Question: How do you feel about the writing you do on your blog?
First, thanks to everyone who participated in the launch yesterday by responding to the prompt and helping promote the blog. To stay updated on everything happening here at Twenty Something Writers, subscribe to our feed.
The Question
This post is meant as a discussion question. So, unlike the prompts where you will respond on your own blog, with these posts, we intend for you to discuss your answers in the comments.
The question is, How do you feel about the writing you do on your blog? Do you take it seriously? How does it compare to other writing you do? Do you enjoy writing for your blog more than writing for school or work?
Note: you can respond directly to other comments by clicking the “Reply” link in the bottom right corner of each comment (it’s a bit hard to see).
(Credit for this discussion question goes to Liz)
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:44 am
I think of blogging as a more informal style of writing. I started my blog in the first place because I wanted an outlet for my informal writing to stand in contrast to all the academic writing I do. That said, I still take it pretty seriously. I’m still concerned with writing conventions and grammar. But, it’s a place to experiment and I have a lot of fun doing it, because I don’t feel the pressure I do when I’m writing papers for school or fiction.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:49 am
I take blogging more seriously than I used to. Probably because more people read it now. I always re-read posts a few times and make sure they have a clear point that people can relate to.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:02 am
Ashley -
I always like your writing style. It’s not TOO formal, but its formal enough to display your intelligence.
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:13 am
I’m mixed about my blog. Half the time I’m happy with it, half the time I’m just bored or disappointed with it. My blog doesn’t really have a theme. It’s purely random. I write about whatever I can write about. Sometimes it about memories, other times it’s about my adventures. I post YT videos that I like to share, go on rants, get moody, and even aimlessly update cuz I feel the need. It’s so messed up. My greatest concern is if people even enjoy reading it. I just don’t know where to go with it, but I’m going along for the ride.
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:15 am
I consider the theme of my blog to be ME, which makes sense since it is a personal blog. I don’t mean that I just write for myself, though. I write for other people, buy I write about myself and about the things that interest me. Sometimes I get lost trying to define my blog, but when I remember that the unifying principle is me, I calm down.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:48 am
I think a lot about my readers when I post. Unless I really need to vent, I usually try to write interesting things that I know people will want to read.
Whatever I write though, it is always just me. I never try to be someone I’m not.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 am
That’s funny cuz I do find the blog as “myself” but I’m very conscientious of my readers so I want to entertain them. The same goes for my YouTube videos. I just wish there was more of a balance than a struggle.
March 5th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Same. I try to be me, but I also like to appeal to my readers, as well.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 am
Random is the theme of your blog, which is great! I also have a random blog, and the great thing is that there are no rules. You don’t have to worry about posting off topic.
I’m off to check out your blog now
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:52 am
I enjoy writing on my blog, but I hate when I can’t think of anything too insightful–which is often. I mostly write day-log type posts, which always seem boring to me. I mean, I read everyone else’s, but mine just seem boring. However, lately I’ve been trying to write a little more. I miss it.
I definitely enjoy blogging more than I do writing papers for school. Blogging is just more natural, and I can write paragraphs and paragraphs, but with writing for school, it seems more formulated, thus harder to write.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:44 am
I agree. I especially like blogging more because I am writing to an audience. I know people are reading. It’s always good to know that my words are affecting people, even if it is only in minor ways.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:54 am
Yeah, that’s what’s so different about blogging. Not only do you have an audience, but you hear back from them almost instantly. It’s crazy.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:28 am
I agree, blogging is easier to right than academic papers. However, there’s just something about writing an academic paper that makes me feel smarter than I actually am.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:38 am
Same here! I feel as if my writing lacks insight. If I go read another blog, insight is just exploding off the page. Maybe it’s like they say, we are our harshest critics?
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:57 am
I take the writing on my blog very seriously as far as a release goes. I usually spend less time on it than I would other writing, but there is still an amount of agony going on. I write about such personal things, though I often try to disguise them, that the writing is more about me letting things go and sorting things out than getting the words perfectly right or, sadly, even having an audience.
March 3rd, 2009 at 5:46 am
That is how I was when I started blogging. Since then I have evolved my blog into more concise posts that I tend to spend a lot of time on. When my reader count went up I felt less comfortable being as open as I used to be. Now I use my journal to spill thoughts into.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:17 am
My blogs have morphed throughout the years. I initially came into the blogging world privately, with only select readers being allowed to read my posts on a different website. It hasn’t been until recently since I’ve wanted to get my voice out in the world, connect with others who share similar interests, and read others’ opinions.
It’s something I do take seriously. Essentially, it’s the most enjoyable form of writing in my life. Most importantly, though, it keeps my writing going.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:07 am
I agree 100% – IT IS the most enjoyable form of writing to me. I think mine is not only the audience, but the lack of rules. I’m such a rebel!
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:34 am
I started out the same way with my blog. At first I was really private about entries, but that all changed. There’s something about connecting to others through writing that just hits home with me. Now I fully love to share thoughts, opinions, and comments with everyone.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I agree with you! I like the interaction among bloggers and other writes; especially the way I can connect with them one way or another. Wished these were differently offline… maybe they will. I try to make sure I blog openly and not so dry and stiff.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I was just the opposite. When I first blogged, I tried to take myself completely out of it. My opinions, my commentary, but solely about a topic (my college). It was like a one-man editorial board. I think I was actively trying to stay away from the xanga/livejournal stereotypes that were around when blogs first took off.
But now, my posts are like 500 word essays–as a person, I’m actually in my site now, not just a ghost in the machine.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:25 am
I’m so anal when it comes to blog writing. There are times when I treat it as a piece of work and then remember that it isn’t supposed to be like that. I developed my blogging space for one reason: releasing everyday emotions, bad or good. I still go over bits of my blog to see if they came out properly, but that’s because when words flow from my fingers in typing I tend to make up words, sentences, you name it…
As far as how I feel about my blog goes, I love it! I can release everything in the comfort of my own space. No one is judging me, watching me, or criticizing me. I take posting more seriously than I ever did previously. The writing in my blog is a lot less formal and more enjoyable. I’m allowed to write freely, as opposed to structured and rigorous school work. I really despise essays for school unless the topic interests me. I hate having to plow through writing which I love so much.
Wow, may I say that I’m loving this new idea? I do. I feel so connected to other writers right now as cheesy as that sounds.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:09 am
Releasing emotion – beautifully put
I blog for much of the same reasons. I’ve written letter to ex boyfriends, and even discussed the weird married men that enter my life at weird times. I touch it all, and I love getting feedback. Can’t wait to check out your blog!
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:12 am
I find writing for my blog enjoyable. I love blogging and reading other people’s blogs. That being said, I know that somedays I don’t put a 100 % effort into it if I don’t have a good blogging topic or I don’t really feel up to blogging that day. I try to blog consistently throughout the week though and force myself to blog even when I don’t really want to. Even though it’s not always my very best writing I think forcing myself to blog even when I don’t feel like it ultimately improves me as a writer.
Sometimes I think the writing I do on my blog is better than things I hand in at school because I have so much fun doing the blog
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:31 am
That’s one thing I’m struggling with is forcing myself to blog so I can get better at it. It’s often said that if you don’t know how to do something or don’t do it well, keep on doing it and you’ll get better. Translation: practice makes perfect. The hard part is trying to find time. Granted I do have more free time than before, but I’m still struggling to find a balance.
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:32 am
Agreed! I try to post everyday.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:23 am
This is exactly what I do. I know the idea of forcing yourself to write sounds bad, but it’s so beneficial to just keep the ball rolling. Once you stop, it gets much harder to get going again.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:51 am
That is so true! When I stop writing, I go weeks without writing. I’ve been trying to post more often lately!
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:24 pm
How about months without writing? That happens sometimes, too. I try to stop and write just to let things goes and to be able to allow myself to be expressive, but the energy is so drained and then I get tired. No cells left to think LOL
March 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 am
It’s funny, I’ve realized that while I started out with the intent about blogging about all the crap going on in my life, when it comes down to it, I have a very difficult time getting as personal as I’d like to. In fact, I’ve noticed that the more impersonal a post is (random pictures or pop culture tidbits) the more stressful my life is and so instead of letting it all out, I hide behind the fluffy stuff instead.
That being said, I still love my blog, and I like to think it’ll get easier to talk about the not so fluffy points of my life soon enough.
And yes, I love writing for my blog more than i love doing my actual work. But I’ve kind of been combining the two since lately at work almost everything that’s come up has lead me to the thought, “now that would be an awesome thing to blog about”.
But of course, I find myself thinking that in almost any situation now.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 am
I think that way too Nicole. Everything is, “well, I could blog about that!”
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 am
I often find it hard to be completely honest on my blog because I know who reads it. I censor it a lot more than I would like to.
March 5th, 2009 at 6:31 am
It’s hilarious how often I find myself thinking…”this is great blog material.”
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:32 am
I definitely take my blog seriously. The toughest thing, for me, has been finding a niche or a constant theme that will run throughout. I think I’ve found a nice balance now: things I want to write about, blogging about current-events, sharing stuff I find on the internet.
