Ten Big Things I learned while Blogging.

1. How to make a Button for people to put on their blogs to advertise your blog. I actually spent some

time learning to make myself a button. I had posted many other buttons on my blog. Sort of a

homemade vest covered with colorful patches. Then I learned. Unless there was something really big on your blog like a bloghop, you really did not need a button. So I took mine down along with about twenty from other blogs. My post sharing how to make a button is  How to Create a Blog Button to Share

2. If you find a good community of writers online, be supportive. I stumbled on trifecta.com and loved it. I did not always have time to write but it was the most rewarding opportunity. I never purchased any items. I never donated. They were just as gracious and supportive of this nobody as anyone else. I wish I had made a donation. There is another one that is similar with some familiar faces of trifecta. It is Grammar Ghoul Press

My favorite now is the A to Z Challenge.  There is really no money to donate except for donations to the education of the children of a former host who passed away. They do have a t-shirt. I plan to buy one even though I do not wear t-shirts.

3. Decide right away whether your blog is political or about writing. Everybody blogging is writing. I had a hard time moving away from this topic. However, my writing is better because of it. Politics is a prickly pear. If people agree with you, they do. Otherwise, you turn them off and rarely on to your ideas. Frankly, we all get enough memes about politics on Facebook. Write your feelings but don't hit that publish button unless you are sure you want your writing to revolve around politics.

4. Dark topics reduces readers. It is also true that your first few lines hook readers. Many stop if the post does not suit their taste.

5. Unless the topic is incredibly exciting like homemade sin, reduce, reduce, reduce what you write.

6. You will be surprised what people like. You will understand why some posts are barely read a year or two later.

7. Look over social media buttons, etc on your blog. I had always wondered why people looked at my Facebook page but never liked it. I had a button that said Like my Facebook page but only took people to my page. I've fixed it. Now I need to post something on that page periodically.

Another big one on blogger is the Google Plus button. Just because you are connected on Google Plus, it does not mean anyone gets updates of a new blog post. You need to post your blog on Google Plus. There is also a Google Friend Connect which allows your new blog posts to show up on folks blogger dashboard.

8. Be careful who you associate with. They will give you writing ideas. I hate vampires. I am from the South. I am a Baptist. We don't like the boogerman. I'm open minded. I don't believe in vampires. I still don't find anything sexy about them. I wrote a few vampire stories to take all the glitz and glamour out of these creatures of fiction. Well, you guessed it I have written a touching vampire screenplay.

I do like science fiction. I like literary fiction better. I want to write literary fiction. I've been reading fellow bloggers who write sci-fi. Yes, a sci-fi story is dancing in my head. I plan to call names on a later post. They will love the publicity, albeit small.




9. Visit blogs and carefully make comments. I have a policy of making comments. I see it as being sociable. I have made comments on blogs that I wish I had not. Even when you go back and put them in the trash, your name is still there. My biggie is talking about a hot topic and not really knowing how what I am writing will be perceived or misunderstanding the discussion. How embarrassing.

10. Don't write about specific people without their permission. You can discuss many a topic without giving specifics that can cause you problems. Write what you want. Then use that wonderful delete button on information that singles people out. You will be surprised how well your writing stands without that information. I know from experience. Be careful with the publish button. I have published a few things unwittingly. I no longer write directly to blogger but use a word document to write.