Okay, so this is a Nike ad, and naturally I am opposed to The Man, globalization, capitalist greed, pointless running shoes and so on. However, I am also pro Just Doing It. And so Nike is on to something here, though you can perfectly easily go for a jog in bog standard trainers and nothing bad will happen to you.
Just doing it relates to all elements of being a writer, not just the pure writing, the bit where you lean over your notepad in a cafe with blood dripping out of your forehead or whatever. It relates to reading, it relates to writing a short review of everything you read, it relates to bothering to set up/join/attend a writing group, it relates to looking up words you don't know the meaning of, it relates to editing your work until it is ready and not rushing it off to an agent when you know, deep down inside, your ego has got the better of your patience. And it relates to blogging. Oh yes.
I speak as one who does not blog often enough. Like most writers, I want to write more and drink less, but things don't always go according to plan. I want to blog more often, but I procrastinate. Chief among my excuses, apart from the occasional hangover, is my alleged desire to say something worthwhile, and not clog up the internet ether with brainless ramblings. This is commendable, but leads to prolonged silences on my part. Blogging, like all forms of writing, like running, needs practice. We writers have never had a platform like this, to share ideas and to present our work. Publishers know this, and want their writers to blog as often as they can. (Novel deadlines permitting.)
Normally, I would spend the next half hour dutifully inserting links into my blog, but having read the brilliant musings of Problogger Matt Haig, in this post I will let my writing do the talking. Apart from linking to Matt here.
If you don't have a blog, set one up. If you do have one, and are surfing the internet in a random, Googling your exes sort of way, Blog Now. If you want to share some thoughts on the writer as blogger, leave a comment. I will be blogging more regularly from now on. I'm Just Doing It.
