I have this friend who has a blog. He is on a level that I can only hope to reach one day. He did a post this morning, a post about writing. And as I have a habit of doing with blogs that are far better than mine, I tried to type in a comment that would get me noticed. Because that is the kind of shallow, self-absorbed, attention-seeking person that I am.
Here is a link to the post…
http://clownonfire.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/write-like-you-give-a-shit/
—————————————————————–
And here is the supposedly clever comment I typed in…
This is why I keep my blog separate from my writing. I mean, obviously I write on my blog. And I post stuff that I do write… like when I was doing the chapters of my novel way back when. Every now and then I will write something on the blog that has promise, and I put those aside to develop. And rarely, I will do a poem or a post about something where the words truly dance, and then I think to myself… I wrote that like I give a shit.
———————————————–
And here is the question that he asked in return, because he always sees right through my pathetic bullshit…
Art, Here’s a question for you. Do you personally think there is a difference between a blogger and a writer? Le Clown
—————————————————-
And here is what I answered…
Only in the sense that anybody can have a blog. But not everybody can really write. I mean, anyone can type words. But to make the words dance, to take flight, to go somewhere worth going, to pour out your soul or your heart, to make others feel emotions, to bring them to tears, or rage, or longing… to describe a flower and make it more beautiful than the real thing… to invent an entire universe populated with living, breathing creatures that don’t actually exist, but somehow they do… to capture in small, black letters all the realties that ever were or ever could or couldn’t be… to suck people’s minds into the page or the screen, to take them somewhere else… no… not everyone can do that just because they signed up for WordPress…
——————————————————-
And here is the thing… there is always a thing…
That was actually not at all bad. Sometimes I can write like I give a shit.
But if you want to read some stuff by someone who always does everything like he gives a shit, go and visit Le Clown.
And maybe we can talk about this some more. Maybe we can delve into how we each pick our words, and the process behind our particular voices. Maybe we can even discover something worth while by using words to learn more about words…
Pouring My Art Out 
Pingback: Here it is… | Pouring My Art Out
I never say it all in one place… or something…
You spoke my thoughts in the response to his response ques. Good for you. I long since noticed the difference between bloggers and writers – not that they don’t overlap.
Thank you. Nothing is ever quite cut and dried, is it?
Honestly, I don’t like to think of myself either a blogger or a writer. I write no personal stuff to fully match the “web log” form from which the word “blog” originated – nor I claim to possess a sufficient command of grammar, coherence, and story development to call myself a writer. I’d use a label “e-comedian”, but I expect that if I ever have to explain what I do, I’d just get “Oh, so you’re a blogger!”.
As soon as I started reading that I said to myself you are a comic… a sit down comic… then I got to the middle part and I was like… yeah… right… you suck with language… that was sarcasm by the way.
I do suck with the language. I know it well enough to know that I do. One of the reasons I write my blog is to improve it.
Trust me, you have a firm grasp of the subject.
I’ll make sure to pass your review to all my English teachers who never gave me more than a B+ in the subject.
I got F’s in every English class… except the advanced creative writing class they stuck me in because there was room in it and they figured I would flunk anyway. I got A’s. The guidance councilor said I was messing up the whole system.
And now you are messing up the whole Internet with your advanced creative writing skills. By the way – you could use your comment as a SSP (shameless self-promotion) post
I think I already did that.
Sit down comic, I like that.
I have my rare moments of brilliance.
Thanks to you and Le Clown for this exchange. I think you give a shit. Most of us do. The challenge is to plant our ass in the chair, dig deep, stay real, go beyond the small town of our own lives, and write.
Now that was well said… or typed…
I just like reading what you say.
Yay…
Hi. Was shutting things down for the night when noticed Le Clown left a top that stuff was going on here that related to his posts/comment on his blog. He’s right. This is a great topic ( but I’m tired) So, Bloggers and writers are different – but can be the same – or neither, just clutter and alphabet soup. Word Press is like the town square – or a country fair with everyone hawking wares – trying to get you to buy – or lure you in ( that sounds lurid?) or purposely being obnoxious for attention. It’s a wild and crazy mix. I just read what is offered and try to take each as it is – demanding it be nothing more than it is. That someone took time to put something into words is enough – sort of a gift…sometimes the ugly lamp or outfit you’d never wear, but out of habit, I try to be polite – to encourage those who don’t realize they are writers emerging. Writers or bloggers – who knows…there are so many masks and other destinations for words. But what a wealth!
Nicely done ( I’d throw in some insults or clever stuff or puns….but the dog must go out and it’s late – nicely done….won’t blow your image)
Well said.
Art and Le Clown,
I have explored this topic of this before…actually, every time I read a blog post that was well written, I think about what went into it…blood, sweat and tears. Well, maybe not blood. Maybe that one’s just me. Most of the blogs that I read are witty and very well written. It might not be a prerequisite for me reading you, but it’s like the icing on the cake. And I like icing. My scale however, does not.
Wendy xo
I like to think of the blog as a place where I can write with no pressure. I don’t have to impress anybody. But I also put things I write in other contexts here that are more serious. And sometimes I write something that came out to be far better than I was planning it to be. But when I wrote my songs, or my novels, that was blood, sweat tears and probably some other bodily fluids that… never mind…
lol….I think you should keep your bodily fluids to yourself Art. 😛 Unless you’re writing porn.
I bet I could… but I wont… write porno I mean…
I’ve written some erotica. Short stories. I’ve been told they’re pretty good. 🙂
Do they have a bare-chested Fabio on the cover, or is it the good stuff?
click the follow button and find out. 😉
I just need a little more wooing… something that someone who writes about wooing must be good at…
I’m good at a lot of things.
I have no doubt that you are.
I’m sorry. I realized that that made me sound like a jerk. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that I have over a thousand followers. I want to follow all of them. I wish I could. But there is only so much time in the day. I very rarely allow myself the privilege of following a new person. And I have a tendency to rush into relationships… and end up like you and the band guy that broke your heart over and over again. So I sort of like a long courtship, if you see what I mean… also, when you get to my reply about the disco music… I didn’t really mean for you to swallow your own tongue. I was just trying to show how much I don’t like disco. Sorry for sounding like a jerk.
You didn’t sound like a jerk. No apology necessary.
Thank you.
matter?”
…………………
I’ve had to stop because I got turned into spam on Le Clown’s blog; that’s where the missing pieces went…my comment was too long for my own good…
Does anybody else have Spanish text above their comment boxes???
Have I broken your blog???
I don’t know what’s going on.
The Seed,
I’m a party pooper.
Le Clown
It’s your party; I’m just happy I got to stay this long!
What is going on with my blog?
oh christ what have i done…
exactly.
sorry…this is my last comment today.
I need to fix this.
Can you delete all my comments and tell wordpress I’m a moron?
I’m pretty sure they already know… ha!
They are all-knowing…please tell me you’re all back to normal?!
You didn’t just ask ME that question… but yes, the language thing was fixed… I even did it myself.
Who did I ask?
Sorry I nearly broke your blog…I will avoid these kinds of things in the future.
Somehow my default language got changed. I don’t think I did it, but who knows???
WP having a laugh perhaps…
They still hate me.
People hate what they can’t understand.
I hate that…. uh…
My text above my comment box is is Spanish all of a sudden.
Seriously though….what are you trying to say?… Is it me?…It’s me isn’t it??…I knew it….
If you start on Le Clown’s post relating to this one and read down all my comments and then when it ceases to make sense, come over to this one…ah…I see what I’ve done there…my home page will shed some light, you’re not the only one suffering the random.
I can handle random… I don’t like the fact that my comment box is changing languages on me.
sigh
Interesting question posed. I think some Bloggers can crown themselves writers as they are a hell of a lot better than people who make money writing for a living. Then by that token we say you are a writer as you earn off it. But if we hark back a while writers just wrote without the money angle. I love that Bloggers can write so well for their hobby, god knows how they find the time to be brilliant consistently whilst juggling the rest of their lives.
