Breaking up is hard to do

So, this is a difficult post to write. If you received my newsletter earlier this week, you'll know that I'm making some changes. The allisontait.com website is having a makeover next week - new look, new feel, new fun. For no other reason than that a change is as good as a holiday. I'm pretty excited about that.

One of the things I'm doing (or, actually, the lovely Kelly from Swish Design is doing... because, as we all know, I am technologically inept) is integrating my blog into the website. A little housekeeping, just to make things a bit more streamlined. Part of my whole 'work smarter, not harder' resolution for this year.

But that means, deep sigh, that the Fibro is going. Not so much a renovation, as a complete knock-down and rebuild.

When I first started blogging and had to name my blog, I thought for all of five minutes about what I would write about (life) and then thought, 'okay, that's boring, add more' (in a pink Fibro). Write what you know, they say. And it all worked out beautifully for two and a half years.

Then I moved house. And was no longer in a pink Fibro. But my reasoning was that, well, it didn't really matter - though I did confess that perhaps I should have put more thought into naming my blog.

Fast-forward another year and I've realised that it's time to let go of the Fibro. Much as I love it.

I'll still be writing about life, and writing, and ... whimsy...  but my blog will simply be part of the Allison Tait website, out there under my name, probably much as it should have been from the start. Over the next week, all the content will be migrating its way over to the new space, keeping it all together and under one roof. Cosy.

I hope you'll all still come and visit (it should all be up and running again by July 29).

I'll leave a light on for you.

Weekend Rewind #7 (limited edition): Blogging

It's the end of week one in the school holidays and I'm feeling slightly shell-shocked - as, I'm sure, is every other parent in the land. I'm squeezing this post in while Mr9 watches Superman on DVD and Mr6 creates comics in the other room, whistling the Batman theme the whole time.

Lot of super-hero action round these parts at the moment. Lot of super-hero action.

So I've decided to keep it simple this week. The theme for the Weekend Rewind is: Blogging.

Any blog post you've ever written that mentions the word blogging, is about blogging or has overtones of blogging will do.

The rules, such as they are: Link up an old post for some new comment love. Visit other links in the Rewind to share the comment love. And if we're not already friends on Facebook, come and say hello.

Next week, the Weekend Rewind will be receiving a little shake-up, designed to keep it fun, fresh and interesting. Intrigued? Stay tuned.

In the meantime, ready, set... Rewind!

Weekend Rewind #6: Short

Well, what a week it's been. Down here on the south coast of NSW, we've experienced torrential rain, flooding, and that cold, heavy chill that permeates all your clothing. In Canberra, there's been fierce battle and political blood spilt. In Texas, Senator Wendy Davis stood on her feet for hour and hours and hours while the world watched via YouTube.

You might say it's been a long week.

Which is why the theme for this week's Rewind is: Short. A short post. A post about being short or short skirts or short haircuts or animated shorts or short tempers. Whatever works best for you.

I'm going with a short post. As a blogger, I think it's important to realise that you don't have to say everything all the time. Some of the most popular Fibro posts are just a few paragraphs long. Sentences even.

The rules of the Rewind are also relatively short, so that works well. Link up an old post for some new comment love. Visit some of the other links to share the love around. Oh, and like my Facebook page, if we're not already friends, because that's where I offer the first heads-up each week about the Rewind (Limited Edition).

Thanks, as ever, to everyone who linked up last week. I very much enjoyed reading all your posts about growth. The thing I love about the Rewind is the different approach to the theme that everyone takes. It's a great opportunity to visit new blogs and find new friends. Keep 'em coming!

Okay, that's it.

Ready, set... REWIND!

Weekend Rewind #4: Lessons for us all

Can you believe it's Friday again? Already? I admit it took me a few days to get round all the links last week, but I hope to do better for this week's Rewind. I don't have much to report today, so I figure we'll just jump straight in.

The theme for this week's Rewind is: Lessons.

Your lessons, other people's lessons, tutorials, whatever.

The rules remain as always: link up an old post for new comment love, then go visit a few other blogs and lay a little comment love on them. The last point is actually really important because the more we all comment, the better the Rewind is for everyone.

You might also want to join me over here on Facebook, where I'll post notification each week when the Rewind is live. One lesson I think we can all take from previous weeks is that the earlier you get in, the more action you'll get...

Okay. That's it. Love your work.

Ready, set... Rewind.

Dealing with The Block

Do you ever suffer from Blogger's Block? It's not a common thing for me, but when it hits, it hits hard. To the point where my mind looks something like this: [                                 ]. Not pretty is it?