As weird as it sounds, I think my blog and my “academic” work are very similar, in that my blog is informed by my background in academic writing. Though I think it’s a good way for me to a.) rant and b.) unleash my inner Kerouac and Hemingway.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:57 am
My academic writing really isn’t that different from my blogging style. I don’t keep my academic stuff really stiff. I think it’s more in how I approach the writing. When it’s academic stuff, there’s more pressure. When it’s blogging, I just write.
Plus, the studying I do is so deeply ingrained in me that it definitely makes it’s way into my blog. Theology is all over my blog, though I don’t often mention it explicitly.
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:40 am
I am very casual when it comes to my blog. I care about grammar and spelling (most of the time), but I am writing for me and what I want to write about. I don’t have pressure about what topic or point to make. Just the freedom to write about what comes to my mind.
My blog has a similar voice to what my other writing is, depending on the character that I am writing about. With school work, I was professional and have a scholar voice, except for my English classes. It was there that I started to really form my writing voice and style. I do have to say that my writing now is way better then what I use to hand in for school.
I actually like to write my blog and other projects more then anything else. If I was still in college I think I would have got into trouble. I would have most likely wrote my blog or other side things before anything else. Now I do that instead of getting other work done at work…oh well.
I love reading other blogs as well. It gives me ideas about what I could write about or ideas for different projects. I love it. I also love it that there are so many writers out there that I can connect with.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:58 am
That’s exactly what happens Pam. I write blogs instead of writing papers for school!
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
I’m with you on this one Pam!
I love writing for my blog – but have different voices depending on the day, the season, what happened in my life that day. Sometimes I think I should commit to just one voice – but that wouldn’t really be showcasing “me” because I’m am variable by nature. 
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
I like to read blogs as well as just have a blog for interest and a small project of my own to exercise outside classroom writing since I am not in any creative writing classes at school. I do not think I can write creatively.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:01 am
Sometimes, I think I am TOO informal on my blog. I know that I disobey grammar and capitalization rules on a daily basis. But, I treat my blog as if its my thoughts, which are often abstract and not obeying the rules.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:14 am
I take writing on my blog serious enough to care about the quality of my writing, but not enough to let it interfere with my real life (and by that I mean friends, family, relationships, my career, graduate school, etc.)The day that I choose my blog over real life experience will have to be the day that I give it up.
I do a lot of writing for my profession (writing that is published in peer-reviewed journals) so blogging is a nice break from the formal writing style that I’m forced to use quite often.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 am
Writing on my blog is incredibly casual; sometimes I make the effort, but as a journalism major, I can’t say that anything that’s currently on my blog is mainstream-publication-ready.
I don’t work in journalism, but I do freelance write and edit every now and then, and blogging is my breather from that. I don’t have to “think” as much. I still enjoy it, though.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:59 am
Same, I take my posts seriously, but I don’t work as hard on them a I so something for school.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:53 am
I don’t know how I feel about the writing I post on my blog. Some posts take a few minutes, others might take an hour or two. Either way, when I’m done, I’m done. I don’t think about the post too much afterward, unless I’ve asked for comments/questions about a particular subject, but even then I’m worried about those comments/questions, not the post itself.
At the same time, while I’m writing the post, no matter how long or short, few things are more important. I want to make sure I’m communicating effectively, and that I’m getting my point across. If I make people laugh, cry, or hurl, I count that as a bonus.
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:58 am
I love when my posts inspire people to ask girls out for example
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Sounds like you have a nice way of writing blogs and being able to focus on what your next step should be. Sometimes we published a post and just want to see the other comments and reaction from what was written.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:00 am
Generally, I think of my blog like a journal I’m meant to share with the handful of real-life friends I have, and all of my blogosphere friends. So to some extent I censor what I say, and to some extent I don’t. I also use it as a bulletin board, where I can post things that I find funny or important or interesting. But I’ve recently started tagging my posts and have realized that most of them fall in the “self-reflection” category, so I think I’m doing okay. I enjoy it, but it sometimes stresses me out when I’m not posting as often as I feel I “should”.
Since most of my other writing is currently very academic in nature, my blog is nothing like it, thank God. It’s often a very nice reprieve.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:30 am
I take it far less seriously than I used to. When I first started my blog I was constantly worried about content, comments, style- if I was complaining too much, the fact that I was always writing on such random topics with no apparent ‘theme’ to the blog. Now I care less and I think it’s improved my writing. And the fact that I won a 20sb for most diverse subject matter proves to me that having ADD when it comes to writing isn’t always a bad thing!
