Friday, February 4, 2011

Bloggers' Crusade

One of the Podcasts that I subscribe to – Adventures In SciFi Publishing – has a quote at the beginning of each episode; something like “you should not begin a new project unless it scares you a little.” There's a wisdom to this. I learned from public speaking that if you're nervous, it shows that you care about what you're doing, and that will be obvious to the audience. When someone speaks to an audience without such fear and concern, it will show, and the audience won't be any more interested than the speaker is. Zzzz...

So what's scaring me now? A Crusade. Rachel Harrie over at Rachel Writes is hosting a Blogger Networking event. Best of all, contributors will be categorized by genre. Is this a good thing? That depends. I like to see what others in my genre are doing, because it's good for honing my craft, and networking. It also familiarizes my with the publishers and agents that are more likely to represent the kind of work I'm producing.

On the other hand, most writing has something I need to learn. I'm not writing romance, but if there isn't any in my books, I'm neglecting a big part of the human experience. I'm not writing mysteries, but I have a lot to learn about suspense, and making the reader want to keep turning those pages.

The scary part is the time involved. We're all following a lot of Blogs, and finding the time to read & comment can be daunting, especially with the rest of life calling for attention. I often remember something Donald Trump wrote in Think Big and Kick Ass (it got re-named to “Think Big” when the sales were disappointing) If you really believe in what you're doing, then you should have no problem finding at least two hours a day to contribute to it.

We all still have a lot to learn. And many of us would like to continue using our platforms to network. Rachael has provided a great opportunity for us, so if you're so inclined, swing on by and join the Crusade!

20 comments:

  1. Right now I'd be happy with an extra two minutes! And I'm always a little nervous and wired before I speak. Adds to my energy.

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  2. I will check it out! Not that I have two extra hours.

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  3. It IS a commitment, but you can organize it a bit. I am putting all the links in a spreadsheet so I can hit them all several times, but any given ONE (other than my regulars) probably only about once every 3rd day. You can do it!

    The group events really ARE a good way to meet some like-minds. I had maybe a dozen stick from last time (which is about 1/3 of who participated.

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  4. Hi Will, lovely to meet you, and welcome on board the Crusade! I hear you, it can be a bit scary, and there is some extra time involved. But Hart's right that you can organize it (and with the division into groups this Crusade, it should be quite manageable).

    Hugs,

    Rach

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  5. Hello fellow crusader :)

    Write well. Write often.

    Chenoa

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  6. Hi Will (from a fellow crusader!)

    Good luck with your writing ... and with the crusade :D

    :Dom

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  7. Good luck with your Crusade, Will :o) I see you are going to do A to Z April again, I think I will too. It was fun!

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  8. I've joined as well, and I have to get over there and finishing checking everything out! I'm rather excited to meet other romantic suspense writers as we seem to be the minority around here.

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  9. Ooh, I've got to check out the Crusade. Thanks for the heads up! And commitment is my mantra right now. Getting the writing done isn't the problem, though. If I'm not careful, the housework will never get done!

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  10. Hi! I'm a fellow crusader stopping by :) This should be fun. Overwhelming? Just a bit, but it will be fun meeting all these other people!

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  11. The best thing the Crusade has over public speaking is that there are 80-90 other people up there on stage talking with you. I remember giving my first big speech in front of 1200 people, and even having one other person up there with me on stage helped a lot. With 80-90, I'd have been golden (and I would have snuck off the back of the stage and gone for a milk shake).

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  12. Hi fellow crusader, I agree about the time commitment. I'm planning to do what I can, and not stress out too much about it.

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  13. Hi Will~ I just had to comment and let you know how inspired I was reading your post. Being a little scared--I hadn't thought of it before, but how true this is. If I want something bad enough, a little fear before I start the project is normal & healthy. Good news for this writer, who has a tendency to let her fears stop a project before it even begins. I also loved the Trump quote--so right. Great post!

    ~ Noelle

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  14. Hi, Will. I'm just clicking around to all the other Crusaders and following along. See you around. ; )

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  15. I've never had a problem speaking (probably why I have a Master's in it), but there's sort of an art to it. And I will readily admit that standing up in front of an audience can be intimidating.

    It's difficult to find time to do all you need to do and all you want to do!

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  16. Keeping up with all the blogs is the biggest part of blogging. Good luck as you charge forward with the Crusade. By April you should be in good blogging shape to Blog from A to Z with little effort.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out and the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2011

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  17. Hey, WIll,

    I'm a crusader, too... Good luck with your writing... It will be great to read everyone's work.

    Michael

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  18. I've joined the Crusade and a new follower to your blog! Have a great day.

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