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April 15, 2006
Blogs Well With Others...
They write. They blog. They blog about writing. It's a thing.
Jenny: We're thrilled to be here guest blogging because we just don't get enough with the four blogs we're currently doing. Well, Bob's blog on his website appears to be on hiatus, and I'm doing about one post a month on my Argh Ink blog, and the Well-Behaved blog is resting before Krissie, Eileen, and I gear back up again in May, but the He Wrote She Wrote blog, that's taken on a life of its own, thank God. The idea was to keep a journal of the Year From Hell, 2006, the year we wrote Agnes and toured for Don't Look Down, letting people behind the scenes of how it all works or, more often, doesn't work. And then maybe, we thought, we'd turn it into a book at the end of the year, if it worked out which it probably wouldn't. One entry from each of us every week, it seemed like a plan.
Jenny: (cont'd) But then Bob turned into Blog Guy. This is a man who used to blog one sentence every month, suddenly he's writing essays and flirting with people who come to comment. And he's GOOD at it, too. So I started blogging more, too, just because it was fun. And then people started showing up and named themselves the Cherry Bombs after our logo which we thought was hysterical and really great, and now it's like a small town over there. The way it is here. So I'm thinking that's why blogging is so much fun; it's building a community. So if this is the Literary Chicks, then are you readers the Chicklits?
Bob: My blog on my web site was never much. It was like: "I'm breathing. Ok? Leave me alone." We've done over 60,000 words in three months on He Wrote She Wrote for some bizarre reason. I don't really read blogs either which is interesting. I've bounced around to a few. I think the key to a blog is it has to be about something. And not necessarily about the people who blog. It's like the fictional memoir. At writer's conferences I see so many manuscripts that are so obviously the person's own life story turned into a 'novel' and they usually aren't very good, because, sorry to say, most of our lives really aren't that interesting. I think a blog has to be about something interesting. He Wrote She Wrote is about writing a book and about publicizing a book, not about Jenny's life (yawn) or my life (double yawn). So there's a lot on there about the craft of writing and the emotions involved in that. The angst. The ups and downs. I think people like to hear about that. Sort of the inside story. And then also about what a writer's real life is like. Not the BS you hear sometimes at a lot of writer's conferences. I sit there sometimes and hear these speeches and I start wondering "What planet is this guy from?" And the reality of the publishing side of a writer's life. That's a whole different ball game too. We're on a book tour now, my first book tour ever. After sixteen years making a living in this business. Jenny is the jaded veteran and I'm the wide eyed novice. So it will be interesting. But we're being as honest as we can be without hurting anyone's feelings-- except each other's-- on the blog. But the blog isn't about me walking the dog or what I had for breakfast. It's about the writing life which is actually kind of interesting.
Jenny: What's surprising to me is how much fun it is to blog with another person. The Literary Chicks must have a riot doing this. They can talk about shoes without anybody saying, "Huh?"
Posted by Lani at 5:44 AM | Comments (9)
Comments
LOL - thanks, guys! Chicklits, I like it! And, yeah, it's great to have that community of people who get it. And they're often funnier in the comments than we are in the blog. They do put us to shame...
Oh. And Bob? What DID you have for breakfast? I think the world wants to know.
I'm guessing... Ding Dong?
(Go visit He Wrote, She Wrote, Chicklits! You'll get it then...)
Posted by: Lani ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.literarychicks.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 15, 2006 5:59 AM
Yay Chicklits! That sounds so much better than groupie... It kind of makes me think our logo should be a Peep, because when you say chicklit, that's what I envision (and it's all about me, right?). Although I also picture that square gum that comes in a box...There are a lot of gums turning square and coming in boxes now come to think of it...
Clearly, I need coffee.
Posted by: laurenjharwood at April 15, 2006 9:01 AM
Good lord, I can't even remember who I am anymore! I think I should now be called "Chicklit the Rescue Cherry Bomb"--has a nice ring to it, don'tcha think?!! Or maybe we can string the initials after our names like doctors do. Sheri M*** RC,CB,CL. Not sure how to punctuate it. Maybe I can combine the one into RCB,CL. How cool is that?!
And I think you are right about the whole "building a community" thing, Jenny. We have an Orchard over at JCF that has spilled over into the Cherry Forums (another fun place to be!), and I'm not sure what we are over at the He Said/She Said--the Bomb Squad?! The Blog Bombers? That place is just crazy, but it is a lot of fun and it has become a community also. It all starts over a common bond, something we have in common with someone else, whether it is an idea, a hobby, a religion, or whatever. We seek each other out and bond over whatever that common denominator is. And it's awesome when that community starts to grow and expand and takes on a life of it's own. Witness the "blog about nothing"--how many responses did that generate again, Bob?! *grin* You didn't even have to say something and the community was there anyway. I wonder how many other people have blogs that get this much comment? Not too many, I'd wager!
Posted by: Sheri at April 15, 2006 1:56 PM
Lauren--
Loving the Peep mascot idea! Do you know they make giant, football-sized Peeps now? As if the regular ones aren't gag-inducingly sweet enough. I dare you to eat one. Then post and tell us how it was (assuming you're haven't slipped into a sugar-induced coma.) Come on. I triple dog dare you.
B.
Posted by: Beth at April 15, 2006 1:57 PM
FOOTBALL sized Peeps? Eeewwww, that is gross! Wonder what they would do in a microwave?! heheheheheehe.....
Posted by: Sheri at April 15, 2006 2:17 PM
Don't forget Fish! Fish and Chicklits, good for the soul. Was over on He/She Said last night. 143 comments on one of the posts! Good lord! I'm going to have to quit work to keep up with everything! ;-P
Procrastinator Cherry Bomb
Posted by: Kelley at April 15, 2006 2:21 PM
A football sized peep? No WAY. If I eat one and then I throw up, do I still get credit? I suddenly have visions of John Candy in "The Great Outdoors" eating that gigantic steak. Oooh and did you know that at Mad Martha's (an ice cream shop on Martha's Vineyard) they have the most ginormous sundae called the Pig Out and you order it by saying "oink". I haven't gotten one. Yet.
Now, i must go find a snack...
Posted by: laurenjharwood at April 15, 2006 3:23 PM
Like a football-sized chunk of spun sugar can compete with the hideousness that is a Passover macaroon? Please, I have the corner on disgusting holiday food. Have you ever actually eaten gefilte fish?
Forgive me. We're having our seder late this year and I am just about to take sponge cake #3 out of the oven. I'm a little tired of matzoh meal.
Eileen R
Posted by: Eileen at April 15, 2006 7:12 PM
Peeps! We need more peeps cuteing up the place. And fish n'chips, yum. And I love the Chickits idea (thank you for that, Jenny!)
Posted by: Michelle C at April 17, 2006 2:07 PM
