Where have all the good blogs gone?

As Ray Davies of The Kinks once asked, where have all the good blogs gone?

Well, actually, it was 'good times', not 'good blogs', but you get my meaning. As the first anniversary of my own blog approaches, I have just returned from a blogging break. As I work through my daily diet of writing-related blogs I find myself tiring of many old favourites. In particular I'm getting a little jaded with the agent blogs where I find I'm reading the same things again and again. What can often be worse are the comments, where various desperate writers (myself included) chip in with sycophancy that occasionally borders on the ridiculous.

In one example, an agent openly berated a client on their blog. While the agent didn't name the client, that client would surely have known they were being publicly ridiculed by someone they pay to act in their best interests. When one brave commenter dared to question the professionalism of this public airing of dirty laundry, a string of fellow aspiring authors pounced, defending the agent for the indefensible, presumably in the hopes of getting on the agent's good side.

I'll admit I've done it myself, hanging around agent blogs, chipping in with my comments, and sometimes erring on the side of ass-kissing. We all do it in the course of our professional lives from time-to-time, so I'm not knocking it. It's just sometimes the commenters go a tad overboard.

I believe Miss Snark was correct in taking her bows when she did, and few others are still holding my interest. One notable exceptions are the always informative and entertaining Nathan Bransford and the matter-of-fact and educational Kristen Nelson.

Over the last few weeks I've come across some other blogs, mostly by other writers, so I think a round-up of my new things-to-read-instead-of-working places is called for. In no particular order...

Josephine Damian

Forensics lady who was my most vocal advocate in the recent First Line Contest of which I was a finalist. Her blog contains book reviews, interviews and all sorts of good things. http://josephinedamian.blogspot.com/.

JJDeBenedictis

Another supporter during the recent contest. Here you'll find general musings, and occasional thought-provocation, on writing in general. http://jjdebenedictis.blogspot.com/.

Ello

And once again, a supporter during the contest. Okay, there may be a pattern developing here, but not ALL of them will be people who gave me their votes. Honest. Anyway, Ello is a lawyer and writer. Her posts are always thoughtful and entertaining. She also recently got into a bout of keyboard fisticuffs with some strangers over an author's petulant response to a negative review. Needless to say, she kicked her attackers' arses up between their shoulder blades. Don't pick a fight with this woman. You will lose. http://randomactsofunkindness.blogspot.com/.

Moonrat

Last but not least, I discovered this blog courtesy of Ello just a few days ago. Moonrat is a New York based editor at an undisclosed publisher. She posts frequently, sometimes about publishing, but more often about life in general. I have been digging back through the archives and laughing out loud at regular intervals. The most entertaining blog I've found in quite some time. http://editorialass.blogspot.com/

And that's it for now. I may have forgotten some, and if so, I'll add them as I remember. I'll also add all these to my links over on the left as and when I get time.