niche and because you don't have a major readership, you have no one to tell you what you're doing wrong. So, what do you do? You find little things about writing/blogging that makes you happy. How do you find these little things?

Ask yourself the following questions, "Why did I start writing this piece?", "Why did I start this blog", "What is this piece about?", "What is this blog about"? Answering these questions will give you more knowledge of the topic you are writing about and therefore, more direction. Once you have more direction, your writing will improve. Also, you'll be happy with the content you are writing or blogging.

This is where you find the joy in writing; because, you have now removed the element of misdirection and how to please people. You are now more comfortable and relaxed. Your newfound relaxation mode will make writing fun again. You can now write for yourself and yourself only. This means that you could care less about whether or not the writing or the blog posts get read. All you care about is the fact that you wrote something and it was beautifully crafted. So, who cares if you wrote the Great American Novel and no one knows. The fact of the matter is it got written.

Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.

Today, I would like to encourage you all to keep on writing. Why? Because, I was ready to stop. I was ready to delete both my blogs and give it up because I have been blogging for almost a year at my other blog and have only three followers (as of today) and I am convinced that I am the only person who truly reads my blog.

So today, as I was contemplating hitting that pretty orange "delete this blog" button, I logged unto my blog and realized that I had received a third follower who had also left a comment. This to me was a sign from above. This sign showed me that you should never give up hope or stop believing in yourself. I know that sounds cheezy and is a recycled cliche`, but, it's true.

As soon as I was ready to say, forget it, the sun came out from behind the clouds. This just goes to show that although, it seems that no one reads your writing or your blog, that doesn't mean that you're not good at what you do. It simply means that you need to work on building a relationship with readers. Find out who your potential readership is and figure out what they're currently reading. Then find a way to inform them of something, entertain them, or figure what is missing from their bookshelves or Google Reader (if blogging), and write it. Write a blog post, poem, or short story that is original or different from what readers are currently used to.

In essence, you should keep writing, because, it's what you were born to do. You love it and you know it. You wouldn't be on this blog, if you didn't. Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.

Today, I would like you to take the time out to gather all your old writing, and read through it. Don't make any changes or edits. Simply read and assess all of your past writing. Start with your oldest work and work your way up to your newest stuff. See how your writing has changed or evolved, if it has at all.

The purpose of this exercise is to reflect and remember where you have come from as a writer. When I look back at my old work, there is some of it I like and some of it I don't like. But, reading it reminds me of what I was going through at the time. Also, it shows me how my writing has transformed or how some of it has stayed stagnant.

Reading your old work lets you know what you should improve on and what you should continue doing. Assessment is very important, because, if you don't where you've been you don't know where you're going.

Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.

Today, I would like to share with you the story of how I became a writer. Since I was a child, I've been writing. Over the years, I have filled up notebooks full of poems, diary/journal entries, plays, and short stories. I even started an unfinished novel in high school. However, none of these things made me a writer. I was simply a person who liked to write, but, I was not a writer. Believe me there is a difference.
I didn't officially become a writer until I was twenty-two years old and in my last year of college.

The reason I became a writer at twenty-two was because that's when I discovered my writer's voice and my writing style. I discovered my writer's voice through my manuscript, The Loudest Pen Ever. I started writing my manuscript after going to an amazing poetry slam. Upon coming home from the slam, I was terribly distraught. Now, I know that you're thinking why was she distraught after attending a great poetry slam? I was distraught, because, I had also read a poem that night and only received a mediocre response.

So once I got home, I turned on my laptop and started writing. I wrote whatever was on my mind. I wrote through the stream of consciousness of my mind. I did not censor myself nor did I think about what other people were going to think. Before I knew it, I had twenty pages written. But, not only that, I had discovered my voice as a writer and even more about myself.

I learned that I literally write the way I think and talk. And because, my mind is full of random, disconnected thoughts -- I tend to write this way (in my manuscript) and I also love telling. My stories are usually some dramatic incident from my life that I must tell in a comedic way. (which I do on my other blog loudpennies.blogspot.com)

So now that you've heard my story, I hope it will motivate you as you disvcover your writing style. Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.

Today, I would like to teach you how to chose a writing topic. Writing is great because it allows you to explore the world, people and culture through the written word. However, how does one choose what to write about and when?

Simple, start off writing about what you know. Meaning write about your life or fictionalize real events from your life. Basically, by keeping it simple and writing about what you know you will discover how you like to write. Also, writing about what you know will help you master the art of writing itself.

Now that you've written one or several pieces about your life, you are ready to branch out. Brancing out means reading different works and researching a variety of topics. These are ways to broaden you knowledge and they will give you the ability to write about them.

The key to choosing a great writing topic is to figure out what people are interested in or what people would like to know more about. Meaning, assess what people are already reading because this is what they are interested in. To figure out what people want to know more about listen to reader questions and inquiries. In order to build a readership or fan base, you as an author must be able to write readable and relatable content.

Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.

Today, I would like to discuss what we as writers should do when we have writer's block. The answer...absolutely nothing. Like that old school Xscape song, kick off your shoes and relax your feet. Don't worry about finishing the story or whatever you're writing, right then and there. Take a break and go have fun. Also, make sure you don't do anything related to reading or writing.

I learned this lesson this past weekend, because, I was experiencing writer's block. However, as the typical writer, I was in denial. I kept forcing myself to try and write and I ended up frustrating myself further and at the end of the day, I still had nothing to post on either of my blogs. So, I finally gave up and decided to try and post again the next day. The next day, I still had no luck. But, what I realized on day three was that I needed those three days to relax and not think about what to write and how to write it. I was in desperate need of some mindless entertainment.

Getting back to the original point, my break from writing/blogging gave me a chance to relax and stop pressuring myself into writing the next great blog post. Then on Monday, when I came back to the blogs, I was more excited and refreshed and happy to be posting on my blogs again. So, take my personal advice, if you have writer's block don't stress it. Take a break and go kick it with your homeskillets and when you come back, the writing will bigger and deffer.

Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.