Life in a blog

To blog or not to blog -now that is the question! It's serious business is it not? Ordinary people do it, mums do it as well as writers etc. Apparently (according to my Writing magazine) if you wish to up your writing profile, you need a blog. So, looking around on the web, many aspiring writers blog and showcase their work for all to see. Published authors on the other hand do not -at least not that I can find. They blog about other things -where they write; what they write; how the day is going etc. I guess they don't feel it necessary to share or to showcase their work. 
Well, I'm all set for Nanowrimo month in November -write a novel in a month. Rather looking forward to it. I pity the poor souls who may venture to read my efforts however. It never ceases to amaze me -again referring to my copy of Writing Magazine, how many authors generously give advice about writing. Apparently some of them feel that writing cannot be taught -well, what about all of the published authors who enjoy the Arvon courses? What are they doing there? Surely they seek improvement and this equates to certain methods of teaching and subsequent learning. What about the published writers who teach creative writing in universities throughout the UK? Is there any point in that if writing cannot be taught? What about all that undiscovered talent? Creative writing degrees/ courses are a valuable way of imparting information/techniques and skills -rather like equipping you with the necessary tools with which to write. In a similar way, joining a writers group can be equally valuable in that you learn from others as well as having their support and many critical eyes for your own work. Reading and re-reading is also vital. You'll be amazed at how much you learn from the work of others. Whenever I pick a book to read I never simply read it through -I critique and question as I go along analysing the varying techniques used, plot, characterisation, point of view, figurative language etc. I can't avoid it but it doesn't ruin my appreciation of a good read, it's simply become a habit. It's this habit that fuels my own writing in a way and has enabled me to develop my own style and writing habits. There's something in me that drives me to write - like an inner voice and whenever I doubt myself -which is often, it speaks to me over and over and I carry on.