There are a few tricks I use when The Block rears its ugly head. One is to simply start writing. About anything.

To whit, the opening line of this post.

Usually, if I'm working on a book or an article or some other form of writing, I simply switch projects. My good friend Allison Dobell is currently working on her second novel, and I find that to be a nice distraction when a heavy, research-based feature story, for instance, is not coming together.

Blogging is somehow different. It doesn't seem to matter what I distract myself with, the blink-blink-blink of the cursor remains. Perhaps it is because blogging is so personal. If your brain is blank and you're essentially writing about yourself, you know you've got problems.

Another trick I try is a good, long walk. This has the benefit of both clearing my mind and shrinking my butt. Walking around the block usually clears The Block. (As does weeding, but we won't bring out my gardening/writing metaphors today.)

I'd like to be one of those bloggers who has a list of ideas at the ready at all times. But the truth is that I generally sit down with little to no idea of what I'm going to post that day (unless it's a Q&A, of course... have I ever mentioned how much I love Q&As?). This leaves me to be all footloose and freewheeling on a good day.

And leaves me stuck in quicksand on the bad ones.

Like now.

Time to put my shoes on for a walk...

How do you deal with Blogger's Block?

The Weekend Rewind: It's ba-a-a-a-ck (limited edition)

I was reading Maxabella's post the other day about her new World Blog Tour, an innovative new way to visit more blogs.

"She's right," I thought to myself (or may have actually spoken out loud because I'm that kind of girl). "I don't visit enough blogs."

My blog roll kind of disappeared during the Fibro renovation a while ago, I started writing three books at once and... well, reading blogs disappeared off my daily To Do list.

So I'm going to make it easy on myself (and you, hopefully) and bring back the Weekend Rewind for a limited season. I'm even including the circa-2010 image that Maxabella created for me. Isn't it cute?

If you haven't been part of the Rewind before, it's a simple linky thingo with few rules. You link up an old post for some new comment love. You visit a few other blogs to say hello and make them feel loved. We all sing kum-bayah, come back next Friday and do it all again.

But it's so much fun! It's an opportunity to dust off those posts that you felt really didn't get the attention they deserved, and an opportunity to find some new favourite reads.

I wrote this post once about the importance of having your blogging neighbours over. Sometimes I feel that, since those halcyon early days of blogging, we've all neglected that idea a bit.

But I digress...

To keep it interesting, I do like to have a theme (otherwise, seriously, how do you choose a post???). To make it easy, I'm going to make this week's theme JANUARY. So, you can link up any blog post that you wrote in ANY January of ANY year in which you have been blogging.

I have three years' worth of posts to choose from now... Including four Januarys... Which is about 21 years' worth in real terms (blogging years are like dog years as far as I'm concerned).

Okay, that's it. If we're not already besties in some form or other, like me on Twitter or Facebook simply to keep up with the notices of when the Rewind link is up (gives you a better chance to get in early!)

And... REWIND!

(As an aside, I've just realised that I've set the life of the linky for one week. Usually I close off at around 8pm on Sunday night - for two reasons... one is that if you get in any later than that, you generally don't get too many visitors and, two, is that I forget to check it after Monday... So, let's pretend it closes at 8pm on Sunday May 26, okay?)

Three things I've learned in my third year of blogging

Today marks the first day of my fourth year of blogging. Amazing to think that I've been here at the Fibro for more than 1000 days. I think you get less for certain crimes these days...

When I completed my first year of blogging, I wrote this post: 12 things I've learned in my first year of blogging.

At the end of my second year, I wrote this one: 12 things I learned in my second year of blogging.

Now that I've closed out my third year, I've decided to break it down to three things I've learned in my third year of blogging. Not because I've learned less - but maybe because I'm finally on to the fact that less is more. Particularly when it comes to blogging.

So here, in no particular order, are the three things I learned in my third year of blogging:

1. Money changes everything. Think long and hard about whether you want to 'monetise' your blog - and how you might do it - because the minute you do, it all changes. I know this because I've watched it happen. I have no judgement to make on whether the changes are good or bad, because I think they're different for everyone. But go into it with your eyes wide open. Writing for money changes your writing. This I know.

2. Blogging is like marriage. It has its ups and downs, its better and worse. I've found it much more difficult to maintain my passion for it this year, mostly because I'm writing 'third' anniversary posts. The first time you write an Anzac Day post, it's full of all the things you think about Anzac Day. The second time, it's the first time with some add-ins. The third time... well, you're as likely to pop up a picture of a flag.

It's not easy to front up to the same blog on a regular basis and find things to say. These things need to be worked at. Like the best marriages.

