State of the Blog, Announcing A New Feature, As Soon As I Think Of It

Blogging About Blogging

Awareness of the outside world. “Sadly, it appears that the organization that started the initiative, Riders4Helmets, is gone. Their website is abandoned and their Facebook page hasn’t been updated in a year. So kudos to the helmet manufacturers and tack stores who are carrying on this important tradition.” EQUINE Ink: Take Advantage of Helmet Awareness Weekend Sales.
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Proposal

I would like to develop a running feature, preferably contributed by other folks. Problem is, I don’t know what.

Horse stories? Sure. Amusing. On topic. However, most people I know who a) have horses AND b) want to write about them, already have their own blog.

Interview people about their horse stories? That feels like work. Literally. This is what I do for money.

Favorite book? Favorite horse book? There are already so many places on the Internet to get book opinions.

Inviting authors to talk about their books? Did that for a while. Don’t have a big enough platform to be worth their effort.

Local stories? Off topic, but has possibilities. If this was the before times, I could offer people lunch in return for an hour of their time.

Recipes? I don’t cook but I live with someone who does and I like to eat. Wildly off topic? Sure. Why not. Horse show food? Too narrow to be ongoing.

I need a wrinkle that hasn’t been done before. If it involved something unique to me that I could offer in trade, that would be great.

It needs to be something easy for the other person. Scalzi can get long, introspective posts for his Big Idea series because he can offer a lot of eyeballs. There’s a sentence one doesn’t want to see taken literally.

So, yeah, I haven’t really gotten past the stage of ‘This would be cool.’ Shall ponder.

The previous invitations, see below, have been soliciting one-offs. The idea here is to build up a series that becomes a feature.

Origin Story

So, what brought this on? This blog by Don Koboldt:

Each week, we discuss elements of sci-fi or fantasy with an expert in a relevant topic area. We debunk the myths, correct the misconceptions, and offer advice on getting the details right.

Science in Sci-Fi, Fact in Fantasy.

Even if you never plan to write a word, you can enjoy the short takes on a variety of topics, everything from rocket ships to pottery. Click the blog tab for the most recent entry.

I found the blog through the compilation book, Putting the Science in Fiction, edited by Dan Koboldt (Writers Digest 2018). The upcoming companion volume, Putting the Fact in Fantasy, edited by Koboldt (Penguin 2022), is at the tippy top of my To-Be-Bought-I-Don’t-Care-How-Many-Unread-Books-I-Already-Have list. Book info, DK.com: Putting the Science in Fiction, page & DK.com: Putting the Fact in Fantasy Sold to Penguin Random House, post October 2020.

Of course, I’ve love a feature that grew into a book. Back in the real world, I’d be happy with inviting other voices into my echo chamber and with being diverted by other people’s stories.

Any ideas?

Previous Invitations

[State of the Blog, Open Mike Invitation]
[Guest Post Invitation & Rules]
[Letter Art: Invitation]
[My Best Class: Blog Hop Invitation]
[Living Digitally: RibbonFest Invitation] canceled

Four of the invites are still open. Canceled the ribbon one, not from lack of interest. Love me some presentation pics. However, such photos are often of the person and horse by another person. I didn’t want to wade into the thickets of photo copyright, particularly if professional photographers get involved.

[STOB archives]
[Wear a Helmet archives]
Last month’s logo [Blog Logo, Bell Serifs]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine