No Bull Mom

Are Bloggers Writers, and are Writers Bloggers?

The short answer is no. Michelle Malkin is the exception that comes to mind, but what she does is extraordinary really. The amount of time she spends on work-related matters -- writing books, keeping up two blogs, speeches, travel, etc. -- is mind-boggling. Not many people, women especially, are willing to put in that kind of time if they have children. But, then, Michelle has a husband at home. Most women don't.

(By the way, blogging is a fantastic outlet for young moms. Never before in the history of time have women had it so good in being able to care for their children while simultaneously staying rooted in the outside world. It's phenomenal, really. The opportunities for intellectual stimulation, or just social interaction, are limitless. Women are truly blessed today.)

Writing is a far greater challenge than blogging. It is mind-numbingly slow work that requires hours of uninterrupted time. If you're a serious writer, and by that I mean you write articles or books -- or something of that nature -- it's so time consuming that it doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging. Most bloggers aren't "writers" in the true sense of the word -- which is NOT to say they couldn't be, only that, generally speaking, bloggers spend a great deal of time becoming well-versed in computers. They spend time on other sites and try to generate an audience for their own blogs. That in itself can be a full time job.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that most people are one or the other: a blogger or a writer. Well-known writers usually don't have blogs -- or if they do, they only use them occasionally; and most bloggers aren't authors. So that's the short of it.

Where does that put me, you ask? Well, I like to think of myself as a writer first and foremost. Blogging is sort of a side thing -- though there are times when I can give it more of my attention, like these days. Last year I was absorbed in writing a book proposal, which is now in my agent's hands and being shopped around to publishers. If it doesn't sell, I will be able to give more attention to blogging. If it does sell, I'll be back to the drawing board and won't have much time to blog for about 6 months.

That's basically my life in a nutshell. Oh, and the only reason I can give anything any attention right now is because both my kids are in school. For almost ten years my attention was diverted away from any kind of writing, save for a few articles here and there. I don't have a husband at home like Malkin, so I'm a bit behind the professional curve.