The best bloggers are the ones who can keep it fresh every single time. Who write, as the venerable Mrs Woog told me once, as though every reader is visiting their blog for the very first time.

I take my hat off to them.

3. Your team is the key. I've written before about the importance of community in blogging. So many times. But this year I'd like to recognise Team Fibro. The people who take the time to visit this blog, comment, share my posts, and generally just pop in, have been my cheerleaders in a year of writing, edits, highs, lows, and general ennui. Never underestimate the power of a good team, particularly when you're working on your own.

Thank you.

Use your blog to find paid writing work: 5 tips from Problogger panel

Blogging conferences are crazy places. So much energy, so much information, so many bloggers in one place. For me, the pure joy of attending one is simply being with so many people who understand immediately when I start talking about posts and wordpress and pings (okay, I don't even understand pings, but you get what I mean...).

Speaking on a panel with Valerie Khoo and Kerri Sackville was a real privilege for me. Both are professional, sensible women who really know their stuff. When we set out to work out the content for our session - 'How to use your blog to get paid writing opportunities' - we were all on the same page and we were all doing our darnedest to give as much value, as much information, as possible to the people who attended our talk as we could.

For those who couldn't make it to Melbourne this time, I thought I'd summarise our five key points. Some ideas to mull over if you're interested in finding writing work beyond your blog.

1. Be clear on who you want to be. Take some time to work out what kind of writing work you'd like to do and then position your blog to reflect it. Make sure your bio outlines any experience you have, and says that you are a writer and that you're looking for opportunities. If your bio says 'loves drinking tea and eating cupcakes', chances are people will pop by and enjoy a warm read with you. If it says 'writer', people may go looking further for other examples of your work. Sometimes the most difficult part of beginning a writing career is accepting that you are allowed to call yourself a writer.

2. Realise that just starting a blog is not enough. A blog is a great place to highlight your writing skills - but you have to get beyond the blog to sell those skills. Use your blog to build networks to help you find work. Make connections on Twitter. Follow other writers, look for editors and publishers. Ask questions. Put your name and your blog in front of people who might have opportunities for you.

3. Ideas matter. If you read my guest post at Styling You, you'll know that book publishers are looking at blogs, looking for book ideas and people to write them - particularly in the non-fiction area. But you still need to let them know you're there, and your blog must have a 'high concept' - an overarching journey that will drive a reader through several hundred pages of narrative.

Magazine editors, on the whole, are not, however, cruising around looking for nice writing on blogs. What they want is a strong idea, pitched directly to them, in a language and format they can understand. If they like your pitch, they will probably visit your blog to see what you're about (see point one about making sure your blog reflects your 'brand'). Ensure you're presenting a professional 'face'.

4. Be prepared to learn. Look to expanding your craft. Most magazine features, for instance, are not written in first person, they are not subjective and they are not intimate. In other words, they're different from a blog post. It's a great idea to do a course in structuring magazine features if you've never written one before. Ditto, writing press releases and other corporate writing if that's the kind of work you're after. At the very least, consider a proofreading/editing course to ensure that any work you do present is as clean as possible.

5. Paid work takes many guises. In our content-driven information age, there are writing opportunities across a lot of different areas, and they're not always where you expect them to be. With an established profile as a blogger, you might transition to speaking work, for instance, which requires you to have a strong 'point of difference' - a clear identity, clear recurring subjects, a clear 'voice'. Start working out your 'elevator pitch'.

Corporate-style work (press releases, websites, annual reports, newsletters) can come from a range of different sources - most of which will begin within your personal network. Ask your local gym if they need a newsletter. Let the mums at school know you can help small businesses with press releases and websites. A lot of people are looking for writers and don't know where to find them. If you don't tell them you write, they'll never find you.

So there you have it. A snapshot of our session. Obviously there was a whole lot more to it, but I hope this gives you food for thought.

To get you started, why not give me your elevator pitch? What makes your blog different to the next blog? In 25 words or less...

[image: from a strip at the Photobooth at the Problogger networking event...]

Are you a writer or a reader?

I had one of those moments today. Someone suggested I put together a newsletter for the Fibro. You know, weekly updates, little titbits, news and weather. Well, maybe not weather, though it does feature around here...

Anyhoo, my moment was this: if I had a newsletter, would it be about writing? Or reading? Or ... well, a whole mishmash of things, pretty much like this blog. Writing tips, info about books and publishing, updates about my projects and the projects of other writers I love, blog stuff... you know, stuff.

And if I had such a newsletter, would anyone be interested?

So I'm asking. Would you be interested in my weather updates newsletter - and what would you like to see in it? Do you like the Fibro writer posts best - or are you here as a reader?
[image from here]

How (not) to name your blog

When I started this blog, I knew nothing about blogging. Which is probably a good thing. It stopped me overthinking the whole thing, which would have put off the process by about... two years. I just sort of decided to start one day and by the next I'd begun.

Naming the blog was easy. I gave no thought to niche or SEO or any of the other things that a person is supposed to think about when they name a blog. I didn't do a worldwide Google search to find out if there were other Pink Fibro blogs. It didn't even occur to me that most of the world would have no idea what a fibro even is.

I had moved from the Big Smoke to a pink fibro and I wrote about ... life. No brainer.

All of which is well and good should a person remain in their pink fibro for the rest of the life in question.

You can see where this is going, right?

The Fibro has a For Sale sign out the front. Actually, correct that, the Fibro has a For Sale sign with a giant red SOLD sticker slapped across it out the front. In six or so weeks, give or take 1000 or so anxiety attacks and stressful moments, Fam Fibro will pack itself up and take itself off to new premises (I only wish it were as easy to do that as it is to write it...).

A yellow weatherboard. A geriatric one. Henceforth known as The Old Girl. We met her unexpectedly, we fell in love and the rest is history.

The first thing that everyone says to me when I say 'guess what? we're moving!' is not 'yippee, good for you, how exciting!'... no, it's 'but what will you do about the blog name?'.

My response: 'nothing'. In hindsight, I should probably have called my blog Allison Tait's Blog and been done with it. But, seriously, where's the romance in that?

The Builder and I have lived in several homes together. Homes on which we've lavished inordinate amounts of tender love and care. Each time we've moved on, we've taken a souvenir. A house number from one. A gate from another. Every single potted plant we've ever watered.

When I asked him what we'd take as a souvenir from the Fibro, he laughed. "We'll take the blog, of course." No brainer.

So, here's my thinking. The Fibro has no boundaries. It has no walls. Its spiritual home will remain here on the worldwide web. See, when I write it like that it makes perfect sense, right?

Anyway, I hope that you'll stick along for the ride and enjoy the next chapter with us. Because, really, Life In A Yellow Weatherboard just doesn't have the same ring to it at all.

How did you name your blog? Have you ever had cause to question or second-guess your choice?

Working on a little project...

I've been working on a little project. I've dragged in some friends, got a fabulous team together, and hatched a scheme. To help.

It's getting close. Dotting the odd I (lower case only, of course). Crossing the occasional T (in all the right places).

Any minute now...

Stay tuned.

I'm bursting to tell you more about it.

Losing the will to blog...

It's been surprisingly easy not to blog for the past week. When I first started writing here, I would fret if I didn't get a post up every single day. Every. Single. Day. I'm much more relaxed about the whole thing now. Practically catatonic, in fact...

Part of the problem has been the sciatica that followed me home from the bush. Yes, camping is very good for you from a bushwalking/swimming/fresh air perspective. Not so good from a 'compressed nerve from sleeping on an air mattress' perspective. I've found it difficult to sit and... well, do anything frankly. I wrote a feature story under the influence of pain medication the other day - and can't remember a single thing about it. I can only hope I got my sentences in the right order.

I must also confess that I enjoyed switching off. There was no mobile reception where we went (which made finding the place a challenge of old-fashioned proportions). I didn't really miss it. Well, maybe the nightly Words With Friends ritual I seem to have established. But that was all. There is so much white noise in our lives these days - tweeting, updating, emailing. Take it away and there's just talking, thinking... or silence. It's not a bad way to live.

We immersed ourselves in the grey-green of the bush. Surrounded by the ghostly white trunks of gums. A slip and slide down a steep bank to the river, where the water was fresh and shone golden in the sunlight. A lovely place to wash off the film of dirt that had us all spray-tanned dark brown. The days were bright and warm. The nights were clear and cold. The campfire was a hungry beast, stoked day and night, wafting us all in the aroma of Eau de Smoke. With top notes of bacon.

Would I go camping again? Yes, I would. Assuming I could take a queen-size pillow-top mattress with me. I'll need to go back anyway - it seems I left my blogging mojo somewhere under a tree.

A few of my favourite blogs

I've been thinking a lot about blogging this week. Possibly to help me procrastinate when I was supposed to be doing other kinds of writing. Whatevs. Maybe blogging is on my mind because I'm aware that I haven't been reading as many as usual of late. And I hate missing out.