It isn’t easy, let me tell… oh… wait… you might not have meant me at all…
You amongst many others. I get so irate when I see awful comics on TV and I know people on here are so much funnier. Or when I read terrible journalism, but I like it that most people do it for fun without a grand scheme for fame and money, great if you can earn form doing something you love but I think most people do it for creative release and are content with that. I think first and foremost that is why people blog, for yourself. I know you have your book and all but deep down you do it to stop your head exploding. I do it as even if no one is reading I feel like I got something out of my head, I try using some thoughts in person to my friends but they just roll their eyes or change the subject 😀
I do do it to keep my head from exploding. My wife and older daughter don’t even think I’m funny.
They are just saying that to stop your ego hurtling out of control. Everyone needs to keep grounded.
I wish that were true.
it
………….
three
Your answer to LeClown’s question wasn’t half bad! Is this your daughter writing on your blog again?
Now you are just being hurtful.
does
…………
last
I can’t follow along with this.
I read this earlier today and have been thinking about it ever since. I think the question is are you writing for yourself…or for others? Before the internet people wrote on things like paper, and typewriters….my mom even had one of those word processor machines from the early 90’s and I used to write on that thing all the time. Now we have the blogging community and people from everywhere can share every thought they have in their head with everyone!! If the intent of your writing is to make others laugh, cry, or take them on a journey, and your intent is to have more and more people read what you write, then it becomes writing for others. I have read many blogs that are strictly designed like a person’s diary. Very personal, and basically just about their life. This is more of a journal than writing in my opinion. If a person is not concerned at all with how many people read it, or concerned with the outcome, then it seems the intent is different. I have no idea if i am making any sense at all. I began blogging because I wanted to make people laugh through my writing. I love it when I get comments that I made someone laugh, or I made their day. That is my intent for writing the story I wrote.
I am laughing and crying and you made my day. Partly from what you wrote, and partly because of your name. If we have a conversation, we can call it the Vagina dialogues!
I LOVE it!! The Vagina dialogues! PERFECT! I say it’s an accomplishment if I can make you laugh AND cry all in the same comment! My work is done here….*bows and leaves the room….very epic…like…
Who was that masked vagina???
but
……………..
the
Interesting……….* covers face with cape…disappears into sunset….
Ah…that’s not good for you; today is the day I disguise myself as capes and sunsets…
You need to disguise yourself as… never mind…
It is a freak show in here.
I’m a blogger and definitely not a writer. My blog makes very little sense, has no real structure and faintly resembles a badly created book of memories, of sorts. I write like I talk which is why I insert a lot of commas in my sentences. I pause a lot. lol There is no part of me that remotely thinks that I could be a writer. I can’t really comment on others because honestly, I don’t read their blogs with a critical eye for writing ability, I simply read them for enjoyment or to provoke some thought on a subject.
The difference to me? A writer looks closely at sentence structure, paragraph formation, etc. Pays attention more to the writing style. A blogger is more of a thoughts on a page kind of writing. I do also consider a writer, someone who is published or working to be so.
Once again that is why my blog and my writing are two distinct things. I use the three dots… all the time… I ‘write with a very specific voice and character when I am just posting. It is like a character that is me but not quite me. I will make myself sound stupider than I really am, or more shameless than I really am, but it isn’t a lie. It is more like a condensed version of me. Or exaggerated maybe would be a better word.
writing
……………
keep
The Clown is a great goodness in the blog world, he is always interesting. In fact, he is vital now. Bloggers versus writers… a difference in my opinion, as bloggers often write about their personal experiences and writers try hard to pretend that they are not writing about their own experiences.
Not me… I shamelessly made myself the hero of my novels… of course it is me in another dimension… and it was a risk because maybe this universe isn’t ready for lazy, sarcastic, irreverent, hero over the age of fifty who really doesn’t want to be a hero and is completely contented to remain the janitor on an alien space station until he falls into a bunch of situations where he is called upon to save the universes… but that is just me.
I think you got a heroic thing going on. I don’t think anyone else would fit the bill really.
I gotta be me… and so does he…
are
bail
I am lost.
………….
just
me out
You’ve been bailed; I’ve been turned into spam on Le Clown’s blog just before I got to you there! Wouldn’t want that happening here.
Funny thing about spam. It tastes great doused in whiskey.
Well there’s certainly none of that on Le Clown’s blog…it must be telling me something…
The ban hammer swings hard in this world, my friend. The Clown is a true goodness, though.
