WHY DO I BOTHER?

I’ve recently been asked a question about blogging that has allowed me to define why I bother. Let me get it very clear, when I first began Beyond the Blog it was for a simple, and important, reason.
For years I have been trying to make it as a writer. Publisher after publisher told me how good my work was, but I didn’t stand a chance because I was neither an ‘expert’ or ‘celebrity’, and I was so diverse, an audience was impossible to target.

So I decided to find my own audience.

That was, and still is, the primary purpose of Beyond the Blog. Success comes in the number of hits I get – on my paranormal posts, for instance – and whether that number increases month by month, which seems to be exactly what is happening.
However, whilst this will always be my goal, I began to notice something. Occasionally, I would find a blog with links to me, and comments such as: this is from one of my favourite bloggers.

I’d discovered I had an audience of real people.

I don’t know who these people are because I rarely get comments from them, but I realized my appreciation of them was far greater, in personal terms, than my hopes for my blog in professional terms.
Eventually, I decided to begin ‘Diary of a Writer’ so I could begin to meet these, and other people, through comments. And whilst my career aspirations remain exactly the same, I’ve discovered an angle to blogging that is even more satisfying in personal terms.
I suppose an analogy would be to say that we go to work for a career, but we are fulfilled by meeting friends along the way. Which is what writing is all about: a hopeful career, and a fulfilling hobby in which we communicate.

© Anthony North, August 2007

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TONY ON DIANA AND OTHER NEWS

THOUGHTS FROM A COMMON MAN
News and comment LATEST: What Diana means to us … PLUS … Girl violence is on the increase; Is there an election coming? Tories should watch out.
POSTED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY … from a real voice of Britain and the world.

DIANA

It is ten years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Britain, and most likely the rest of the world, will reflect upon this. Much is yet made of the conspiracy theories concerning her death, and these will most likely continue for decades.
But of most importance is what Diana stood for. Almost single-handedly, she removed much of the ‘stuffiness’ of the Monarchy, forcing it into the modern world – a legacy that will be followed by her two sons, William and Harry.
Yet it is to be hoped that this modernization is not so fundamental that it removes the Royal Family from its primary task – to provide a link between contemporary Britain and its past. We have perhaps made a mess of things during Blairism because we forgot this.
And also, Diana reflected back to the world a new intimacy, a new caring side to our society. Whether this is really so, or simply media illusion, I’m not so sure. But regardless, history will remember her for the attempt.
But the people will remember her as a typically mixed-up woman, caught in circumstances not of her making, and making the best of it. In this sense, below the icon she became, she was a real person. And perhaps this is what people loved about her the most.

© Anthony North, August 2007

GIRL GANGS

The Metropolitan Police Authority have advised that all-girl gangs have now become a problem in the UK. Further, boy gangs are also now using girls as ‘honeytraps’ to lure victims into secluded places to be beaten and robbed …
… read more …

DON’T BELIEVE THE POLLS

It has been reported that the ‘bounce’ in Labour popularity following the ascendancy of Brownski is faltering. David Cameron is increasingly being seen as the best option for sorting out the economy, health and law and order …
… read more …

Have you clicked Diary of a Writer on Blogroll? Meet me, up close and personal.
Click Tony On, on Blogroll, for more current affairs.
If you like fiction, click Fiction Page on Blogroll for my short stories.
Inde-Pol