Wednesday 29 May 2013

Armchair BEA - Blogger Development & Genre Fiction

Design credit: Sarah of Puss Reboots
We are already at day 3 of the Armchair BEA. Today the discussion is about blogger development & genre fiction.

Blog Development - I don't have all the answers, but this works for me. This blog has been operational since 2002. At the start I wasn't too sure what to do with a blog, but then I discovered several things

  1. Confidence - to share what I would tell anyone if they were standing with me. To be open and honest. If someone does not like what I write, well they don't have to read it!
  2. Get involved - Blog hops  & book tours - not just book specific, but those relating to genealogy too. The book blog community and the geneablogger communities are very friendly and welcoming. For those researching their ancestry - Geneabloggers is fabulous with daily prompts.
  3. Interaction - online friends & companions - people that share the same interests and the friendships that develop along the way. Comment on blogs and participate. 
I have embraced social media. Firstly, I allowed people to follow my blog via email or RSS feed. I also added Twitter. More recently I added Facebook page.

I share bits about me, books I liked (or not) and why. Genealogy and ancestry related posts. I take part in a few weekly memes - usually library loot and weekend cooking. I often share pictures as part of Sepia Saturday. I also do a rambling from my desk post every now and again. 

I try and write a blog post everyday or at least 3 times each week. The readers need to know that you are coming back and having fresh content helps. I very often schedule posts and to keep structured I bought a cheap diary which lives on my desk. That way I can ensure that posts I have promised to deliver such as book tours are kept.

I contribute to several other blogs  - Historical Tapestry and Smitten by Britain. I also write a monthly genealogical column for a digi magazine called The In-Depth Genealogist.

I blog and write because I enjoy it. It allows me interaction with others, people that I know and new people that I meet along the way. By interacting with others it is effectively an open door. You can read and become inspired and challenged to do things such as reading challenges or read-a-longs. My reading list has never been longer!

Genre Fiction - I read all sorts - I love history, so I often read a mixture of non fiction and fiction. I am often inspired by what I read and find that I often need to jot things down because I wonder if one of my ancestors did that, or because what I read reminds me to look something up, perhaps there is a name of an author, a quote or phrase. 

I also read literary fiction and enjoy reading books from authors such as Jennifer Chiaverini, who writes about a fictional group of Quilters. I am not into reading science fictions, about vampires or aliens. I like a degree of realism or fictional realism at least, yet I love the series of books by Diana Gabaldon, set in Scotland, I guess they can be described as mystical & historical - The Outlander Series. I also read cozy mysteries  - by such authors as Cleo Coyle

24 comments:

  1. Love the look of your blog! And a fellow BRIT! I think you're the first I've met at BEA. Hellooooo! *waves*

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. I have stopped by your blog and commented.

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  2. Thanks so much for the pointers you learned from your experience blogging. I'm working on getting more involved, and I love that you share both your passions here.

    Tanya Patrice
    Girlxoxo.com

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    1. Thanks Tanya for stopping by and your comment. It does take time to get involved and meet others, but it is very rewarding and great fun!

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  3. I agree on the confidence bit - It's definitely given me the ability to realize that what I have to say actually matters and is worthwhile :)

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    1. Absolutely Helen. I think writing something and hitting post and sending it out into the ether to a bunch of strangers is quite hard and much harder than meeting a bunch of strangers.

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  4. Anonymous8:40 pm

    The Outlander series is one of my all time favorites. I've collected just about every edition available :)

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    1. I am looking forward to the next installment published (hopefully) this Autumn.

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  5. Anonymous8:50 pm

    I think it's very neat to contribute to other blogs, such as those biggy! I love Historical Tapestry. congratulations!

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    1. Thank you! - I enjoy Historical Fiction and sharing that passion with others is great.

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  6. 2002? Are you, like, the very first blogger?:) Wow. Long long time. You list of favorite genre books sound very awesome. I need to read more Outlander books, I've only read the first.

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    1. Hello Suey, Well I don't know about the first blogger, a lot of my reading friends were on live journal, which was OK, but I prefered blogger, and I have stayed here ever since.

      The blog has grown and changed as I have in terms of confidence to share my opinions with strangers. My view is this - this is my space where I can share my thoughts, rambles and obsessions.

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  7. Nice to meet you. Hope you are enjoying Armchair BEA!

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    1. Hi Annette, I am, and so far am managing to participate every day.

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  8. Anonymous12:54 am

    I love what you wrote on development! So helpful to new bloggers like me!

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  9. Yes! Confidence and being social is the key to success! I hope to read some history books in the future, I like learning about history but mostly from school so far, for reading fun I tend to stick to YA of any genre and Agatha Christie mysteries.

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    1. Hi Rachel, thanks for stopping by. Agatha Christie I struggle with her writing, but do quite like the TV adaptations we get in the UK. Agatha's house Greeways is not too far from me in South Devon & a lot of the settings for the books are local to me too. Ironically she was a dispenser / apothecary the fore runner to how I have spent my working life & her knowledge of poisons came from that work. Furthermore, she disappeared in the 1920s & was eventually located in a hotel at Newlands Corner which is not too far from where I grew up in Surrey. Life is full of these little coincidences.

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  10. YAY! Another Outlander series fain. It is my all time favorite.

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  11. Great post, so interesting to hear about your geneaology pursuits as well. Outlander is definitely on my TBR as well. Hope you have a great ABEA Week! New follower here. Here's my Blogger development and favorite books by genre post if you'd like to stop by.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Tanya. I will pop over to your blog and post in a moment.

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  12. Anonymous3:08 am

    Confidence is definitely necessary for blogging, and I've found that blogging GIVES me confidence. I'm sometimes still insecure, but blogging's helped me become more confident in who I am & what I like.

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    1. I agree with you and blogging certainly gives us a stage to share our thoughts and observations etc.

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  13. Ok...it's officially, you've been blogging longer than anyone else I've "met." I love your number 1. I've got a post coming up soon that I'm pretty sure is going to elicit negative feedback, but I feel very strongly about needing to post it. I would definitely say it to anyone standing beside me. Thanks for the encouragement.

    Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know

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Hello! Thanks for stopping by and choosing to leave a message. I read every message and I usually reply via the comment thread. Posts are currently moderated due to the sudden influx of spam postings!

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