He’s a top banana ’tis true, as you’d see from the comment he’s just made on my home page…that’s not a hint or anything; that truly would be spam.
Very well. I’m in.
Something is wrong…
Why is the text above my comment box in Spanish all of a sudden???
Someone is watching you my friend. Beware.
WordPress is still pissed about my little spam joke…
They are also affiliated with the NSA – perhaps you were unaware. Perhaps you should expose this insidious little plot.
I am laying off them for a while.
What doesn’t.
I am lost.
Do you personally think there is a difference between a blogger and a writer?
Here’s my take:
All bloggers are writing but not all writers are blogging. Now does that make all bloggers writers? Who knows – and does it matter? I have always loved writing – I am one who writes; but I’d not style myself as a ‘writer’ (because that does have connotations about publishing a career etc). And at the end of the day; I don’t think it matters. I feel more accurate in saying that most of us are storytellers or one form or another.
Everybody writes something during their lives… with very rare exceptions… I don’t think it is about volume, or how much money you make, or even how many people read it. It is like birdsong… birds don’t sing because people like to listen to it. It is about having an internal voice that longs to be set free. It is about stirring the words around a subject until they form a tornado and take off on their own. But mostly it has to move someone… even if it is only the person who wrote the words. Words are tossed around like confetti at a New Years eve party. But it is the one drifting strand that catches your eye that matters to you.
Denise,
I’m surprised by your answer, you who compiles and puts emphasis on stats… I would have thought that debating over writers and bloggers would have sparked some interest in you, if only to cater to the researcher in you…
Le Clown
Yeah… I am only here to cater to researchers… do you like Mexican food?
Le Clown, I’ve led you astray – I compile stats and I like stats – but I don’t really care about stats (I am often tongue-in-cheek about them) and may desire them – but don’t need them to be a blogger – I just understand them b/c I use stats for my job – but I know how misleading they are. I fully realize that getting 300 hits a day because I have used the word ‘vagina’ a post is not the same as getting 300 readers in a day..but I’m thrilled when I see that 300 number. It’s like winning a game (to me)…it’s a nice extra bonus, but it’s not necessary for me to have in order to play the game.
In answer to pouring my art out – I think that there’s a difference between writing something and being a ‘writer’ – but that difference is not relevant to me. I write letters, I write blog posts, I write things on stickie notes – they may be bullet points or complete sentences – and I would say that whatever I put down, I gave a thought to – somethings more eloquently than others…
And overall, I don’t think that writing something in bullet points format means you don’t give a shit about it … of course, if you feel that it was less than satisfying – well that’s something else entirely. If someone makes a disparaging remark about my post – it tears me up inside b/c I don’t have a thick skin…but I know that it doesn’t mean that what I wrote sucked – it just wasn’t appealing to that particular reader (and yes, that negative remark will haunt me more than the 100 great remarks make me ecstatic).
I don’t know that there’s much to debate about writers vs bloggers except that I feel that all bloggers write but not all writers blog. Blogging is just another venue for writing. And yes, most people put things on paper – but they probably don’t feel that they prefer to communicate their ideas in that media.
I’m probably more of a contrarian than researcher in this conversation.
Denise,
I’ve lost you at the first em dash.
Le Clown
Let me simplify –
Stats mean nothing; stats mean anything; I like them; I can compile them, I understand them…I don’t need them to validate myself as a writer – but I fuckin’ love them when they’re high.
Now I get it… I thought you were one of those poser stat monkeys.
No – I just do a lot of stats stuff at my job so I’ve had to force myself to learn about them. They are interesting at times and at other times not. I do get obsessed with them b/c only because they change and I like to see that change – but I don’t die inside if I don’t reach X%…
I’m DEVO.
They do give me something to shoot for. It is a validation of sorts.
Validate my parking and tell me I’m good ~
Valid… the Impaler…
Victory!
It is a vice, this voice…
Very verbal are vee…
A German guy ordering ham and eggs from a German waitress…
F u n e x?
S, v f x, v f m n x.
(Say it out loud in a fake German accent and it will make sense)
Shite – I can only manage a fake french accent – even though I did speak Deutsch…
It said…
have you any eggs?
Yes, we have eggs, we have ham and eggs.
Yes, because that was WAY less crazy than sounding out the ‘words’
I should have said that first…
I mean sound out the individual letters, not as words… that will just make you sound crazier… uh… crazy…
HA HA
Indeed.
Ha!
I think we are on the same page about the writing thing… ha! See what I did there?
And the stats to me are just a means to an end. High numbers can be used to get publishers to take a chance on your stuff, because it means that you already fooled people into thinking you are clever. So I will take those three hundred hits, even if they are just here to look at my vagina… that I wrote about… although I try to stay mainly family friendly because this blog is also for my someday grandkids and great grandkids to read and see where their freaky ideas come from genetically.
But what about Mexican food? And I’m sorry I used the V & F word! I’m 18+ family friendly.
I think we are on the same verbose page ~
I am not above dropping the ‘V’ bomb… in context… although I never have so far… I am just shy.
Sometimes I randomly shout out V words –
VILE!
VILLAIN!
VULGARIAN!
VISTA!
VOLKSWAGON!
VACILLATE!
VERISIMILITUDE!
It is vastly vexatious to be veracious with vagrant verisimilitude. What are you, a vagabond?
a vexing vixen voicing veracity, more like.
Verily…
And yes, I do like Mexican food. I’m a Mexican food eating researching writer via blogging mercenary. Of this I am 100% positive.
And where exactly do you stand on rutabagas?
I freakin’ LOVE rutabagas!
Now that is how you take a stand!
Yes – but I also can bend like a wishy-washy twig in the wind.
You shall not turn your back on the noble rutabaga!
NEV-AH!
Unless we need some pie… then all bets are off.
Let’s keep the V*gina talk to a minimum.
I did not start it… that was the name she chose…
bloggers
……
loggers
cloggers… so what the heck is a rutabaga anyway?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga
It’s a bitter root veg. – it tastes different than potatoes – but you can prepare them in the same manner –
I must have been thinking of rhubarb when I made my pie joke… But I still stand behind you in your support of this rather strange food item.
It’s my alter ego … My mom used to own a bagel deli, so some of my friends call me “Ruta-bagel” and that’s acceptable too. But you can call me “GODDESS”
But rutabaga is more fun to say.
yes – Frank Zappa sings about them and I love Frank for it.
We used to sing Zappa songs in the cemetery when we were kids.. drinking beer…
Awwww
We were just that cool…
I forgive you your transgression.
Thank you.
probably
you’re too wordy.
I know, right? It’s like I just have to use words when I communicate. I take the easy way out. Maybe I should try talking with just pictures… hold on… I am going to send a picture directly to your brain… did you get it?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Ha… I know you are faking it, or you would be slapping my face right now.
I never fake it –
Good answer.
oh you bettcha
Ha!
I couldn’t get to the end; I nearly broke the internet; but thank you for playing!
You are just too big for us to handle…
As the actresses said to the bishop.
Ba-dum-dum…
I really like the comment from Le Clown about the difference between a blogger/writer is a blogger being able to build a community!
Maybe I only like it because I have a hard time with this one (building community), and it allows me to tell myself that it is because I’m more of a writer than a blogger. Thanks for the crutch!
And the realization that my headache is probably induced by lack of coffee. To the kitchen!
Okay… are you done yet, because when his head swells he might be stuck here doing guest posts for a while…
And thus your plan will have come full circle!
You see, this entire time it was really you I was working for!
I am self-centered enough to have convinced myself that you are all just working for me… but thanks.
Using words to learn more about words, now that’s meta!
Lol, I just reblog stuff! I find the reblogging hilarious considering that someone knowing of my blog that doesn’t know of Le Clown’s is a virtual impossibility. The hilariousness of the situation is an homage (in the meta sense) to Le Clown’s awesomeness and awesome hilariousness.
Okay, now I’m just saying things for the sake of saying things.
April,
Let’s talk about poop. Arthur, you’re ok with that?
Le Clown
Poop is fun, especially in abstract conversation. While the physical reality of poop can be rather daunting, the idea of poop is much easier to handle–especially in relationships.
