Jul 22 2008
What’s the difference between writing and blogging?
That is the question that Terry Freedman is asking on his blog, and he is asking bloggers / writers to complete a survey which can be found here, with their views on the difference. So first of all, I thought I’d put up the link in case any of my readers would like to complete the survey to help Terry with his research.
Anyway, it’s an interesting question. I enjoy blogging, but some of the topics I blog about aren’t exactly what I would choose to write about if I were writing fiction, for example. Last November I took part in NaNoWriMo, and the resulting writing was quite different from my posts here. A lot of stream-of-consciousness, for example, which, although I do a little of it from time to time here, might not always get across the main point or link that I want to share.
Also, Samson’s book is completely different from his blogging style. I’m sure there are many other people who would be able to give such examples. After all, the purposes of a book, essay, short story or blog can be very different.
I suppose for me, the big question in relation to Terry’s article is, what is a writer? What makes a writer different from a blogger? Is a writer a novelist, an author, a journalist, a blogger? Are they interchangeable? Am I blogger on here, but a writer when I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo? If my blog were more literary, would I be a writer who blogs, or still a blogger who writes?
Well, it’s getting late now and I wouldn’t want to reflect too much this late at night! But I would look forward to any responses … (That could be another difference … a blogger should be able to get quicker feedback, presumably? If we have any readers? Whereas a writer might have to wait for longer and look for letters in the feedback pages of newspapers or hold their breath for reviews?)
