Why do *you* blog?

Blog problems
My blog has been giving me technical problems lately – and by “lately” I mean since last June. At the moment, it won’t let people leave comments, which is a bummer because blogs are all about two-way communication!

Rethinking my blog
Maybe it’s just frustration over all the time spent trying to fix my blog when I could have been writing, but I find myself wondering why I blog. Is it worth the time and energy? Does anyone out there enjoy my posts? Should I even bother?

I owe a lot to my blog
That said, I owe a lot to my blog. For one thing, I got my first steady gig because an editor liked my blog posts. In fact, that’s how I fell into the travel writing niche to begin with – it was directly because of my blog!

That was in 2006, and here we are in 2015. I’m set to publish my third book next month. I can’t help but wonder where I’d be with my writing if I hadn’t gotten that lucky break through my blog…

Friendships & camaraderie, too
Also, before the internet came along, writing was a lonely pursuit. In the 1990’s I didn’t have a single writer in my circle of friends – although, believe me, I tried! These days, thanks to blogging and social media, I can chat with writers any time, any place. I am so grateful for all the friends I’ve made online (including techno wizard David Sumoflam Kravetz who came to my rescue earlier today when my blog crashed completely!)

Why do *you* blog?
So, enough about me. What about you? Why do you blog? What got you started, and what keeps you going? Has it changed over time? Do you have any advice? What’s your blogging philosophy? Do you stick to a blogging schedule? For those of you who also write books, what keeps you blogging? Do you think blogging is worth the time and energy?

Please comment on this post
Hopefully my blog will accept comments again by the time this post is published. *fingers crossed* If not, feel free to email your reply to me at TuiSnider at gmail.com, or tweet me @TuiSnider on Twitter. I’d love to hear how you feel about blogging and I may very well quote you in my next blog post.

IWSG and Row80 check-ins
I’m posting this as my IWSG and Row80 check-ins. Two birds with one stone and all that!

My Row80 goals for this week:
OK… I’m keeping it simple. By next Wednesday, I’d like to send a draft of my latest book (The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber) off to my editor. That’s it! (Hey, I said I was gonna keep it simple.)