Gotta love the internet … and Google Alerts.
I got an email yesterday from Google that someone had mentioned Smart Author Sites. It turns out that Corra McFeydon, a lit major with a blog, had read a previous blog entry here (Getting Personal on Your Author Website) and decided to start a conversation on her own blog about how much information an author should share.
Of course I had to check out what people were saying. Here are some of the highlights of her post, and the subsequent comments.
I don’t often talk about my current novel because I’m following Hemingway’s advice that “You lose it if you talk about it.” I’m a big believer in just writing, and discussing the process afterward.
–Corra
I feel writers should have the freedom to keep some stories untold, embraced within the solitude of memory. And while I thoroughly enjoy reading about the personal history of fellow bloggers/writers, I feel that the ‘expectation’ for personal candor within a blog is excessive. Writers, by nature, are pretty private, I think.
–Corra
I do not believe there is a definitive recipe in deciding what each person should or would share.
–Ginny
As a reader, I do like to look up author info–like where they got their ideas and some background info because it helps me understand the books a little better (nasty English teacher habit–I make my students do this before we read a “classic”). I guess I should keep that in mind when I’m posting.
–Koreen
My personal life rarely has anything to do with my writing life. When the two do collide, I can maybe see mentioning it…but otherwise, why should I need to?
–Caitlynn
You can ask an artist what inspires him to sculpt, and I have to think he’d be stumped? He sculpts for the same reason he breathes: because it’s what he does.
–Corra
I tend to be shy about talking about my writing process, or querying process, or anything else…in real life and online. I’m trying to break out of that, because having the support of those around me in the physical world and webberworld is important, and how can people show support if they don’t know anything about it?
–Rowenna
Glad to see that a blog post of mine inspired such interesting comments! And please share your thoughts here as well!