HOW TO BE THE BLOGMAN! (Or The Blogwoman. That works, too.)

No, not "Batman"--BLOGMAN!! Jeez, try to keep up, willya?

Dear Writers:

A lot of people want to write. Many of these people can write; they have talent and ability, but they may lack whatever combination of discipline, opportunity, time, or motivation they need to start stringin' pretty words together for an adoring public. The blank page is intimidating. Filling that page can be a daunting task.

I can't provide much (if any) assistance with discipline, time, or motivation. And I can't help you get a professional gig; if I could do that, I'd be rakin' in the writing dough myself. But if you're a writer who just wants a public forum for your work, there has never been more opportunity than there is right now. If you want to write, you can blog.

Now, I'm not necessarily suggesting that you give up on the idea of writing for money; if you can write professionally, you should. Nor am I suggesting you commit to writing your own regular blog. Maybe that would be right for you, maybe it wouldn't, but it is a commitment. The up side is that you set the terms of your own commitment. If you want to blog every day, or once a week, or monthly, or sporadically, that's all up to you. In starting Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), I made a (perhaps) foolish decision that I wanted to post something every single day. My model was Mark Evanier's News From ME. Mark is a working professional writer; his blog allows him a chance to write about whatever he chooses, whenever he chooses, as often as he chooses. But he treats the blog like another professional commitment, and he generates content for it almost every day, often more than once a day. This has been a prevailing influence on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).

A daily blog is likely more than most folks would want to consider. Hell, I can't guarantee I'll keep on doing it every single day, but the commitment to do so has given me specific motivation to keep writing. If I fail, I fail. Until then, though, we're here every day. If you start your own blog, you'll determine what frequency of posting suits you. Whatever that is, I would encourage you to set a goal and just write. The practice is good for you.

For those who don't want to commit to anything on a regular basis, there are still other opportunities available to you, too. If you love rock 'n' roll, put another dime in the jukebox, baby, and consider submitting something to Love Letters 2 Rock N Roll, a fab blog that relies on contributions from The Legion Of Guest-Bloggers. That could include you, and it should. I have nothing to do with that blog beyond my capacity as cheerleader and occasional contributor, but this is a golden opportunity for potential writers and rockin' pop fans to freaking write something. You! Why not you? No fuss, no muss, no commitment, and a flexible format that gives you free reign to wax rhapsodic. The blog publishes lists and Flashback Fives, but its nominal raison d'etre is love letters to rock 'n' roll. Here's a quick fake example:

Dear Pants-On Flyers

I confess I never liked you much. I don't say that to be rude; it's just the fact, at least the fact as it used to be. My kid brother was into Pants-On Flyers, and he thought you were the greatest rock 'n' roll band that ever was. Me? I was into a whole bunch of groups, from KISS to The Stylistics to The Sex Pistols to Motorhead to Gladys Knight & the Pips to Talking Heads. Mostly The Isley Brothers. And KISS. You weren't on my radar. I mean, who wants to like the same band your stupid younger sibling raves about? I didn't hate you. I just didn't like you.

My little brother's name is Rich. I haven't seen him in nearly five years. He's okay, I think. His career took him to Europe, and he's been living mostly in Belgium, with little opportunity to return to the States. He's not a letter-writer, I'm not a Skype user. We retain superficial contact via social media. I kind of know what he's doing, he kind of knows what I'm doing. There is an illusion of companionship. I miss him a lot lately.

Today is Rich's birthday. Science has no explanation for how my pesky kid brother Rich could possibly be fifty freakin' years old. We won't bother saying how old I am. Knowing this milestone was coming, I went on a Pants-On Flyers buying spree. I bought Rich your new rarities boxed set Pants OFF For Once!, and his email thanked me for it. On a whim, I also purchased a number of your albums for myself: your 2-CD best-of set Pathological Flyers, a beat-up LP copy of your classic Remembering On Cue, an illicit digital download of your otherwise-outta-print live set Barroom Budokan USA, your much-maligned covers collection We Stole These Songs, and your most recent studio effort, the 2011 reunion album Gone/Back/Gone Again. I've been listening to all of them, especially Remembering On Cue's "So Far Away From Home." It may be putting it too strongly to say I like you now; hearing these songs inspires a melancholy ache that is not entirely welcome. But it's a necessary ache. It's a connection with my brother, a connection I so sorely miss otherwise. I do finally appreciate your music. I get the craft and the passion that I couldn't see at the end of the '70s, when I was a college kid too good for whatever drek my little brother was soaking up. But I get it now. I confess I never liked you much. I like you now. And I love my little brother, so far away from home.

What I just did above? You can do that, too. Maybe it's easier with made-up stuff, or maybe it's easier to plug into your own passions about real-life songs and singers, true confessions of your music and what it means to you. It's a chance to write. It's your chance to write.

Write.



Love Letters 2 Rock N Roll is always on the hunt for new writers. Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) recommends you consider that option: Write For Us. They might love what you write. They might hate what you write. Either way, you'll have  written something. It ain't my blog, and I have no say, but tell 'em I said hi.

You can support this blog by becoming a patron on Patreon: Fund me, baby! 

Our new compilation CD This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio, Volume 4 is now available from Kool Kat Musik! 29 tracks of irresistible rockin' pop, starring Pop Co-Op, Ray Paul, Circe Link & Christian Nesmith, Vegas With Randolph Featuring Lannie Flowers, The Slapbacks, P. Hux, Irene Peña, Michael Oliver & the Sacred Band Featuring Dave Merritt, The Rubinoos, Stepford Knives, The Grip Weeds, Popdudes, Ronnie Dark, The Flashcubes,Chris von Sneidern, The Bottle Kids, 1.4.5., The Smithereens, Paul Collins' Beat, The Hit Squad, The Rulers, The Legal Matters, Maura & the Bright Lights, Lisa Mychols, and Mr. Encrypto & the Cyphers. You gotta have it, so order it here.