By Susan Wingate
Of late, every time I teach at a writing conference, the program coordinators slate a workshop with a title something like this: How to Blog Effectively or The Art of Blogging. You get the idea. They have rules like: never blog without knowing the topic you’ll be discussing; and, try to blog in your niche. Words of wisdom for sure however if your niche is writing or more succinctly, novel writing, well every Johnny out there has a blog about it. It seems the blogging market for how-to-write has become glutted.
For me, blog writing is secondary to novel writing and so I use my blog to grease my creative and technical skills. I like humor too so I sort of play around when I blog. I get silly even.
For instance, I broke out in a huge full-body rash this past April and because this new development sent me on an adventure to the doctor, I decided to blog about it. Wise in the eyes of blogging experts? I dare say not. But did it get noticed? Oh. My. Yes. That one blog post brought the most visitors to my website in months. Since then, I post everything and anything that comes to mind. Sometimes these postings are about writing but I always add a bit of humor to them. People like to laugh, plain and simple. Today’s blog, July 2nd, tells about the time my husband called me a hermit. Of course, my husband, Bob gives me tons of great fodder for writing. He makes me laugh because he doesn’t understand me. This paradoxical relationship makes for great humor. We’re terribly in love with one another but, still, he’s a businessman and I’m an artist. The rift between these two mindsets can seem as deep as the Mariana Trench.
Anyway, I tend to believe that people like to laugh. Writing funny makes me laugh too. Maybe it doesn’t meet The Idiot’s Guide to Blogging but if everyone’s laughing then we all win. Right?
Most
recently, Susan Wingate’s novels, SPIDER BRAINS and DROWNING each
reached Amazon Bestseller status in 2012. DROWNING won the 2011 Forward
National Literature Award for Drama. She would love for you to read her
books. You can find them all under the tab on this site labeled “Books”.
SUSAN has written eleven novels, two short story collections, a few
plays, one screenplay and tons of poems. Her latest 2011 novel DROWNING
(contemporary women’s fiction), won 1st place in the 2011 Forward
National Literature Award and also won a finalist award for the category
of Women’s Fiction/Chick Lit in the 2011 International Book Awards. A
vibrant public speaker, Susan offers inspiring, motivational talks about
the craft of writing, publishing and marketing, and how to survive this
extremely volatile (e-)Publishing industry. She presents these lectures
for private groups and at writing conferences, libraries and bookstores
around the country.To get your copy of SPIDER BRAINS by Susan Wingate:http://www.amazon.com/Spider-Brains-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B007KDAS0C/ref=la_B003CMMERK_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1339336080&sr=1-6
To view all books by Susan Wingate: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Wingate/e/B003CMMERK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
To learn more about Susan, go to her website: http://www.susanwingate.com
Visit Susan Wingate on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/susanwingate
Like Susan Wingate on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanwingate.author
Follow Susan Wingate on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/susanwingate/susan-wingate-s-books/
If
one were to bake the story SPIDER BRAINS into a cake, they should
sprinkle in Charlotte’s Web, toss in one Jellicle Cat, then stir in a
little Spiderman—but as a girl and not in that goofy latex outfit! A
tale of hope, transformation, transition and inspiration.After her father’s death last year and, now, in the throes of a gnarly teacher’s whim as she thinks ahead to college (or really just dreams of getting into college), a small black arachnid bites fifteen-year-old Susie Speider on the finger. The bite sends her nights into fantastical dreams about taking revenge on a teacher who, ultimately, holds her college aspirations in the palm of her cold calloused hand. But, after Susie figures out the dreams are real, she ups the ante by visiting the teacher regularly… as the spider! And, oh, by the way! Who is that boy spider munching on flies, hiding over there in the corner? A story of loss and forgiveness, tolerance and kindness, Susie Speider deals with the death of her father while Matt Ryder–the new neighbor boy–has just lost his mother. Ultimately, SPIDER BRAINS poses some important questions about how to treat Attention-Deficit-Disorder.