For example, I once wrote a love note to my fiancee that was engraved with “Frankenpoo.” He had peanut neck bolts and stink lines (renderings of poop aren’t complete without nuts and stink lines). Now, had I made a real-life model of frankenpoo it would not have been nearly so well received, but the idea of poo represented on paper turned out to be most endearing (I know, having learned the lesson through trial and error).
Thoughts?
We will have to pause until I get the mental image of poop with nuts out of my head… or do a Photoshop picture of it and post it.
I like the second option, and I promise I’m done plastering your comment wall with Le Clown love and poop (rereading that sentence makes me think I have serious mental issues . . .).
Then you have stumbled into the perfect place for you!
Okay with it… I think I am the one who brought it up.
No… I love it when people come to my blog to gush all over Le Clown on a post that I did based on his idea that I stole… that is what I live for… I think…
“All
I forgot what you already said
would
Oh gosh.That is such a good question and my head already hurts without even writing my comment yet. I write and I blog. I blog about my art and by this I mean that sometimes I only have pictures to stare at. I write about subjects related to art, like the process and I write even when I’m not blogging. These stories are personal projects still in the making.
I would say that one is a writer if all you can do is write. You dream about words, you see scenes in everything, you have the urge to share your thoughts on matters that mean something to you. It’s a part of you. It’s a way to organize your mind. It’s a selfish act.
I’m confusing myself here.
I am going to sound like a jerk perhaps, and believe me, I love your words… but maybe you should put up a less attractive avatar picture. I am old and happily married, and I still found my eyes being drawn to the picture at least twice every sentence. I really don’t want to sound like a sexist, but I do know the male mind. At the very least, I think you should add the following words in bright red text below your photo…
‘My words are down here’…
Because your words are very nice… too….
But you survived and you remembered what you read!!! I think I should write the words with an arrow to the right as “down here” could point to other things…
I’m trying not to laugh here as I totally didn’t expect that as a reply.
Thank you for liking my words. 🙂
You have a good point with the arrow thing. As often happens, I don’t think my crazy ideas all the way through, and it gets me and other people into trouble. A few weeks ago I did a joke where I typed a short fake spam comment, and then pasted it into hundreds of blogs. WordPress shut my blog down for 4 days. Never listen to me… except the part that I like the way you write.
Haha! I’m not suppose to laugh this much. It’s passed 11pm here.
Like the way I write? Really, thanks so much. That made me happy. 🙂
Well I went and looked at your blog… and I love the dragon picture with the babies. I hate having to put all my info in when I make comments, but I might make an exception with you. Your artwork is awesome. I think I should introduce you to my daughter Jessica and her new wedding, style, event planning website. You two could probably work together.
I dislike that as well! I’ll have a look and see if there’s a plugin that takes care of that. My blog is still in its design phase. I went from Blogger to WP not too long ago and it’s self-hosted. A lot of the fancy WP features, like the notification in the upper right corner, weren’t there. So had to instal an e-mail feature thingy. Rude, I say!
Thank you for twirling by though! And your kind words. I’d love to know where I can find the site of your daughter 🙂 A collaboration would be awesome. I created a Wedding Fingerprint Tree last year for a friend who got married. I’m working on a portfolio as a lot of people loved it.
Just go down about three or four posts to the one that says ‘A post by Arthur (NOT Jessica)… there is a link to her new website. She is trying to start a wedding and event planning business, but there is a lot of style stuff too. Sadly, I think you might need to do the same thing there that happens on your blog.
You can change your blog setup… but I am a computer moron. You might need to change the style… but ask Eric…(Le Clown) or anybody but me, and they can tell you.
I found it! I’ll have a browse after I got a snack.
I have a big list of stuff that I want to change on my site, next to my regular work. Sheesh. I need more time in my day. Or I just need to invent a time machine. Where is the Time-Turner when you need one! (from Harry Potter, just in case you were wondering what I was talking about. Hehe.)
Two daughters… I know about Harry Potter.
Woohooo!!
Although I am more of a J.R.R. Tolkien fan myself.
Gandalf!! I got the Evenstar pendant for my birthday from my mom. 🙂
As soon as my hair turns all the way gray, I am growing it long again and going for the full Gandalf look…
with,
yes, go on…
a cookie!
