The Writing for Pay-Writing for Blog Balance

Lately, I’ve been neglecting my blog. I’m not being delinquent; I’m just being practical. Thank G-d, I’ve been doing a lot of writing in the last couple weeks, writing that is both fun and paying (my favorite combination). G-d willing, I’ll be publishing a short 5-part serial in Binyan in the next few weeks, as well as a few other exciting projects that have been time-consuming.

It’s true that blogging is not independent of my work–I maintain my site largely to create an audience for my writing, promote it when published, and help others overcome some of the professional hurdles I’ve come across (sometimes stumbling along the way). However, writing a decent post that I don’t mind having my name attached to takes time. Lately, for good reasons, I’ve felt my time has to be spent elsewhere. But posting regularly is key to maintaining a good blog.

How do the readers out there strike the right balance between blogging and other professional activities?

The 2 Best Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills (with a little backup from Anne Lamott)

I’m going to offer some advice today that seems simplistic, so basic as to be ridiculous. Yet recently, I’ve experienced people who have neglected these 2 important strategies that are pretty much guaranteed to improve their writing abilities. So here I am repeating them.

Almost every book about writing offers the following advice. (The wording might vary according to the delicacy of the audience, but the meaning is the same.)

relaxing in a chair

Okay, so you might need more than a chair. This guy isn’t going to get much writing done if he doesn’t pick up a pen!

1) PUT YOUR TUSH IN THE CHAIR.

By this, of course, we learn that if you tell us you want to write, well that’s a nice sentiment. But we know that you mean it if you sit at a desk, pick up a pen (or keyboard) and actually practice writing. Certainly weekly, and preferably daily, you need to write. A human being is only a writer if s/he is a person who writes.  Continue reading