Does Blogging make you a better writer?

Excerpts about blogging from writers who blog
"I'm a writer by profession and it's totally clear to me that since I started blogging, the amount I write has increased exponentially, my daily interactions with the views of others have never been so frequent, the diversity of voices I engage with is far higher than in the pre-Internet age - and all this has helped me become more modest as a thinker, more open to error, less fixated on what I do know, and more respectful of what I don't."  (Andrew Sullivan, writer)

“Writing a blog can be a lot like writing a book; overwhelming at first, in need of structure and flow, and at times very personal. However, a blog is a living, breathing form of writing. Your "story" evolves and changes over days/months/years. You have the ability to connect and interact with your readers. And, the best part, if you missed a grammar error you can go back and correct it!” (Krista Rhea, writer)

A number of editors on staff at Writer's Digest have their own personal blogs and when we started out we were in the exact same place as a lot of you are right now:

 "I am still in the planning stages of my blog. It has been overwhelming to say the least."  (Vicie Moore, writer)

"I'm stuck with my blog. Don't know which direction to go"  (Sharita Gopal, writer)


My take on this
I totally agree with this. Although, I’d been writing most of my life, I actually did not start writing seriously until I began blogging. Blogging forces you to improve your writing skill, work out the kinks in your style of writing, and find your voice. Interacting with comments may help your mode of expression, but seeing your writing in a particular format and reading it back to see if it makes sense is invaluable to a writer.

I probably would not have written my first memoir if it weren't for my blogging. I began writing stories on a writer's site. At the urgency of many many readers on that site, I started organizing them into chapters.  I started having to deal with time lines and transitions (one chapter to the next). Then I found I had to have some sort of story line and plot. to hold them all together. I began studying fictive techniques to enhance the stories. I spent hours learning how to infuse my stories with life. I learned so much about writing during that time.

When I completed the memoir, I let it sit for months. I dug it out one day and was amazed to see how far I had come in my ability to handle large works. I completely re-wrote the manuscript. My writing had improved so much over those years that I started a new memoir using a different, more skilled approach and style. I still intend to publish the first book, but truly believe the second one will be far superior. It's true what successful writers say: "You must write every day and often to improve."


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How did this happen? Was I destined to be a business woman?

Despite the fact that my grandmother, my mother, and my mother's sister were successful business woman, being one myself was always the furthest thing from my mind. Now I'm wondering if it was in my blood. Both my daughters are in business, not necessarily for themselves. But, nevertheless, they are in business.

In undergrad school, I changed my major several times, from art, to English, to education, to English, to music. I ended up with a degree in music education, all the time saying "I will never go into business"! I have always loved the arts and have dabbled in all of them, including theater and dance. As many of my friends went to business school and started climbing the corporate ladder, I stuck to my guns, "I will never go into business".

My grandmother was a crackerjack business woman and owned four rooming houses in Detroit, all at the same time. My mother was a realtor and had her own real estate business, and my aunt was a successful stock broker. But, watching them work long hours and go through all the ups and downs of having their own businesses only re-enforced my determination not to succumb to the lure of what turned out for many to be a profitable career.

I wanted to create! Of course, I didn't realize you could create in business. In fact, some of the most creative people are in business. Look at Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and, not so well known, Mark Breitbard, chief merchandising and creative officer at Old Navy. “Mark is an amazingly talented retailer — and we’re thrilled he’s joining us to infuse an even higher level of creative spirit to the Old Navy brand,” said Tom Wyatt, President of Old Navy. “Both within Gap Inc. and at other top specialty apparel retailers, he has achieved success creating clothes for each member of our target customer’s family.”

Well, anyway, to make a long story short. I woke up one day, around 15 years ago, and I was the owner of a small bed and breakfast in Louisville Kentucky. It all came to be by happenstance. It was very straight forward. I wanted this house, a 4008 sq ft historic, Victorian brick with five bedrooms. I had to justify buying a house that large for myself ( I live alone). I needed a business I could run from home in order to afford the house, which as it happens, certainly lent itself to becoming a bed and breakfast. Voila! You're an Innkeeper!

And how did you get into business? Did you go to business school, did you follow in your family's footsteps or did you just fall into it like I did?