You really are going to fit right in here… I am not sure if that is a compliment or not…
I’ll take it as a compliment hehe. 🙂
Thanks.
Yes it was a secret message, and may well have had a cookie as the prize for the winning code breaker, but it backfired somewhat and I nearly broke the internet.
But thank you for replying!
I should have written it down as I read it.
I might just do the comment normally…
That is just crazy talk.
I did think that…
I bet you did.
Thank YOU for the secret message. I never knew that it was a magical cookie acting as a portal to a secret world.
*vanishes into thin air*
Oh, this place is just crawling with wizards…
There are many magical cookies acting as portals to secret worlds, you just have to know where to look…thin air would be full if people only knew.
mmmmm… magic cookies….
Same aisle as the mushrooms…
Good one
I
This is a secret message huh?
If you have not met ‘the seed’ yet, you are in for a surprise. One of the things I am most proud of on my blog is that I have managed to attract a couple people who are as weird as I am. I didn’t even know they existed.
I never met “the seed”, but now I did, thanks to you. 🙂 Oh oh I can be pretty weird. I like weirdness. ^_^
Once again, you have stumbled into the doorway to weird.
Oh! I visited your daughter’s site and left a comment for her. It’s a beautiful website.
That’s awesome. I told her about yours.
At the risk of appearing to add my own marginal blog to the shameless thread of promotion going on here…thanks for this. I will go back to the stable and attempt to find a worthy steed.
Hey now… I patented the whole ‘self-serving shamelessness mixed with abject guilt and feeling sorry for myself to get a few extra hits’ thing, so I think you owe me some royalties…
You do have a point and I don’t feel great about my blogging self right now. 🙂 So I think I will try the other route to get a few likes and “just write better stuff” … I was hoping it would not come to that, but alas, that does seem to work for all the superstar bloggers here on WordPress.
I will tell you one rather obvious secret… do lots of things. Many people pick one thing to focus on. That means you have to find people who are interested in that one thing. Not me. I do anything that pops into my crazy little head. My challenge is that if anyone randomly opens and reads ten of my posts, they will find something that makes them want to stick around.
But yes, the best way to achieve anything is to do whatever you do as well as you can, and then go into as many blogs as you can find… I like the humor topic wall in the reader, and just make the most brilliant comments you can. On a day you do a really good post, do more comments. Then people will pop over just to see if you are interesting… or in need of some kind of counseling…
Thanks and I am really O.K with the amount of visitors I get right now while I get better at this- there is a certain addictive (compulsive?) vibe about this blogging stuff that has me hooked.
I guess my goal would be to look and write like a “legit” blogger and the advice you give is appreciated. I will check out the humor section and see if I am crazy enough to fit in:)
A lot of people go crazy with tags. Not everything there is funny. But do some creative tagging yourself. Every now and then tag a post with words like ‘boob’ or strippers or sexy… it can’t hurt.
it
oh… you are doing a thing…
fairness
Le Clown asked a good question. I think it depends on the person. For some people their blog is all they care about writing wise. For others it allows an immediate release. I think it’s that way for any artist.
What even makes someone a writer though? Do they have to get paid for it? Do they have to have that be their main income source? That seems silly if not because I could just go around playing baseball and say I’m a baseball player even if I’m not really making any money off it. If all I had was my blog then I wouldn’t consider myself a writer. I’m not sure I even do now. I prefer to call myself a Word Engineer.
Blogger and a writer? Yes there’s a difference. If all you do is blog then you shouldn’t refer to yourself as a blogger, skip right to writer. If you do other things then you can be both. Does that make sense? I pretty much agree with what you said.
Moose,
It makes sense to me. But so does Adventure Time.
Le Clown
I like monkeys…
That’s what I like to call a backhanded insult with a smile. – terribly confused
Moose,
OK. Let me try this one: great new gravatar! The yellow light does wonder to your blues.
Le Clown
::blushes::
Meanwhile, you wonder if I’m blushing or if I have psoriasis. It’s not clear because I have terrible skin.
The only thing wrong with your skin is that it isn’t thick enough to keep some of your more objectionable ideas trapped inside your head where they belong.