Anyhoo, I thought I'd round off this week of not-much-blogging by blogging about blogging. Specifically, some of my favourite blogs. I will not include the usual suspects here - Maxabella, Multiple Mum, Lucy, Eden, Woogs, and the delightful Chantelle at FatMumSlim all know that they are high on my list of daily must-reads.

No, I thought I'd share some of my other faves. The ones that give me 'oh, I wish I'd written that' moments.

Karen at The Rhythm Method is not blogging much at the moment because she is diving deep into a new degree. But I love her writing. As Eden said recently, "my goodness. Karen can write. Like, WRITE. A swirly real writerly writer. Each post a delicious feast". Amen to that.

I love Angela at Yes, Dear, because she makes me laugh, makes me think, and makes me feel as though we're having a conversation. I'm always happy to see her little yellow avi in my Facebook feed.

Jennifer at A Sampler writes beautiful words about everyday things. Sometimes there's a little fiction. Sometimes a little home truth or two.

Gill at InkPaperPen is inspirational. Her  Write On Wednesday meme is always full of surprises. If you have an itch to write fiction, join her group!

Tinsen Pup is another blog I always look out for. She's been quiet lately, but her posts are so lyrical and poetic that I couldn't leave her off this list. Not always easy reading, but always memorable.

I'll stop at five. There are so many! But I need to leave a few for another post...

In other news, I sent my revised manuscript back to PanMacmillan today. On time. And with much trepidation. Now to wait for the news that (hopefully) all is well. Waiting I can do. I'm very used to waiting.

[image: beautiful print from alifethroughthelens/etsy]

12 things I learned in my second year of blogging

When the first anniversary of the Fibro blog rolled around, I was so excited I threw a party. I couldn't believe I'd made it that far. Given the 98* per cent of blogs don't survive their first year, I was thrilled with myself for staying the course. I even wrote a post about 12 Things I Learned in my First Year of Blogging, just to share my newfound knowledge. You couldn't hold me back!

Today is the second anniversary of the Fibro blog. I only know that because tonight I said to The Builder "Hmmm, it must be nearly the second anniversary of the Fibro blog... I might need to write a post about that." A quick check back to my embarrassing first post and, oh my, it's today!

To mark the occasion, I thought I'd do exactly what I did last year, only sans party. So here they are. Twelve things I've learned in my second year of blogging.

1. Blogging is like any relationship. You graduate from sexy lingerie and the ability to go all night to comfy cotton undies and the knowledge that even things you love can become a chore.

2. Writing for blogs is different from any other kind of writing. It requires an intimacy of voice that can take time to develop. But it is also one of the most natural, rewarding forms of writing. And very necessary for anyone serious about developing a writing career today. Learning how to blog smarter, not harder, is essential. 

3. Doing it less can be more work. Even regular bloggers can suffer from performance pressure.

4. If you don't understand why you're blogging, take a break. Getting confused about what you're doing can result in a whole lot of churning, when what you really want is a smooth glide across the blogosphere.

5. It's important to get off your blog if you want to build your blog. But every step you take takes time. A lot of time. Find your own rhythm with it all.

6. You will never know how a post will work until it does - or doesn't. One of my most commented-upon posts ever was a picture of my tomatoes. Really. Well, they were awesome tomatoes, it's true.

7. Instagram, hipstagram and all the other grams can make a photographer out of even the most visually inept person (aka me). One of my new Blog Year resolutions is to take more of my own pictures this year. Clearly this will start tomorrow...

8. You can blog for two years and still have no idea about SEO. Except that it's meant to be important. And clearly I'm missing out.

9. Your blog will morph and change and take on an identity all of it's own. When I started out, I hardly ever wrote about writing. Now I do it all the time. Why? Because that's what I do. Because people ask me questions and I like to answer them. Because the Friends of Fibro seem to like them. Because I spend so much of my time writing that it's hard to overlook. And because blogs are best when they're true to what's going on in the blogger's life. Which is why I haven't written about my tomatoes this year. Crop failure.

10. If you ask the blogging community a straight question, they will respond with a straight answer. So if you really DON'T want to know why a particular post was a dud, do not write a post like this one.

11. Blogging has given me the kind of record of my family, my writing and my life that I would never have achieved without it. I'm not a journal keeper. I'm not a diarist. I am, however, a blogger. And I am so very grateful for those snippets of my day-to-day life. It's amazing what you forget. (Vale Alla Hoo Hoo.)

12. Simple advice is the best advice. You do what you do. Seriously, there is no better recipe for creating a great blog.

