Why One Busy Author Blogs

A busy author with five children, Fiona Hogan interviewed with Always Write just after her first book came on the market. It was one of my top ten posts last year. Our readers marveled that Fiona could manage to write a book and keep up a blog. But she does.

Why Blogging Is A Beautiful Thing

by Fiona Hogan

It always surprises me that people read my blog – that they actually take the time to read it from start to finish, some even leave comments. The novelty never wears off.

And the reason I find this so bizarre? Well, I guess it’s because my posts are so random in nature. I write on anything and everything, whatever comes into my head on the day in question, hence the name of my site – Unusual Fiction – Random Musings. Yes, they are random and yes, they are musings. My blog posts are quite simply written extensions of my train of thought – for example – I go for a run and then post about the crazy thoughts that go through my head when I am struggling for breath, tearing down an Irish country lane trying to dodge the potholes.

I love that my ramblings seem to resonate with others.

For me, this is the great thing about blogging. It connects people from all walks of life and ideologies – we are linked via a trail of words and ideas. I am truly grateful for all the connections I have made through blogging groups and most especially the communications from the loyal bunch who follow my blog. I have gained insight into other writers’ styles and how they get their message across. I have learned a lot in a short amount of time.

The great thing about blogging. It connects people from all walks of life and ideologies – we are linked via a trail of words and ideas. Fiona Hogan

I started blogging about seven or eight years ago – on two separate blogs, both consisting of one blog post each. It was an idea I had toyed with until life got in the way (along with my children and work commitments) and my poor fledgling blogs faded into obscurity.

Skip forward to Autumn, 2015 – Having just published my first book on Amazon I was researching like crazy about self-promotion. Other independently published authors will probably laugh at my naïvety (everything should be prepared before the book is launched, I know this now but I was pretty clueless then).

So I had my new shiny book up on Amazon and needed to get the word out, someone online mentioned how useful having a blog was to an author so I decided to get straight on it. My first blog, on Blogger.com, started out as an introduction to my new book along with snippets of short stories, character information and the odd poem thrown in for good measure. I moved to WordPress shortly after as the blog went through yet another incarnation. It was only about half a year into my new site when the promotional stuff for my book slipped gently into the background and my blog started to take shape and evolve into a vehicle for reflection. I love the fact that my site has evolved alongside my journey as a writer.

Blogging has taught me a lot about myself as a writer; I have come to realise just how much of my writing is inspired by nature. Living in a peaceful rural area in the midlands of Ireland, I am lucky to be surrounded by scrubby hazel ditches and overgrown woods and all I need is to step out onto my deck to be inspired. Most times it’s like living in a scene from an old Irish faery tale and through my blog I have been able to channel this awe in the beauty that is all around me. The response from my followers encouraged me to focus more on poetry and short stories in the same vein. Not only did this increase my confidence, it helped me discover my tone as a writer.

I have also found the process of blogging to be a great tool, not only in arranging my meandering words into readable type but also as a discipline. I write once a week, normally at the weekend, during one of those lying on the couch, staring into the fire moments when reflecting on the week that has passed or recalling an incident or feeling that prompts furious scribbling into a notebook for the duration of a cup of coffee or a slowly sipped glass of red wine.

I never miss a post, it has become important to me, an outpouring of learned wisdom and thought, I need to get these posts down and pressing the publish button on my WP dashboard always feels like a huge accomplishment. I like to think of my words winging their way across the net into far-flung places of the globe to like-minded individuals. It’s a beautiful thing.

But blogging is most of all about sharing; about opening your thoughts and insights to others. A good blog post will resonate and invite discussion, it can be shared multiple times and reach a much wider audience than you could ever have dreamed of. It can inspire and cultivate friendships resulting in shared knowledge between the writer and the reader.

But most of all, I find that blogging keeps me engaged. It makes me feel that I am part of something more than a constant scribbler sitting in my living room drinking gallons of strong coffee and dreaming of writing the next bestseller.

My website is in a constant state of change, I’m always adjusting and tweaking. So while my site may not have all the best bells and whistles ( I am not the most tech-savvy of writers, I try but I am very easily distracted) at least I can be happy that my posts are original, hopefully diverting and always from the heart.

Please leave us your thoughts and visit Fiona’s blog Unusual Fiction and Random Musings.

Books by busy author, Fiona Hogan

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