http://icanhascheezburger.com

I’ve been stalling for a few days, trying to figure out what to say for this post.  See, I wanted to talk about online communities, how to find one that fits your style and how to make the most of them, but I kept running into an impasse.  The internet is a BIG place and there are so many options that it seemed any selection of online communities I mentioned would be horribly minuscule and wouldn’t come close to representing all that the internet can offer.

The second part of the post (how to make the most of online communities) was also giving me trouble because who am I to tell you all how to make the most of your blogging/tweeting/web-surfing?  I’m basically a newbie at it myself.  I mean, I’ve only had this blog for six months and I joined twitter even more recently.

http://icanhascheezburger.com

This is why, instead of giving advice in this post, I’ve decided to tell you all a little about my own journey, what I’ve found that works for me and resources that have helped me along the way.

I started blogging back in 2007 with two blogs: one for knitting and one for writing.  Both were terrible, or at the very least, seriously unfocused.  I had no idea how blogging “worked” and what the “rules” were (mostly because I spent all my time writing and very little time reading other blogs).  I just wrote about whatever came to mind on that day and since my mind was often empty, I didn’t post very often.  I mean, for crying out loud, I had more pictures of my cats on those blogs than I had of stuff relevant to my actual posts.

So I put those blogs out of their misery.

Then in grad school, I decided to give the blog thing another go with swimagainstthegrain.blogspot.com  It still exists… I left it up, because some of the posts are not terrible.  Early one Sunday morning, I started doodling in my notebook and before I knew it, I had drawn this little guy.

I kept doodling and by the time my hubby woke up, I had pages and pages of iggi scattered across the office floor and I had transferred the image to the computer.  It was at that moment that I realized iggi was my “brand” and I needed to adapt my blog accordingly.  So I rebooted my blog, moving from the old url to this one and iggi and I have been a team ever since.

Along the way, I’ve found a series of really useful resources that have helped me figure out the big scary world of the internets.

• inkygirl’s Writer’s Guide to Twitter taught me everything I know about tweeting, twitter chats and twitter etiquette.  She also has a list of twitter chats relating to writing.
• Adventure in Children’s Publishing does a recap every week of Best Articles for Writers every Friday.  It’s organized according to category so it’s easy to find topics you’re looking for.
• Jody Hedlund’s blog is chock-full of useful posts about writing, blogging and social networking.  Here are just a few of the goodies you’ll find on her blog: Learning How to Use Social Media Effectively and How Important is Blogging for Unpublished Writers?
• Elana Johnson just wrote a great post on Monday about building a blog audience: Blogging Trifecta Explosion!
• And no list of online resources would be complete without the fabulous group of writers that brought us WriteOnCon!  Though I was in Ireland during the conference, I have browsed through some of the recaps and I’m continually amazed at all the wealth of information that’s there.
• Don’t forget also to look up professional writer organizations.  I found this list of Writers Associations that looks to be pretty good.  At the very least, it can serve as a jumping off point.

For those who are new at following blogs, one great tip I got from my friend and fellow blogger, Ghenet, was to signup for Google Reader.  If you have a gmail account then you essentially already have it, you just have to set it up.  As you subscribe to blogs using RSS feeds, the blogs will appear in your reader, allowing you to browse all the new posts of the day in one screen.  Kind of like a newspaper.

Long-term Goals: if you don’t already have Google Reader (or something like it), set it up and start connecting with different blogs.  If you’ve been resisting Twitter, consider setting up an account, even if all you do at first is follow tweets.

Today’s Task: Since we’re talking about community, today we’re doing a group project!  Please share in the comments which online communities or resources you visit and tell us why you find them especially useful.  If we all pitch in together and give one or two unique answers, we can collectively put together a comprehensive list of online communities and resources.  Later in the month, I’ll go back through the comments, add some more links and put together a user-friendly Resources list to post at the end of DIY MFA.

Edit (to add more info): I’m joining this a little late, but I’m so glad I did because I think it’s a fantastic idea! Here’s how it works: you add yourself to the list if you fit the topic of the week, then add the list to your blog by pasting in the code. Then join in the fun! A little about me: I write middle grade fantasy as well as literary middle grade and teen fiction. I’ll also do the occasional story for grown-ups.

Hello!  I have so much to tell you all that I hardly know where to start.  You know when you have a bazillion ideas for blog posts and not enough days to write them so you try to cram it all into one post?  That’s this post right here.

That said, I’ve decided not to fight the random today and share all my crazy thoughts with you all at once.

Random Thought #1:  I am sorry to say I will be leaving the blogosphere for a short vacation starting the second week in August because… I’m going to Ireland.  SQUEE!  For years I’ve had visions of frolicking in verdant fields, stocking up on tons of wool and maybe even hugging a sheep.  Still, it means fourteen days of limited internet.  I’m thinking of trying to sneak my laptop with me so I can get my internet fix, but I don’t want my hubby to go all gregzilla on me.  So, the way I’ll leave it is this: if I can post while I’m away, I’ll post, but if I can’t you’ll know it’s because I’m getting my knit on.

Random Thought #2: DIY MFA
As most of you already know, I’ve become intrigued (READ: obsessed) with this idea of a Do-It-Yourself MFA.  I’ve since come up with this crazy (READ: utterly insane) idea of doing a month-long blog extravaganza on this topic.  I’ll be challenging myself to post an article on this topic every day for a month, with the idea that by the end of it, I should have touched on all facets of the DIY MFA.

September is the month when most people start back at at school so it seems fitting that iggi U should open it’s (virtual doors) at that time.  The idea is to create a space where writers can find as much information on this topic as possible in one place so that they may put together a program of study that fits their own writing needs.  The plan: I’ll be posting every day on some aspect of the DIY MFA through September, the idea being that by the end of the month, you should have all the info you need to put together your own personalized writing plan.

My question for you all is this: is this idea completely crazy?  Is this topic something you’d be interested in hearing more about?

Random Thought #3:  Last, but certainly not least, is a quick reminder.  The Writing Through the Senses challenge ends tonight at 11:59pm EST.  If you’re doing the challenge, please check to make sure I’ve got you on my list so you’ll be included in the contest.  And don’t forget to read the Writing Through the Senses posts and give your comments.  Thank you to everyone who has participated!  I’ll be posting the winner tomorrow.

Last Thursday, Literary Lab published a post about blogging, aptly titled: Who Cares if You Blog?  This post dispels all those myths one might believe in about how a meek little writer-blog suddenly gets a book deal simply on the merits of it’s wonderful blogginess.  Sure we’ve all heard of bloggers who ended up with book deals but in many cases it’s tough to know which came first: the hefty blog readership or the book.

As Literary Lab eloquently puts it: “you’re just another person with a blog, and we all have blogs and it’s nothing special. What is special is writing a good book.”  Which then begs the question: why do we blog?  I blog because it keeps my otherwise unstructured life on a schedule and gives me focus.  I blog because I love being part of a community of writers and readers.  I blog because it gives me a low-pressure venue for my writing.

Who cares if we blog?  Clearly, we’re here because we do care, because the blogosphere gives us something of value, whether it be simply a procrastination tool during a dull workday or something more.  So now I turn this question to the blog authors out there: why do you blog and why do you read blogs?