*this stat may or may not be slightly exaggerated

[image: via pinterest]

How to turn your blog into a book

A few weeks before Christmas, as I was floundering about in my usual search for the perfect Christmas gift for The Builder, I had a moment of, well, to put it politely, genius. I'd make the Fibro blog into a book for him. A nice little precis of our lives over the past couple of years.

Right. Now how was I going to do that? Initially I had visions of reformatting every post into Word and... well, let's just go no further down that long, winding and difficult path. Instead, I turned to my best mate Google and typed in 'blog to book'.

Voila! Several enticing options for me to simply press a few buttons and have a neatly printed book appear. But which to choose?

I had one false start with a company that seemed to offer exactly what I needed but... well, let's just say the program turned out to be way too difficult unwieldy to think about in the middle of the night (my natural working time). Then I stumbled across Blurb.com.

Despite the fact that I couldn't quite work out how much it was all going to cost, I followed the instructions, exported my blog, imported my blog, edited my blog (Blurb has an advantage over The False Start in this area), removed posts that were not relevant, added photos that were relevant, dillied, dallied and dithered and, after several nights of hard work, discovered that I had created a 320 (!) page hardcover book. Eek allores!

Taking a deep breath, I uploaded the whole thing and then awaited the final costing (you don't pay until you get that figure, so no stress - just lots of work wasted if it turned out it was going to cost an arm and a leg). And I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised. Very pleasantly surprised. The whole custom-made thing, including shipping, cost less than some of the gift books that come out around Christmas (email me if you want the exact figure - The Builder reads my blog every day and I don't want him knowing how much Santa and his elves spent).

I pressed publish. I pressed private (you can choose to have your book publicly sold). I waited anxiously to see what the quality of the whole exercise would be like.

Again, I was pleasantly surprised. There are some limits to the design process, which may be less pleasing to those with a more discerning eye than I, but for what I wanted - a wholly personal and meaningful one-off gift - it was perfect. It's a tangible record of all this ephemeral writing. A tangible record of those tiny moments of family life that are otherwise lost to memory (despite an extensive archive to wade through).

It reminded me that, while the Internet is forever, holding a book in your hands makes your words so much more... present.

If you're a blogger, give yourself a present and visit Blurb. I really recommend it*.

*Not a sponsored post. Just saying.

Fibro Q&A: How to write a better blog (tips from a Problogger)

Back in the early days of this blog, when I was still faffing about, thinking that blogging was writing on the internet, I happened to win a book in a giveaway. It was called 'Problogger: Secrets for blogging your way to a six-figure income'. "Yeah, right," I thought, tossing the book on the dining table (repository for all things Fibro) when it arrived and thinking no more of it. A few days later, on a slow news day, I picked up the book and read it from start to finish. By the end of it, I was not making a six-figure income, but I had some very good ideas about what I wanted to do with my blog - and what I didn't.

Darren Rowse is Problogger (@problogger on Twitter to be exact). He started his first blog in 2002. He now has several blogs, several books (if you're a new blogger, do not miss his 31 Days to Build A Better Blog Workbook), and a brilliant career extolling the virtues of blogging to the wider world. If you want to know how to make money on your blog, or off your blog, he's your man. He's also the go-to guy for tips on creating blog communities, using social media, and building your blog into a force to be reckoned with.

But I didn't want to talk to him about any of that. Oh no. I wanted to ask him all about the art of writing for blogs. So I invited him to the Fibro and, oh joy, he popped in for a (virtual) cuppa and a chat.

Settle back, this is good.

Do you believe that writing for blogs is different from writing for other forms of media? Why/why not?
Darren Rowse: "Tough question. I'll say yes... but with a small disclaimer! In general, I think blogs can do well with a more personal and playful voice than perhaps writers in other forms of media could get away with. This informal and personal style is something that blogs had a lot of success with in the early days and, from what I can see, is still often important in building an audience and relationship with readers.

"Having said that, my disclaimer - it does depend a little upon the style of the blogger and the goals of the blog. Some blogs do really well being written in a more formal and less personal voice. I am also increasingly seeing the more personal style appearing in other forms of media."

I've seen the line 'content is king' over and over - do you think that comes down to what you say or how you say it?
DR: "I think it's both. What you say is of vital importance - it needs to be useful to people in some way. I find that the best content is content that solves a need that somebody has. That need might be a big or important one like 'I need to know how to raise my child'. Or it could be something a little more frivolous, like 'I'm bored - entertain me'.

"How you say it is just as important though - in some ways, I think it is often what lifts good content to being great content. Your style or voice as a blogger is something that for most people comes over time and is hard to teach. Some bloggers just seem to be born with  it (Mojo), while for others it develops as they experiment with different approaches to writing and see how others respond to it."

