As always happens around this time, I’ve been reassessing the blog; thinking about the content, the design, how best to inform/entertain my readers and if I’m having fun with it. The first thing to change was the look—the dull white margins have given way to a fresh and summery wallpaper (check it out if you haven’t seen it recently). Of course, the site says “loves flowers” instead of “writes fantasy” but you already knew about my botanical obsession  (and you can blame my father’s genes for that!). Next up for change are the dreadfully staid fonts, once I figure out how to do that in the theme editor (code for: get David to figure it out and show me).

But content is more important to me than design (I’m a writer. Words matter more). This provocative post on Copyblogger that I discovered via Procrastinating Writers has gotten me thinking about what I put on here. You can go read it now. I’ll wait for you.

K, back? Gone through that list of 20 ways to tell if your blog content sucks? Yep, a lot of those items on that list apply to me. I definitely do not spend an hour on each post (geez, do you know how much of Quartz I could revise in that time?). I’m happy that I get comments at all (*hugs* to all you who do comment here. It makes me so very happy to be read ). My blog is rather all over the place, pictures of kid art and flowers jostling elbows with posts on writing.

However, this article made me think about why I blog in the first place. Is it to connect with the writing community and all my writer friends? Is it a rather public repository of flower pictures, anecdotes, interesting links and personal rambles? Is it to inform or inspire other writers? Is it merely so that writer Rabia Gale has an online presence, a place where adoring fans can find information about upcoming releases, book tours and the like (*ahem* a bit of wishful thinking going on there?). Do I just like the instant gratification factor of blogging (as opposed to say, scribbling fiction in a dark closet for years and years)? Or do I aspire to be a professional blogger making a living off this (the type of person that Copyblogger post is addressing?).

Or is it a little bit of everything?

If you blog, why do you do it? And if you’re a regular reader of this blog, I’d love to hear what you like on here and what you don’t. I don’t guarantee that your preferences will be implemented (it’s my blog after all *grin*), but I like to know what keeps you reading.

Furthermore, stick around this month. I have some book and fiction giveaways planned that I’m very excited about and hope you will be, too.

Do you have blogger’s block? Been a couple weeks since you last posted?  Feel like you’ve said it all before? Check out Paperback Writer’s Blog Blocked post to jumpstart your blog.

And for those trying to stand out of the pack, Darren Rowse offers up a list of ways to make your blog unique.

The Simple Dollar has a whole series of posts on building a better blog.

I’m pleased to note the prominence of story and writing. Not sure about the wombat, though (wombat stew, wombat stew! crunchy munchy wombat stew!).

Who else wants to play?

What do you think of the content recently? Too many posts about writing, not enough about writing? Too much stuff about kids, not enough stuff about kids? Do you like the story inspiration exercises and the flash fiction I’ve been putting up? What about the art-related posts and the gratuitous pictures? Really, it boils down to, what would you like to see more of?

To those of you who come by and comment, thanks so much. I appreciate it a lot.

Wanna take your blog up to the next level? Check out Problogger’s 31 Days to a Better Blog series. Happening right now.

Archaeology is so fascinating: The world’s oldest life-sized statue? It gives me the shivers. And, 11,000-year-old stone circles. Story fireworks are going off in my head.

And in entirely unrelated news: here’s the latest issue of Beneath Ceaseless Skies. I’ve been pretty impressed by the caliber of their stories. Stephanie Burgis’ The Five Days of Justice Merriwell, for one, lingered in my mind days after I read it. Maybe it was just the uncoventional, unexpected twisting of a historical period I’ve always been drawn by. Or the prose. Or the way there are no clear right answers, everything is shaded grey. I can’t say I loved this story, as much as I’m haunted by it, by its world, by all the roads not taken.

I got the latest issue of Black Gate in the mail last week. I love the cover (the winged warrior gal, at least; the handmaidens–not so much). I swear I’ve seen the same don’t-mess-with-me look on my two-year-old daughter’s face.

Holly Lisle has the submission guidelines for her upcoming Rebel Tales.

What do you think of the template change? Yay or nay? What features do you like to see (or not like to see) on a blog or website?

I’ll continue with my musings about how my writing passion survived this past year in subsequent posts about writing prompts, one of which worked really well for me. It might take me a few days because I am trying to go into labor right now *grin*. If I succeed, I’m not going to be online for a couple days. In the meantime, feel free to have a party in the comments section.