4 Ways Blogging Has Made Me a Better Writer

Blogging consistently over the last year has been a challenge, but it’s one that I’m glad I took on. Most writers know that blogging is something that they should do and it’s easy to treat it like another task to check off of your to-do list. But what if I told you that instead of viewing blogging as another writing requirement, you should view it as one more way to hone your overall writing skills? If you’re a writer who doesn’t blog, you’re missing out on some great advantages. If you’re a new aspiring writer, I strongly encourage you to keep reading.

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Here are 4 benefits I gained from becoming a blogger.

• I got used to working under deadlines. Sure they’re self-imposed deadlines and there’s plenty of flexibility but they forced me to transition from writing on a particular topic when the mood struck, to writing because I had a commitment to keep. Staying true to posting at least once a week wasn’t easy, but it brought home the lesson that writing is craft I have to choose to do, even when I don’t particularly feel like it. In other words I went from casually flirting with the idea of being a writer to being fully married to it. I gotta say that some days I absolutely love it and can’t imagine my life without it. Other days I question what in the world could I have been thinking when I decided to go ahead with this writing thing in the first place. See, it’s just like a real marriage!
• It changed the way I view the world. Ok, maybe I’m being a little melodramatic. But seriously, once I started blogging I began to measure many of my life occurrences and thoughts by asking myself, “Is this blog worthy?” or “How can I incorporate this absolutely brilliant philosophical revelation into a relevant post?” In other words I began to think like a writer. I viewed my everyday life and thoughts through a filter geared towards sharing them with an audience through writing. I really got into the whole life is art and art is life thing.This way of looking at things translated into my novel writing as well.
• It increased my confidence as a writer. For years I was the kind of person who only showed my poems, short stories and other works in progress to close family members and friends. Like most artists, I’m sensitive about my creations. Blogging helped me get over the excessive fear that my writing wasn’t good enough. Putting myself out there by sharing my writing on the internet shoved my fears to the backseat. I’ve mostly had great feedback, and for that I’m grateful. But even if someone came along and made it their business to tell me that they think my writing sucks, I wouldn’t be phased. I’m far from perfect, but I’m confident in my God-given talent.
• I’ve ‘met’ a lot of amazing authors. The blogging community is awesome. I’ve had the pleasure of networking with talented and gracious writers simply because I blog. Iron sharpens iron and participating in the blogging community gives me the opportunity to interact with other people walking the same path as me. Being new to the literary scene, I have a lot to learn and what better way to do that than to study those who are already mastering the lesson?

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I could keep going with all the many ways blogging has made me a better writer including improving my organization, planning and time management skills. The bottom line is that you won’t know for yourself until you take the plunge and put yourself out there! So what are you waiting for?

Ever thought about starting a blog? What’s holding you back? Have a blog already? How do you keep yourself motivated to continue?

Photo credit: Mexicanwave / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND