blog – Clare O'Dea

For the past month, I’ve been experimenting on social media by posting videos on a regular basis. I’d been threatening to do this for a while but something* always held me back. Fourteen reels later, I am still finding my feet and trying to figure out the point of it all.

Among the videos I’ve shared are a couple of informative chats about the Swiss German dialect. These were instant ‘hits’ with views in the thousands and friendly reactions. I couldn’t believe that I was able to reach that many people so quickly. I think if your topic is clear, you will be matched with the right audience for that topic. I’m still playing around with topics.

I did two short readings from Before the Leaves Fall and these did not get people excited. Direct communication seems to be what people respond to. Especially if you have some news. A post I did about The Naked Irish going out of print was popular. It was lovely to hear from people who had read and appreciated the book.

In another reel, filmed when it was about 30 degrees at 8pm, I explained the link between Voting Day and Before the Leaves Fall. The novels are set 60 years apart with the two youngest characters in Voting Day, Ruedi and Margrit, returning in their old age as the main characters of Before the Leaves Fall.

It’s been fun filming these videos and figuring out the technical challenges. My videos are far from slick but I like coming up with ideas and I’ve got quicker at putting everything together. But why am I actually doing it?

Partly for the same reason I started writing this blog 13 years ago. It’s an outlet, a channel of communication and a record of what’s happening in my writing life. I enjoy seeing what others are doing so why not add my own drop to the never-ending flood of content.

It’s also a way of pushing back against obscurity – in the knowledge that no-one else will do this for me. In my day job working for a Swiss book wholesaler, I see the conveyor belt of new titles speeding along faster than readers and booksellers can keep up with. People won’t stumble across my book unless I put it in their path to trip over.

For authors published by small presses, if you want your book to have a long tail, ie. not disappear from sight completely, you need to stay active in different ways. Social media is one channel that I can control – and it’s free. I’ve enjoyed this month of producing content and I plan to keep going for now.

These videos are light in nature. They only show a slice of my life but they do reflect that fact that I am living through a tranquil phase and I am very grateful for that. I know that there is no escaping the vicissitudes of life, which makes the good times all the more precious.

If you’re not following me already, drop by and say hello on Instagram. And if you have any gentle feedback on which reels work best or ideas of new things to try, do let me know.

*actually many things held me back, probably the same things that hold many people back. They may also kick in again any time: low or fragile mood, discomfort about my appearance, lack of inspiration, fear of being seen to be foolish, a desire for privacy, distrust and dislike of social media companies – the list is long!

Four months ago I finished the first draft of my first novel. Finally I had kept my perennial New Year’s resolution – not just to write something but to finish something. This meant putting aside two to three writing sessions a week, taking my idea and pursuing it to the air-punching end. Now being a good aspiring writer I had read up on what should happen next and I dutifully left my manuscript to settle. I knew I was supposed to get some distance and tackle it again with fresh eyes after a break. But breaking my writing stride like that was quite difficult. There was suddenly a void. Like a jogger used to running regularly, I was itching to put on my trainers again and get out there. I missed the writing process and the material itself. I started reaching for the manuscript and tinkering around with a red pen. It was way too soon.

Then a colleague of mine went on a journalism assignment to India. She set up a blog for her trip and hey presto we could all follow what she was doing. And though I’d never been drawn to blogging before, I realised that this was the next logical step for me and definitely worth a try. I was amazed by how easy it was to set up on WordPress and how soon everything fell into place. My first post Unrequited Spite was also my first short story ever to be read by the outside world. A small number of bloggers “liked” it – people I’d never heard of – and I felt encouraged.

Blogging could be seen as the modern day equivalent of rushing up to people on a busy street with print outs of your work and thrusting the pamphlets into their hands. I remember people doing this in Dublin when I was young. But of course not all people have that zeal. Some, like myself, are more at ease standing in a quiet side street, patiently waiting for the right passer-by to come along, occasionally calling out ‘two blooms for a penny’.

Since I started blogging I have discovered a host of interesting people, some similar to me, others whose lives are a million miles removed from mine. It’s been an eye opener. I’m very grateful to regular visitors like the inspiring 5kidswithdisabilities and the adventurous lesleycarter for their interest and encouragement. In terms of visitors, two recent posts which were picked up by a site for the Irish diaspora http://www.worldirish.com brought a big spike in my viewing statistics. It was nice to reach a wider audience without having to shout at the top of my lungs.

The time has now come for me to put some serious work into the novel again and apply some of the editing advice I received, especially the valuable input from fellow WordPress writer beanmimo. I’m also going to focus a bit more on submitting for publication. But I still think there’s a place for this blog. There’s a debate about whether writers should bother with blogging. From a numbers point of view it might not be the best use of resources but like many other pastimes, the bottom line is do it if you enjoy it. For me the freedom of expression is the main attraction. Anyone else tempted to start? And for those already blogging – what keeps you posting?

Tag: blog

Two blooms for a penny

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