For the Love or Hate of Blogging by Debra H. Goldstein

For the love or hate of blogging….

As a writer, I understand the need to blog, tweet, post onFacebook and be LinkedIn; but often, I resent the invasion of social media into my time and privacy.  I tend to be shy and uncomfortable with outing my thoughts and emotions.  It was so much easier to exist under the radar without the fear of a comment being misinterpreted or worse, never again being private. 

The mechanical aspects of blogging are daunting and frequently irksome.  Precious time that could be spent writing or watching Top Chef is devoted to coming up with an idea, translating it into a coherent piece, posting it, and then letting the world know the new blog exists.  Yet, that is the moment I understand the juxtaposition between hate and love.

I love the interaction a blog posting provokes from readers.  When people tell me my words resonate with them, I am touched.  If I can capture a feeling or emotion for many, like I did in the blog “Maybe I Should Hug You,” I am elated.  The range of reactions to my different blog offerings astonishes me for their variety and their sincerity.  Even if readers and I don’t agree, I learn from the ensuing dialogue.  The entire experience of blogging ultimately makes me a better person and writer.
 
When I first began blogging, I tried to “do it all,” and quickly found myself avoiding the experience because my initial efforts felt forced and strained.  Knowing I wanted a purpose behind each of my blogs rather than for them to be just filler, I shut down.  My sense of humor deserted me.  I stopped blogging, but I began to read other people’s blogs in earnest.  I marveled at the ease and grace behind blogs by people like Ree Drummond’s “Pioneer Woman.”  The productivity of writers like Lois Winston during her “Sit on Your Butt Book Tour” exhausted me.  I liked the way that eight writers combined their efforts to balance their respective levels of sanity and engaged me as a reader through their “Jungle Red Writers” blog.  All of this reading brought me back to blogging.

This time around though, there are a few major differences.  “It’s Not Always a Mystery” reflects that sometimes I write about writing or mysteries, but just as often, I share a topic close to my heart.  By alternating a blog by me with one from a guest writer every two weeks, I am making a concession to juggling my day job, my family, my need for time to write, and my promise to bring you, the reader, a quality blog that is worth your time to read.  I hope that each of these blogs will make you want to leave comments.  The tedious process of blogging may be hateful, but I love sharing this time with you.

A word from DHG:  After having my blog, “It’s Not Always A Mystery” as a part of my website, www.DebraHGoldstein.com , I have moved it back to wordpress.  Problems with a Message Box resulted in the loss of comments previously left for any of the blogs.  For a chance to win a signed copy of my debut mystery, Maze in Blue, read through all of the posts and make comments.  Each comment made before March 11, 2012 will give you a chance to win one of three signed copies of Maze in Blue.  Good luck!