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Blog/Site Creation Help

Addison

Auror
Hi guys,

I've bought a domain name and I've made the pages, but I'm short one important thing. The Blog. The most important item on a writer's site. I have a tool that can add an add, it says BLOG/RSS (I think the last part is RSS) but when it pops up on the page it instead gives me a blog from another site. Like a recipe site or such. It has a Forum tool, which seems to work, but would that work as MY blog? Or what do I have to do? If it helps I'm using GoDaddy.
 

Addison

Auror
AAAAAGH!!

Okay the blog thing didn't go as planned. I have a blog but instead of having the blog on the site I've built it's hosted by wordpress and will be linked-or some techy thing- to the site.

Now I'm trying to write the friggin intro blog! I've had better luck writing opening chapters and pages for stories. I know I have to introduce me, my niche and my site....in that order. I need to introduce the tone and voice I'll be using consistently through out the blogs. So in a way my intro blog needs to be like the inside flap of a book; give the who, what, where and why readers should care. But it's harder because the who and what is me and why is, at the core, my career. At least my dream/future career.

I need some cheering on and tips for bearing my soul. Possible exaggeration. Please and thank you. :)
 

Scalvi

Scribe
AAAAAGH!!

Okay the blog thing didn't go as planned. I have a blog but instead of having the blog on the site I've built it's hosted by wordpress and will be linked-or some techy thing- to the site.

Now I'm trying to write the friggin intro blog! I've had better luck writing opening chapters and pages for stories. I know I have to introduce me, my niche and my site....in that order. I need to introduce the tone and voice I'll be using consistently through out the blogs. So in a way my intro blog needs to be like the inside flap of a book; give the who, what, where and why readers should care. But it's harder because the who and what is me and why is, at the core, my career. At least my dream/future career.

I need some cheering on and tips for bearing my soul. Possible exaggeration. Please and thank you. :)
Try some stream-of-consciousness writing, as if you were typing up an autobiography. Write about your history, what writing means to you, and just type whatever comes to mind about you.

While it might not become the final post, it will get you writing in a mode that is the most like your normal voice (consequently showing readers a little of what you're like) and give you a core of text to edit to competence or to use a framework.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
I just recently started up my old blog again (see signature).
So far I've not really done any work in promoting it, but I've posted almost daily about random things for the past week or so. This is so that I'll have some recent content up for when I decide to start promoting it, and so that I'll find a voice for my blog to slip into.
I also had to write an About Me page (About Me | s v r t n s s e). It talks a little about me as a person and a lot about me as a writer, and about my writing. The page has already gone through several iterations and is now at least three times longer than when I started. Roughly speaking, I've included the following things:
Who am I
What have I done
What am I doing now
What are my plans for the future

I'm not saying this is how it should be done, or that this is even a good idea. I'm just sharing how I did it and maybe it can serve as some kind of inspiration.
 

Addison

Auror
Okay, my first blog is posted on the word press hosting. So I thought that, once something was posted, I could set up the Blog/RSS feed on the actual website.

Nope.

It won't connect and, sweeter still, it won't tell me why it won't connect. So if anyone here as a GoDaddy site with a blog please tell me how you did it.

Happy Writing! :)
 

risu

Troubadour
Wordpress typically comes with a built in RSS feed. Try going to your domain/feed to see if you get anything.

Like mine: Squirrel Talk

I am self-hosted instead of wordpress hosted, so that might be a difference.
 

Legendary Sidekick

The HAM'ster
Moderator
So, Mrs. Ninja Squirrel… First of all, your A-Z was awesome!

Second, I know what I want to do with a blog. I mean exactly what. But, of course, I have no idea how to create one without using Blogspot. If you're self-hosting, what's the advantage? (I assume you make more money from ads?) How easy is it to set up your blog? Yours looks nice. I want to mix my own art and writing on mine, but of course I can't goof around with HTML coding.

I'm in no hurry to set up the blog (other priorities come first), but would appreciate any advice I can get.




EDIT - It occurred to me you don't have ads on your blog, with the obvious exception of promoting your own books.
 
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risu

Troubadour
Thank you! (Sorry, I went AWOL for while.)

The advantages of self-hosting, from what I've seen, is the personalized domain name, and flexibility with options. Wordpress.com limits the widgets and themes you can use when your site is hosted by them, meaning customization is limited. I bought my domain on a special for $5 for 3 years. And then I pay for hosting, which is $15/year. So there is a small monetary investment, but I'm a control freak and I like the ease of having my name as the url. I don't make money with my blog, at least not in the marketing sense. But the whole reason why I took up blogging in the first place was because I couldn't sleep and I needed some place to dump my brain.

As far as what to do with the blog... that's really your choice. Some bloggers prefer to be niche bloggers, keeping their topics on a particular subject, presenting themselves as experts, and posting on a consistent basis (Jami Gold, Kristen Lamb, Chuck Wendig). I'm an informal blogger that pretty much posts whatever I want. My audience consists of other bloggers who share the same type of experiences (writing/families) and like to relate over common ground. Since my purpose in blogging is to build relationships and be entertained, it works well. I visit blogs once a week (Wednesdays). It doesn't take long to drop a line on their blog posts (unless they have Captcha, at which point I hiss at the screen and close the tab). Typically, if they have the same purpose, they'll return the visit.

