Version 2.0

About a year ago, I surrendered.

After a long and valiant resistance, I succumbed to the tidal wave of well-meaning advice both specific (from friends) and general (from writing/publishing experts): You must have a blog. If you want to be a writer in today's world, you must have a blog.

I caved....  I started a blog.

Not without angst, you understand...for I am a) a technological cretin...and b) reluctant to clutter up the e-waves with yet another blog when I doubted that I had anything to say that hadn't been said 50,000 times over by writers both published and unpublished.

As evidence of "A"...you must understand that I am one of the approximately 5 people in the United States who do not choose to own a cellular phone.

As evidence of "B"...well, I waited. And waited. And waited.

Waiting for an idea. A concept that hadn't been "done" to excess...where I felt I could actually contribute something that, at least in my eyes, seemed fresh.

Eventually, I settled on the theme of how psychology intersects with Writing, Writers, and Readers. As an analytical type, with a Master's in Psychology and a 20+ year career in human services, I was (and am) fascinated with the insights that psychological research has to offer writers.

And as I scanned the blogosphere, the few "psychology for writers" sites I located were almost exlusively focused on the Dark Side...psychopathology, mental illness, violent disorders. I was interested in exploring what psychology had to say about the creative process. How to have ideas. What personality traits are associated with talent/success.

This kind of research is what I do anyway, for my own personal education, so why not blog on it?

So I did.  For several months.  It was not an encouraging experiment.

Oh, I loved what I was learning. And I learned about things I loved. Overall, it was a worthwhile learning experience. But in several months of posting I racked up the astonishing total of zero comments. And as so many bloggers before me have commented, it felt like I was writing to myself.

Ultimately, I opted to mothball that effort. If you're interested, you can view the body here.  Heck, you can probably still be the first to comment.



Though some disagree with the philosophy, I chose to wait for a publishing contract before actively blogging, and to spend that time improving my fiction-writing skills. So I'm happy to say that my first published novel is planned for release later this year, courtesy of Kristine Pratt's Written World Communications.

Version 2.0 of my blogging efforts will include some of the psychologically-themed material. That's in my life-blood and can't be helped. It will also cover the adventure of publishing, and explorations into writing, reading, and general life stuff along the way.

Glad you're here!  And for goodness sake, make a comment!!  :)