He looks like a punk who got lost and ended up in heaven… ha!
He is the iron foot in the velvet clown shoes!!!
Omigod Eric I love Adventure Time!!! And the word ‘wanker’. Something tells me I missed the point here…you really can’t take me anywhere…
Cordelia,
I was introduced to Adventure Time by one of my kids. And we’ve been making it a family affair ever since. JAAAMMES BAAAXTER.
Le Clown
I swear, I am just going to turn this blog into a dating site…
Once again, we would take you more seriously if you didn’t drive around waving a gun…
I think that quote from some judge about the definition of pornography also works with writing. I can’t explain what it is, but I know it when I see it.
Exactly. I find blogs are good for saying whatever you want and not worrying about being perfect. “Guerilla Writing” as I call it.
Ha… I like gorillas…
had
huh?
in
Art,
But is there a difference between a blogger and a writer? Can a writer be a blogger? Can a blogger be a writer? And your mom.
Le Clown
PS: You made me smile today, wanker. More than once.
I added a new part at the bottom to try to get people to talk about this more, because it might be important. And you started it. And Yay. And yeah, my mom…
I think maybe all writers are bloggers but not all blo… no wait… all bloggers are writ… no, that isn’t right either… A few bloggers are writers, and a few writers are bloggers. That sounds right. I don’t know what we can learn from this, but it is making my head hurt.
Art,
I do consider bloggers different than writers, even though somewhere they both meet. I think bloggers are purveyors of the internet, writing the web, building its pages. I think writers and bloggers use the same medium, writing, and can also use the same canvas (the web). But a blogger, IMHO, can also build community, around the posts published, in the comment threads for example. Could the definition of a blogger be community manager + writer? I think I need another coffee.
Le Clown
Blogging is like a whole universe. And it is a handy way to suck people into the black hole of your writing. It is like Television in a way. There are moments of pure brilliance surrounded by huge mountains of mindless drivel. We just need to sort through it. I hide my gems and diamonds under mounds of poo… but it’s funny poo… so..
Ah Le Clown makes a great statement! Now I’m confused again. I mean, I have a community (of cupcakes), but it’s not centered around the comments in my thread. The community is around my art in general. I suppose it’s different for me as my focus is my art and illustrations huh?
I don’t knoooow. I should stop killing my brain cells and “gems hidden under mounds of poo” gives a very interesting image in my mind. Sparkly even.
There are many kinds of community. I love my words, and some people seem to like them as well. But I also have my songs on the blog. And I scan or photograph a lot of my paintings and carvings. But everything is just suspended in a matrix of silliness. I like people to have to root around a little. It is part of the joke.
Very true. I do like to ponder about things and this results in rambling.
Either way, I’m glad I saw Le Clown’s update on FB as I am stalking your blog right now. Well, your “About” page to be exact. 🙂
I love being stalked… but don’t look at my bum, cheeky monkey!
Apologies.
I suppose the red arrow pointing at your bum is only for decoration huh?
No… don’t be insensitive… I was adopted, but I think I am part red-tail skunk.
Goodness. That explains the fluffiness.
Thank you for not saying it explains the smell.
I am going to email my daughter and have her look at your stuff… don’t worry, she isn’t anything like me… well, not in the bad ways…
YAY!! About the e-mailing part hehe. What I’ve seen so far, you’re not bad at all. You do have a fluffy red tail.
If the tail ever raise straight up… run a way… and hold your nose…
I can only hope that I don’t trip as I try to run away.
You don’t want that…
Oh! My art lookbook is not active at the moment. My FB page has more daily art peeks 🙂
You like to make us work for it.
I see TJ was a smart head, following PMAO’s (still resist the impulse to make that “P” an “L”) sensible idea and commenting the smart way (in this sense in the right spot -stuffed in between two hunky-thunkies). LMAO, you can trust me to wanna get noticed too by the Clown.
I gotta say, that was some deep post by you. Funny your comment on Left Clown’s post was almost so sober and clean it was sterile.
I can’t begin to comment on every thought running through my mind about this post, seeing as I have many of your posts to catch up with, but this was a very good one from you. Take it!
umm… thanks.
Rutabaga
Good answer.
And