There are some that don't have that purpose, and they are only there to be read. If the content is intriguing and they have a good voice, I'll go back for additional visits. If not... *shrug* I don't feel bad not going back because I figure they aren't interested in reciprocating the relationship.

Niche blogging will probably grow faster, since you can target readership and advertise your blog that way. Julie at Fabulous Blogging has a lot of information on that. Niche blogging is probably a better tactic if you don't plan on visiting other bloggers. Me... I doubt any of my posts will ever go viral. :)
 

Addison

Auror
If there was an emoticon of the Hulk smashing a computer, or a dragon burning one, I'd post that.

I just threw done a lot of green for computer security so no one besides me (or no one under the age of 21) will get onto my computer and screw around to a degree that my site-just a click from publishing-would be destroyed.

So while I fix that issue I was wondering how this idea sounded to you all:
True you don't want to post your story page per page on the site. But you want to post something more than a description to attract attention. With that said, what about posting little scenes or dialogues that couldn't stay in the story for whatever reason? Scenes that will help them want to read more about the characters and the world? I'm for it but as the web is still unexplored territory for me (I'm just getting my foot in the realm of Facebook) I just want the opinions of my fellow writers.
 

risu

Troubadour
This is just how I read blogs, but I typically avoid blogs that are story based. I read blogs to get to know people, and if I like people, I'll go look up their stuff on Wattpad if they link it, or pickup up their e-book. Since I have no investment in the characters, scenes small enough to fit on a blog don't interest me, and if it's longer, then I just don't have time.

I will, however, read scenes posted by bloggers I've followed for a while, but they don't post scenes frequently.
 

Ryan_Crown

Troubadour
I've been using my blog mainly to post about my writing experiences, or about areas of writing that interest me. But I also posted a short story to it to showcase a little of my writing.

I think posting "deleted scenes" isn't a bad idea. You could also put up character sketches or background about your story world -- things that might not actually show up in your stories, but can give your readers more insight into your stories.

Sorry to hear you're having such a rough time getting the blog up and running. :(
 

Addison

Auror
So I had to stop my site, money problems. The job hunt returns and is as grueling as the last.

Anyway, I've been looking at free platform building. Social Media. Different friends suggest different sites. Facebook and Twitter. Here's my question, what is the difference between the two? Seriously, besides the name I don't get the difference in what the sites provide.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
Nice one. I like the theme, but I'm not completely sold on the tiling background. The header and the colours are real nice though. What I did notice is that there doesn't seem to be a button to follow the blog. I'm logged in to wordpress through my own site already - could it be I have to have an account on your site/blog to be able to follow you?

Also, good content. :)
 

Addison

Auror
Ooh, yeah, the back ground. I tried to make it one but it didn't work out.

Don't know why you can't follow it. Try again tonight. Curious.
 
Are you using any kind of platforms to induce or build pages?
If not and your content consist mainly of blogs, I would recommend you to install WordPress on your domain, if that is not the case or if you’re just looking for content, you can hire content writers for your domain, you can also check contentmart.com for the same.
If WordPress doesn’t suit you, you can also check other platforms like Blogger or Wiz.
I personally love using WordPress cause of the availability of flexibility, the power it brings the user to add and create pages and posts is much better as compared to the former two.
It is very simple and easy to use as compared to add complicated coding.
Blogger is pretty neat too, but it lacks the themes or the templates available in Wordpress which gives it a lower hand. Wiz has better templates but is less powerful and a little more complex than Wordpress. Wordpress and Wiz have many plugins available letting you customize, if that is not enough, you can download extra, there are millions of plugins, you can choose what floats your boat. And then there are sites like contentmart.com too,
However, the call will be yours, adding a platform to your domain or server will solve most problems and probably will be much simpler than manual work, adding any of these will be free.
 

Addison

Auror
Alright, after too long of procrastinating and being afraid (seriously who isn't afraid of putting their story-or themselves-out there?) I've made a plan for my stories and a platform. Which starts with a blog.

Here's the question: Wordpress or Wix?

Also a lot of articles and books say different things. Some say the blog should focus on one thing, one theme or center. Others say it's about sharing yourself and just keeping your tone, and voice and posting consistent. So....yeah. After thinking over the blog and what I'd post, it would be a blend of writing advice and ranting. Ranting relating to writing of course, but still ranting. Good idea? Or do I need to rethink things?
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
It's the same answer as for the question, is this a good idea for a story?

1. Write only if you must. Your passion will show, but so will lack of passion.
2. Write only what you must. Forget the advice. Chances are, few will read what you write, so it needs to be something you care about.
3. Don't forget *my* advice, of course. ;-)
4. Write regularly. If you write well, people will look forward to the next post and will be disappointed if you don't show. If you write poorly, it will provide practice.
5. Never make enumerated lists.
6. Unless you want to.
 

Addison

Auror
I re-created my blog, which is up and running. You may notice a different name, that's my real name. I use Addison on this site because my kid siblings couldn't pronounce my real name, the closest they ever got was Addison. Which even my mom and dad used until the kids could say "Adrien". So yeah, that's my blog, a link's in my signature. Tell me what you think. Be honest, I'm ready.

Also, any worpress bloggers know how to post a calendar on their blog? One that readers can see?
 
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