Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Does Blogging Help You as a Writer?

I believe blogging can do amazing things for your writing. I started blogging in 2004. I didn't really get a blog that I stuck with until 2005 (my Oracle blog). A lot has changed since then.

First, I have become a much faster writer. I don't mean typing speed (although that has probably improved also). I mean the speed that I can create content. In 2005, a 1000 word article would take me several hours, usually spread over several days. Now I can knock out 2000 or 3000 words in a single sitting. On some days, I will write two blog posts (for different blogs) and do a couple thousand words of fiction writing.

Second, because I tried so hard in the beginning to keep consistent with my posting schedule (which I am awful at now), I would find spare moments to write. I had a new baby and a full-time job as well as all the other "things" that tend to crop up on a daily basis. You learn to write when you can or you don't write.

Finally, my skill as a writer has vastly improved. When was the last time you worried about conjunctions and participles? Yeah, me too. But, as you write, you use grammar checkers (I highly recommend Grammarly Lite for online editing), read writing books, visit writing web sites, etc. From those, you just kind of absorb the rules.

So, does blogging help your writing? I certainly think so. What do you think?

LewisC



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