NEW ONLINE PRESENCE

Don't Think Just Write

Current Work: Getting ready to launch 'Writers Abroad' website come blog and am very excited.
Listening to: Radio 4, a play about trains which I'm trying to concentrate on but the writing takes over...
Reading: The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Virtual Space for Writers
The one thing I've read about lately is that a writer absolutely has to have a website, blog, be on twitter, face book and goodness knows what else in order to raise their profile. Now while I go along with this to a certain degree, I do have some misgivings. Firstly I do have a website (well two actually) and I blog regularly. I enjoy these two activities and they do provide some time to be creative using a different media. I joined Facebook only because my son and his partner seemed to use it and I thought I could keep in touch with what they are doing. The trouble is I got all these requests from friends, nephews and nieces who it appears, are all trying their best to increase their number of friends. Does this mean they are popular or just that they superficially know a lot people. I have a theory about 'friends', I can count true friends on one hand, the others are merely acquaintances, people I know. (I know, Scrooge and Humbug come into mind, but this time of year always gets me going). And then, there is all this stuff about Farmville and smiles and bouquets of flowers and I really don't understand most of it. So I've stopped logging in, it's not the place I want to be. I've never 'twittered' - though that could be debatable. I suppose I feel you should choose the best medium for you. Writers by courtesy of their profession are often not sociable people (I'm definitely in this group) and therefore a network of millions of people might not be the place for them. However, a network of writers, all with the same passion for writing, who are keen to develop their skill and help others to do the same is the place I want to be. So that is the point of my drivelling on...Writers Abroad will be that place, it doesn't matter how many friends I have, its a place I can go and talk about writing and all its related ups and downs with people who know exactly what its like. Great.

And Finally...
Apologies to Rob in my lost blog, where my dreadful writing intimated he wasn't 'live'! Of course I'd split my sentence up and was referrring to the website... Faux Pas or what? I'm the Queen of them, you just ask my Man Friday, he calls them 'Joisms'.