Do personal bloggers need to worry about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? How can they incorporate it without losing the rhythm of their writing?
DR: "My philosophy with SEO is pretty simple:

"1. Search engines are some of the biggest referrers of traffic going around. When someone wants to find information, it is more often than not a search engine that they head to.

"2. So if you want people to read your content (whether that content be 'personal' or something else), it makes a lot of sense to me to pay some attention to SEO and maximising your chances of being found in search engine results.

"3. So I advise learning the basics of SEO. Having a good understanding of how search engines rank sites and what you can do to optimise your blog is something that can be the difference between having a blog that is read - or not.

"4. However - I don't personally obsess about SEO. I know the basics and find that knowing them and practising them a little will, in time, bring changes to the way that you blog, that will lead to a natural SEO as you blog. For example - knowing that the keywords you use in the title of your post is important in SEO means you start to think about keywords more and, in time, develop better-optimised titles.

"5. Google is in the business of ranking the best and most authoritative content highest. So one of the best things you can do with SEO is to write high-quality content and build trust, credibility and authority in your niche through networking. While there are things you can tweak in your content to improve your SEO, the best thing you can do is write quality content that people share around.

So, learn the basics, implement them, don't obsess about SEO and build something of high quality."

For me, blogging is about voice. Stand-out bloggers have stand-out voices. Would you agree? Any tips to help bloggers develop their voices?
DR: "Voice is one of those elusive things that I wish I could bottle and hand out to bloggers. It's difficult to teach - some bloggers seem to be born with it, others find it develops in time and for others, it just seems to elude them.

"The main tips I could give:

*Practise - it takes time to develop your voice. The first 5000 posts are the hardest!

*Experiment - part of practising is experimenting with writing in different styles and voices. Set yourself tasks to write different types of posts. Experiment with different lengths, with formal and informal writing, with humour, with writing in the third person, with writing lists posts, case studies, question/discussion-based posts.

*Pay particular attention to how your posts are received - watch for sparks of energy and resonance from your readers. As you experiment, you'll find that some posts just seem to click with others, while others flop. This gives you hints as to what types of posts to keep experimenting with."

If you were a writer trying to build a community and a profile through a blog, what would you focus on? Is it enough to just write good stuff?
DR: "There are other factors that I think are important in building a good blog. Content is part of it, but I always try to add two other elements:

*Community: Engagement from readers (and among readers) is where the magic often happens. Ask readers questions, get them interacting with you and each other, give them homework, make them know that they're valued, build a culture of inclusivity. All of this helps make your blog more useful, but it also builds social proof and makes it easier to grow, because when new visitors come they will be more attracted to a site that is obviously active and inclusive - rather than one that simply has good content.

*Get off your blog: A 'build it and they will come' mentality doesn't really work with blogging. Just focusing all your energy on building a great blog is part of what you need to be doing, but also important is getting off your blog and interacting with other people's spaces. Identify who you want to read your blog and where they are already hanging out online - then go and interact (and be useful) in those spaces. In doing so, you'll start to build yourself a profile, credibility and, hopefully, in doing so, find readers for your own blog."

For everything you ever wanted to know about blogging, visit Darren at the Problogger website, or go say hello on Facebook. If nothing else, tell him how much you like his glasses.

**And don't forget the first-ever Fibro Facebook chat about freelance writing is on tomorrow night (Wednesday) at 8.30pm (AEDST). Hope to see you there!

Less is sometimes more

When I first dropped my blog-post-a-day habit, I was twitchy. At 10pm every night (my usual blogging time), I'd be antsy. On the off days, I'd feel like something was missing. You know that feeling you have when you know you should be doing something but you're not quite sure what?

That feeling.

But I got busy with other things and before I knew it, I was finding myself trying to remember if a day was a blog day or not. It doesn't take long.

What I have noticed, however, is feeling more pressure than I ever did when I was cranking out a post a night. Now that I've offloaded my quantity issues, I'm struggling with quality issues. I feel as though every post must earn its place. I'm tossing ideas around in my head wondering if they're worthy enough to throw out there. Before, I'd be grabbing at every passing thought trying to extrapolate 500 words from it. Now, I'm discarding more posts than I'm writing - before they're even written.

The jury is out as to whether this is a good thing or not. On one hand, I do have an ongoing document on my computer that contains a whole lot of snippets - ideas, thoughts, fragments. Most of it will never see the light of day on this blog, but some of it may turn up in other forms (heavily fictionalised, for instance) down the track.

