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The benefits of blogging cannot be exaggerated. Blogging is the perfect tool for new writers over fifty. I didn’t begin to get serious about writing until I was in my early fifties. While I was very comfortable with computers, I didn’t know a thing about blogs or blogging. Blogs were fashionable among young people but had not found their way into the over fifty generation.
MY FIRST WRITING GIG
Fortunately, while looking for freelance writing work, I was hired by a woman a little older than myself who was way ahead of the curve. While she didn’t know much more than I did about blogging and the internet she was among the first to feel the pull of creating a dialogue about aging with and for women over fifty. When Suzanne Caplan, my friend and mentor created the website Women Etcetera!, she not only changed my life but the lives of many other women. Sadly, WE is no longer in existence. What she created was a unique forum where women over fifty gathered to talk about life and the aging process. We discussed the challenges we were facing, loved and supported one another through difficult times and created lasting friendships. What does this have to do with writing? Everything!
As a blogger for Women Etcetera! I discovered my voice, and through the written word I discovered who I am. My readers feedback taught me how others received what I wrote, even when it was was discovering what it felt like to be misunderstood because I had not chosen my words carefully. I blogged through and about my mother’s passing comfortably and freely and did some of my best writing in the process.
TECHNOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF BLOGGING
Technology may have created new difficulties for writers, but it has provided us with the tools and opportunities to hone our skills in a way never before possible. Spell check alone has saved me countless hours, not to mention the years it would have taken me to re-type everything I’ve re-written! The tools and platforms we have at our disposal today allow us to speed up the learning process and perfect our skills.
Blogging, either for someone else or on your own blog, is the perfect place for new writers to begin to hone their craft. Here’s just a few of the benefits of blogging that I’ve discovered as a blogger:
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- Learn writing discipline
- Develop a proofreading habit
- Develop a focus for your writing
- Learn to accept criticism
- Learn to accept praise (this may be more difficult for many!)
- Discover your voice
- Make friends that support your interests and writing career
- Develop a platform that will ultimately improve your odds of publishing
- Make valuable writing connections
- The blog platforms are perfect for organizing your writing
There are many, many more advantages, but the bottom line is, if you are serious about being a published writer, start blogging. If you are already blogging, keep at it!
If you need help getting started blogging, finding your writing focus, or developing your book platform, reach out to me. I can help.
Dorothy
Email: AgingAbundantly@gmail.com
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This is a very comprehensive list, Dorothy. Thank you for publishing it. One more thing blogging has done for me is provide an outlet for creative expression. Way to go!
Absolutely! I love your blog, Marian!
Dorothy, this is great. I recently began to blog on Facebook, but have had very few responses; clearly, most of my friends are not writers. I may keep it, though, for all the reasons you list. And it helps me to stay on track with reading and sharing relevant pieces, and prompts me to write succinctly. I have a Blogger page but haven’t used it. Thank you!
Mary Ellen, You’re off to a great start! Facebook is so unpredictable when it comes to gathering consistent followers. It depends so much on what FB let’s them see! If they don’t see your post, they can’t comment or become involved in the conversation. When you enter a blogging community, like WordPress or Blogger, the structure supports connection. So when you’re ready, I encourage you to take the leap! Be sure to let me know if I can help. Dorothy
Wonderful story, Dorothy, and one that should inspire many others to check out your offer to help.
I’ve been blogging for six years and can affirm everything on your list!
I love your blog, Shirley and I’ve enjoyed connecting with you and getting to know you!
Thanks for sharing!
You are absolutely correct! I started a blog on my 50th birthday, back in 2006. It helped me develop a writing habit, introduced me to other writers, enabled me to find my writing voice, and – most importantly – helped me write book which was published earlier this month.
Congratulations, Becca! You’re proof positive of the value of blogging!
I have to echo everything you said. I started a blog three months ago and it is the most fun for me when it comes to writing because I am an academic. We have very strict guidelines about the way we can write and blogging is allowing me to express a very different voice, though one informed by the many years of research I have done for my job. The pleasure of writing creative non-fiction is a joy and I hope to get better as I go. I say give it a try.
Accidental icon
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To be truly creative, it is necessary to be without restrictions, guidelines, and rules – we may need to harness our words sometimes to get our point across, but to fully allow our ideas to flow is to break the rules. Switching genres is a wonderful exercise for us, isn’t it Accidental! Forces us to stretch and grow as writers. Love your blog!
I blogged 3-4 years ago and loved it. I especially loved the community of women that supported me and I them. I haven’t blogged since, but am encouraged to begin again because of your blog and the above article. I’m wondering if I will continue my former blog, Embracing Myself on WordPress or if I will begin freshly with an emphasis on Aging Gloriously! Perhaps the latter! Thank you for your encouragement.
If I can do anything to help, Nancy, let me now! Be sure to send me a link when you post your next blog!
I have just started a blog this week so I am very new to this. I’m 57 years old and retired a couple of years ago. I’ve only now just started to work out what I want to do with the rest of my life and it certainly isn’t laying down and giving up. I was surprised to receive some feedback that goals and motivation articles don’t do well in the older sector. I find that very frustrating as if you aren’t motivated you will just sit around ‘waiting to die’. Any hints your could give would be most appreciated. I’ve set up a facebook page and twitter. And ready to go!
Feel free to contact me by email Sue, AgingAbundantly@gmail.com and we can talk about your writing goals.
If I didn’t know better, I would swear you won’t this for me, as it is exactly what I need! I discovered writing online as a creative outlet, a way to share wisdom that helps others, and a livelihood in my 40s and have been trying to keep up with the developments and changes, as I experience the “change of life.” Thank you for the encouragement for me and all women. I have recently started my personal blog, in the planning stages for over ten years; as it happens I am hoping to provide women my age with something that can relate.