Bloggers are, obviously, writers.  Writers create imagery to communicate.  It is the words we use and how we assemble them into sentences and Paragraphs that help us to communicate exactly what we want to convey to our readers.  Our words are the components of our composition.  They are the “paint,” the “colors,” that enable us [...]

If you are thinking about starting a blog, or already have one and want to start another, how do you decide what to blog about if you do not have any ideas?  Many people who are considering a blog, ask what should they blog about.  The decision about what your blog should be focused on is an easy one if you answer [...]

After a while, many bloggers, new and established, come to a point where they recognize that blogging is an art.  Blogging is not merely the setting down of words; not merely the recording of  the thoughts of the moment, or one’s daily routine.  The original weblogs started out like this but now have evolved into [...]

Since their inception, blogs have evolved. There are still blogs used to record the personal details of the life experiences of the blogger but now there are specialized, informational blogs that discuss favorite hobbies, like knitting, rock collecting, aquariums, pets, sports, cooking, candy, cupcake artistry, electronic gadgetry, toys, art, paranormal experiences and just about anything else that you can think of in which people are interested or in which they have some expertise.

How often should a blogger post new material on his or her blog? There is a wide difference of opinion among bloggers concerning this issue. Some bloggers feel that you must publish a post a day, especially to show the search engines that the blog is active and worthy of attention. Other bloggers think that once a week is about right. Still others would be satisfied with a post every other week. Not surprisingly, there are even bloggers who feel that they must be free to “go with the flow” and follow their creative impulses which means, they will update their blogs “when they feel like it.”

The source of “The Oyster Syndrome” is the “Inner Editor,” a nagging, authoritative voice that regulates all the others. The others? Yes. Oh yes. There are many voices that issue forth in streams of thought from the writer’s creative imagination. You may assign to them any names that you like but you will recognize their essence by the names I have given them: There is “The Philosopher, The Sage, The Child, The Campaigner for Justice, The Misanthrope, The Comedian” and—–”The Babbling Idiot,” which, I secretly worry, may sometimes be my dominant voice. [If you worry that this may be one of your voices, don't be too upset: Shakespeare uses his "Inner Babbling Idiot" to great effect in The Tempest. Read through Trinculo's lines.] In any case, when we write, our “Inner Editor” chooses the appropriate voice, and somehow fashions from our drafts, something worth reading: A “pearl,” perhaps.

Blog content is amazingly diverse, from casual “chit-chat” and conversational gossip, to sophisticated, technical narratives. Anyone can have a blog which explains why the skill levels of blog writers are “all over the place,” from naive jottings to highly refined, professional prose. All skill levels are represented.

The suggested guideline I would give, therefore, especially if you do not yet have a blog but are thinking about it is this: “If you hate people and find them annoying, choose another activity like scatology or buoy maintenance or searching for comets and astroids in exotic desert locations.”

A blog is wonderfully flexible and can be “tweaked,” adjusted and managed in different ways to accomplish different objectives.  There is a way you can greatly expand the number of products you promote without changing or competing with the central purpose of your web site (your blog.) I am referring to more products, in addition to those [...]

Blogs have come a long way since the early days when bloggers first recorded their most private thoughts, feelings and impressions and, sometimes, kept a real-time log of everything they did.  These first “web-logs”  ( =…’blogs) were a new medium of expression and the real potential of this medium was as yet unexplored.  As time went [...]