Blogs I follow. Come and have a look! Today blogs on writing and personal blogs

Hi all:

I decided I should share some of the blogs I follow and read regularly (as much as I can) for a couple of reasons. One is because I’m a bit in flux at the moment and as I wasn’t sure how much new content I could provide, I thought it was only fair to share the content of some of the blogs I come back to regularly so you would have  a chance to go exploring. Another reason is that every now and then I get offered some award for blogging, and as I decided some time ago to concentrate on the writing, I don’t follow through. A fellow blogger (more about her later) when she gets offered and award, she shares some of the blogs she follows and finds inspiring, and I thought that was a very good idea. So, thank you Teagan!

I follow many more blogs and I read as many as I can, but I thought I’d leave you a selection of a few (more next week) by topic. I hope this would become a feature and I’ll bring you updates regularly.

Image courtesy of Dominic Harness / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today I thought I’d share some of the blogs that offer good information on all aspects of writing, and some that are by writers who talk about their trade, but also about their lives and other equally (or to my mind sometimes much more) fascinating themes.

Seumas Gallacher:

http://seumasgallacher.com/

This Scotsman now living in warmer and drier climates, has a unique style of interaction and loves social networking (you have to read him to know what I mean. I won’t try and imitate his style). He is amusing, provides useful information, and his approach proves that being unique and genial are strong assets in this world of blandness and copycats. Go on and check him out!

Daily Writing Tips (Maeve Maddox):

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/

Not being a native English speaker, I’m always trying to check my language and looking for tips, suggestions and good explanations. Maeve’s post never fail to teach me something new, and they’re always well thought and researched. A great resource!

Communicate Resources for Writers (Cate Artios)

http://cateartios.wordpress.com/

I know Cate through one of the writers’ groups I belong too, and we belong to the same Tribe in Triberr, so we share each other posts regularly. I enjoy the posts of all of my colleagues, but I’ve found Cate’s posts again a great resource and a mine of information. Cate creates her own posts and she’s always prompt to reblog and share posts she thinks will help others. Thanks Cate!

Sandy Appleyard (Author of hopeful memoirs and fiction)

http://www.sandyappleyard.com/

I’ve been following Sandy’s post for a while. She always manages to discover a new way to promote your books and increase visibility, and she’s always generous in passing the information on and offering help if you have difficulties. Now I’ve joined a group she’s created in Facebook and I’m sure there’s plenty more learning to come!

The Creative Penn (Joanna Penn):

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/

Joanna Penn and ‘The Creative Penn’ are well-known for their efforts in informing writers about resources, technology, programmes, training opportunities, and bringing innovators to her blog. I can’t imagine there are many people who haven’t come across her yet, but just in case somebody has been asleep for a while, I thought I’d mention her.

Teagan’s Books (Teagan Geneviene):

http://teagansbooks.wordpress.com/

Teagan’s blog, like many blogs of writers (I guess including mine) are a bit of a mix. Sometimes we all like to feel that it is our blog and therefore we’ll write about what we like, and if somebody likes it, all the better. But what I love about Teagan’s Books is the writing. Teagan is committed to writing a new piece (instalment) every week, and she takes to writing challenges like duck to water. I only discovered Teagan recently (although it feels as if we were close friends already) but I’m glued to her series of the three ingredients, where she’s writing a story set in the 1920s incorporating 3 food ingredients every week (these are provided by friends and other bloggers). She’s done other writing assignments before and I hope to be able to catch up with them soon. And don’t miss the care she takes in finding great period images for her posts (and of course, the recipes)! Go Teagan!

The next three blogs are by writers about writing also, but to me they have a bit of a more personal style.

Laurie Smith’s blog:

http://laurie27wsmith.wordpress.com/

Laurie Smith is a man who seems to have lived many lives in one. I love his Army series, that includes pictures of the period (oh, the pink tank!), his Wednesday offerings (usually great pictures and kangaroos and wallabies for good measure), and recently he’s talking about his experiences as a medium. If you want variety, Laurie is your man!

Barsetshire Diaries (David Prosser):

http://barsetshirediaries.wordpress.com/

Lord David Prosser (as his close friends call him), follows a diary style for his blogs. He writes his daily happenings and posts on a Sunday. Over time I’ve become fond of Reuben (grandchildren always a plus, and he’s gorgeous), his fishes, his brother (what time will he get up today?), the people at the eateries he visits, and the never ending stream of e-mails and posts that keep him glued to his computer (unfortunately my posts are part of the problem). He’s recently published a children’s book with illustrations and he’s a generous and thoughtful blogger, who will add mid-week posts if some good cause comes his way. He’s also become part of my family of bloggers.

Ailsa Abraham:

http://ailsaabraham.com/

I’d love to remember who alerted me to Ailsa’s posts (I think it might have been Seumas, who’s always prompt at reblogging posts he enjoys) but I read one where she was talking about trying to cope with her stroke in such a humorous way that I kept telling everybody I met about it. Ailsa is a writer, now living in France, and she has a fantastic sense of humour. She’s trying her hand at poetry and I cannot recommend her blog enough. Go and visit! You’ll feel better for it!

Thanks to all the bloggers for participating (without their knowledge but I hope they won’t mind), thank you for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and if you have, please like, share, comment, and especially CLICK and FOLLOW!