At the same time though, before I hit ‘publish’ I always think “is this something I would want to read?” and if it is, I publish. If not, I save it to drafts. Only me, the Lord and wordpress know just how many posts have been relegated to sit forever in my drafts folder.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:34 am
I do the same thing! Sometimes I write full posts, decide I don’t like them and then save it to drafts.
I think a lot about my audience.
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I currently have two blogs. One that I just launched for the express purpose of responding to these prompts and growing in my writing and another that has no specific theme (tinypeanutbutters.tumblr.com). It covers everything I want to share from my photo-a-day project, to links, to quick blurbs about my day/life. While the blurbs don’t make up the bulk of the blog, they are certainly my favorite to post. They might make up more except that sometimes I’ll write out a post, reread it and decide it’s stupid or not funny.
The posts that make it through that stage I really enjoy. Looking back at some of them I’m glad I wrote them since they still leave me with interesting memories of my last few months. My writing is definitely informal in tone, but still upholds the conventions of grammar and spelling. I can’t stand the incorrect use of your/you’re or apostrophes.
I don’t have an opportunity to write at either of my current jobs, so there’s nothing to compare there. Oddly enough, I’d say my tone is similar to that of my papers in college although that’s due to the fact that I was never very comfortable with an academic tone.
I’d say not of it’s very serious at all, but making it decent is fairly serious to me.
March 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I like the writing that I do at College Grad Lessons and I definitely take it seriously. However, it doesn’t always take priority so sometimes I’m disappointed that I’m not accomplishing my vision for the blog yet. With a full-time job and grad school applications, the past couple months had provided limited time to work on the blog. The writing I do for College Grad Lessons is less formal than the writing I do at work (copywriting, technical writing), but it’s a refreshing change from my typical writing. I’m hoping to “relaunch” the blog with a new design and more content soon, so hopefully that will spark some additional dedication to blog writing. I think that Twenty Something Writers will help with the motivation!
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Sounds awesome Erin. Glad you are able to find some way to blog in spare time and being able to think things out.For the most part I believe some 20 something bloggers have informal blogs and they write what is needed or what is felt to be out in the open or with different certainties.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I believe on my blog, I write just to write for interest. I hardly blog now because of school work and all these darn papers and college drains my creative juices. Nevertheless, I enjoy blogging and having the interaction between myself and other bloggers. I write because I want to say something or respond to what is the written word. Writing is my voice and it expresses and represents my personality in a way I believe.
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
this is such a great group idea!! i very much want to contribute and i think i will still do the first writing prompt if i still can!
anyway, to this question: i take my blog seriously. i update near daily.. my blog has been my lifeline as of late in dealing with a break-up. it has helped me become a stronger person, and figure out who i am. i pretty much exclusively write on my blog… i would like to someday publish a book, but that step seems pretty scary to me at this point. so for now, i write on my blog. raw prose, emotions, poetry… anything!
March 4th, 2009 at 6:32 am
I use my blog in many ways – to express emotions, share advice or ideas, ask for advice or ideas, and to let my family and friends know what is going on in my world. I wouldn’t say that I use my blog as a diary, though, because I don’t reveal a lot of my personal feelings or problems. I know that my blog is open to the public and unfortunately in the world today there are a lot of strange people who could stumble upon my blog and use what I write against me.
I love blogging, and I love reading the blog of other women who share the same interests as me. It is nice to be able to read the blogs of engaged women or happily married women, so I can get advice and insight into the wedding planning process.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:51 am
A little late, I know.
I use my blog as a sort of journal/diary. Of course I typically don’t write down my most intimate thoughts or details, but I like it because I can keep up with myself.
In a few months from now when I’m thinking When was Bean born?, I can look back through my blog and figure it out. It also helps to document my successes and failures.
I also love reading other people’s blogs. Over the past few months, I have gotten more and more involved in the blogging network. I even feel like some of these people are my real life friends. We can collaborate and share our past experiences, ask for advice, and help each other laugh. Because I’ll admit, I read some blogs just for the humor content.
March 4th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I am undecided on how I feel about writing in my blog. I have two, one for angsty teenage drama (yes I’m a 16 year old living in an almost 21 year old’s body) and sex related topics, and then one for work, aka music related, random ranting. I feel like having two blogs splits me as a person but I still like writing in both equally. When the words won’t come for one blog they come for the other.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Depending on the day, my blog is either a shot of mouthwash or a shot of booze to get your day going…
… my blog is an experiment in creative (frequently voyeuristic) writing.