On the other hand, I spent a considerable amount  of time the other night fitting the names of my favourite blogs into the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas before trashing the whole thing as ludicrous. (Despite 'Frills - In - The - Hills' being gobsmackingly perfect for the 'Five Gold Rings' line.)

Quality versus quantity. Sometimes less is more pressure.

How often do you blog? Has your pattern changed since you started blogging?

[image: hautegreenhutch/etsy]

Just another blog post about blogging (and ducks)

I had an editor once who liked to talk about ducks a lot. About how their effortless glide across a pond concealed a whole lot of hard work, churning and strain underneath. That, he told me, is what writing should be like. Good writing.

Readers, he said, do not want to know about how difficult it was to organise a particular interview. They do not want to know how long it took you to find a park, or how you arrived flustered and red-faced only to discover that your interviewee was still in the shower.

What they want, he continued (at length), is a simple, beautifully written profile piece. About the heart of the story - not about you.

I spoke to a very good blogger today, who said something similar about blogging. "I write my blog every day as though it's the first day that every reader will visit it," she said. "What do I want them to see?"

Blogging can be hard work. Of that there is no doubt. There's a lot to consider, a lot going on in the background. Decisions to be made about X, Y and Z. All very important stuff.

But probably not for readers. Who just want to admire the sunshine on your glossy feathers as you sail across the smooth surface of the blogosphere. What shines your particular set of feathers will be different to the blog next door - it might be humour or pathos or advice or raw passion or stunning images or mouth-watering craft.

The churning? Not so much.

[image: via weheartit.com]

Going part-time (hard habit to break)

I'm going part-time. I've negotiated a flexible working arrangement with myself. I've put a business case together and showed myself how blogging five days a week is curtailing my other writing time. I've shown myself how cutting back to three days will allow me to focus on my other, sadly neglected projects. It's not an easy decision. I have discovered that I have a lot to say. (Actually, I'm not really surprised by that...) But I also know that there are other ways to say it. Other places.

It will take me longer to rack up my next 500 posts. And I'm okay with that. Five hundred posts at an average of 500 words apiece is 250,000 words. That's around three full-length novels. Written in 18 months. I take 200 posts out of that at an average of 500 words apiece and that's more than one whole book - well, here's hoping it's one whole book.

Even so, it's a hard habit to break. 

I'll still be here, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, sharing the Fibro love. I'm just making some room. Opening some windows. At least for a while.

I hope you'll continue to pop round to visit.

[image: tumblr.com]

And the winner is...

Thanks to everyone who entered my rather unusual giveaway. The entries have been read, the short list created, the votes tallied... etcetera etcetera. And Valerie Khoo, the powerhouse behind the Sydney Writers' Centre has put on her sorting hat and judged the worthy winner.

Now, if this were the Academy Awards or something, I'd be cracking jokes here in an effort to build tension. I would have announced the short list, who would be sitting in the auditorium wearing their friendly, self-deprecating, oh-no-it-won't-be-me (please-let-it-be-me) faces. The cameras would be closing in, hoping to catch a tiny glimpse of 'Good God NO! It can't be her' as the winner is announced.

But we're on a blog, in the Fibro. So I'll just get on with it, shall I?

The winner is Candice. Her winning entry read like this:

“We’re looking for Spark.”
“Really? Again?”
“Yeah. We last saw him walking along the fence”.
“In which direction?”
“Um, towards your house.”
“Okay kids. Let me just finish writing this article, then we’ll go look for Sparky together”.

Hi Allison,
I'd love to talk to you about developing my feature writing for magazines career. I'm about to move interstate with my husband, and this is the perfect opportunity to try and go full time with my writing. I've completed the SWC feature writing course, and I've had one article published in Good Reading Magazine and another about to be published in a local magazine.

I'd love (!!!!) to discuss the business of freelancing and talk to you about staying passionate about a topic weeks after pitching the original idea.

Thank you for this great competition and congrats with your 500th post!

You're an inspiration.

Regards, Candice 

Note the creative use of 'spark' (which is what we were, after all, searching for), a little CV to show us that she's serious, clever insertion of past SWC experience (use everything you've got people) and a splendid-but-not-overdone bit of sucking up compliment at the end.

Perfect.

Can't wait to chat, Candice. Drop me an email via the contact me thingy on my Blogger profile and we'll get started!

Thanks to everyone who entered. If Candice gives me a good reference, I'll look at doing it again in a few months' time when I hit the big two years on the blog. In the meantime, look out for my first Facebook chat over the next few weeks. I've even got a few guest stars lined up! Pop over and join the Fibro's Facebook community for updates.

[image: prettylittlelies via weheartit]