Saturday, May 14, 2011

Why I'm writing this blog

I attended the LDS Writer's Conference last week in Salt Lake City. And the advise was, "Let there be a blog. And your blog had better be good, that man (and woman) may benefit from the words that proceeds from yonder keyboard." Or something like that.

So, here is my blog.

There are many purposes of this blog. The first is to share with those who are interested my journey in writing a book. I'll try not to throw out any spoilers or anything, but I think I can talk about the writing process without giving too much away and discouraging you, dear reader, from picking it up in your nearest bookseller sometime in the future.

It is also to motivate me because if I can get some readers I'm going to have to write blog posts. And these blog posts cannot say something akin to: "Sorry, folks, I've got nothing." Peer pressure is a very motivating force so I give all of you permission to chastise me if I'm not being the manuscript factory I need to be.

Also, I would like to find others of similar interests. I'll admit it, the main reason I went to the conference was because my favorite author, Brandon Sanderson, was said to be making an appearance. So go I did expecting to get a little something out of the conference and then completely geek out as Brandon Sanderson strolled into the room. Well, nothing went as expected. For one thing, Mr. Sanderson probably didn't want me embarrassing myself in his presence and decided not to show up. And the other thing unexpected was that I met a TON of cool people. I got a lot out of the classes. I even joined the Authors Incognito of like-minded individuals. I'm pumped and excited to keep in touch with them and maybe meet more people. This blog is my hand extending out to you and saying, "Hey, nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you." Hopefully my joviality doesn't scare you off.

And finally, at the conference they heavily stressed in the conference establishing an online presence. I've been working on that. My twitter feed had nothing to do with writing and the items I did write were nothing more than a joke to amuse anybody worth following (okay, mostly me, I need to be honest). I also knew I needed to create and start using a blog. So here it is. My blog. I hope you can feel at home and I look forward to any feedback.

I know it isn't perfect and I've still got a lot of work before I'm happy with how it looks. So never mind the "Under Construction" sign that is hanging over my monitor.... please pardon the dust at least. I'll get this to state that makes me feel all zen-like as soon as I can. But welcome, nonetheless.

12 comments:

  1. Welcome to the blogosphere James! You're off to a great start here!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Blogging can be very therapeutic! It's a great place to learn from each other and to encourage. Great start! Looking forward to reading more.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Welcome to blogging! You'll do just fine, don't sweat it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Way to go! And Brandon's one of my favorite authors, too, but I didn't go to see him. He has local signings when he has a release, and he's got the 4th Mistborn book coming out later this year. You ought to keep your eye out for signing information.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Some days it's totally acceptable to write a post about how you have nothing to post! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on joining the blogosphere. =D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for your feedback, everybody! I appreciate the encouragement.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Okay, your blog is totally better than my blog. My blog essentially attests to my losership as a writer. Maybe I should change it to be more like your blog. I wish I could have went to the conference, but I have no money. They should hold it here, because we have better weather. You should have told us you were blogging. I didn't know. Great job buying your name as website address. I did the same thing. I also just bought the one that includes my middle name. And I already own two of my possible pen names. You never know what may come in handy. Keep blogging! : )

    ReplyDelete
  9. If you're like the rest of us, you'll change the look of your blog at least 2x a year anyway. Have fun! It's a great community.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You've got a great start. Good luck to you.

    Joyce
    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey there! I went to the conference, and just started a blog too! I look forward to more posts from you! katieonfiction.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete