Awhile back, I discovered writing blogs -- specifically, those that are meant to provide a resource for and help writers. I subscribed to these like crazy. They filled my Bloglovin' feed, I subscribed to a bunch of email subscriptions...
As I'm typing this post, I am taking a break from unsubscribing to nearly all the writing blogs I followed. I just don't feel like they were helpful.
The main problem I've found is that blogs are seeing writers as customers. In itself, it's not a bad thing. We all like making a profit from what we do, and I see absolutely no problem with it.
But when I'm getting daily reminders to buy the newest product from something that I subscribed to for information, I have a problem. I feel like I'm getting spam emails, rather than valuable information.
Even worse (for me), is when I see an interesting blog post title. I click it and find that it's a quick list of unhelpful "solutions" to common writing problems. Or it's the same advice that I could find in a quick Google search. The posts aren't quality.
I don't want to sound like every writing blog is like this. I just found the wrong bunch of them and grew overly excited. I love talking about writing, and I love hearing different views. I don't want a post about outlining a novel that says, "Well, some people have detailed outlines. Some people don't outline at all." I don't want common knowledge shoved at me like it's new information.
As a summary, I've just learned to be wary of writing blogs that sell things -- especially writing help books, which seem to be everywhere. And now I'm on the search of new writing blogs to follow. They don't have to be all about writing -- I like when blogs have a variety of content. I'm just looking for something that feels genuine.
If you guys know any great writing blogs, please let me know. Once I've found a nice bunch of them, perhaps I can post about what I love in a writing blog!
Great points! I try to avoid writing blogs because I read all kinds of conflicting tips, and then when I try to write I worry that Im doing things wrong. It really stifles my creativity. I also know what you mean about the advice being vague. <3 Bee @ Bee Reads Books
ReplyDeleteThe conflicting tips don't bother me so much because I usually know what applies to my writing and what doesn't -- it's easy usually, for me, to see what's a style choice and what is an actual "rule" that I should follow. But I do see how it could get frustrating or stressful to try following all of them!
DeleteI agree that sometimes it can be really difficult to find writing blogs with useful information. My top suggestion for you is Go Teen Writers, which is specifically for teen writers who want to write novels. It has such wonderful tips, and I've pored through the archives at least twice now. Another good one is Writer Unboxed. The posts on Writers Unboxed are usually a little bit long, but very helpful. I also love Literary Rambles and Publishing Crawl. While those two sites don't have all writing advice content, they do mix in some interviews with agents and authors, which is probably while I love them so much. And if you're looking for a podcast, I recommend Writing Excuses. Hopefully none of those websites are the ones you unsubscribed to.
ReplyDeleteI don't recognize any of these names, so I will definitely be checking them out when I find the time :D Thanks so much for all the suggestions!
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