Bloggers Spotlight Bloggers – #FirstFive

One Dizzy Bee had the great idea to:

[turn] the spotlight on the first five blogs I fell for and subscribed to. I highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t already. They’re fantastic blogs written by amazing people who deserve cake, and lots of likes.

This post is directly inspired by that and the challenge to write about the first five blogs I fell in love with.  Some of these are by well established writers, others handle specific topics and others focus on my topic of choice (although not through choice): grief and bereavement.

Neil Gaiman

I’ve been a fan of Neil Gaiman ever since I picked up a copy of Dream Country from the library. It was like no comic I had ever read and it had the siren call of being “suggested for mature readers”. I could puff my little chest with phony pride about my ‘maturity’.

It wasn’t till later I realised the true intent behind those words. It wasn’t just about a sex or violence but about being exposed to ideas, images and stories that may disturb or even change how I would view life.

‘Mature readers’ wasn’t an entry sign but a disclaimer that upon opening the pages I had no one to blame but myself if I encountered something terrible.

It would be a little while before I got access to the Internet but one of the first things I found was his blog. It was the first time I had even come across the word blog and the promise of being able to read the thoughts and ideas of a writer I admired was incredible.

I’ve always been a sucker for reading about writing and influences. It started with reading Stephen King’s Danse Macabre and On Writing. Neil Gaiman’s blogs do all this and more.

They give an insight into the writing process but also the creative processes involved in turning ideas into stories, comics, books and films. They also give a snapshot of his personal life and give the human side.

Even if you have never read any of his work there is always something interesting.

Chuck Wendig

The weird thing is that as yet I haven’t read any of Chuck Wendig‘s books but I love his blogs. He also writes about writing but on a whole host of other things too.

I found his blog via Twitter and it was his post on things his kid says that made me an instant fan.

That bald description does not fully convey the full terrible power of his take on ‘kids say the funniest things’.

Angry, funny, filled with righteous fury against small minds and those that seek to close the minds of others.  He also has interesting writing prompts and challenges such as writing a scary story in three sentences.

Pink Tape / Suesspiciousminds

On a very different type of blog now and away from writers.  Through using Twitter for work and a related interest in civil law I started to find legal bloggers.

This was the first time I’d encountered bloggers dealing with weighty technical material and it was fascinating.

Blogs such as Pink Tape and Suesspiciousminds provide context to controversial and often badly reported cases in the family courts. They help fill in the gaps and go someway to provide explanations as to why a particular judgment or decision was reached and the constraints of the law.

These are go to bloggers in case of outbreaks of Daily Mail induced outrage at family court decisions bleeding into my Facebook feed.

Chickydoodles

I love this blog.

I started with this blog and then kept reading and reading and reading.

Brutal honesty doesn’t start to describe her writing.

These are the sort of posts I wish I could write but my inner diplomat won’t let me. These are eloquent, furious, devastating posts laced with humour and style.  Don’t read too much into the brevity of this recommendation – just click on the links and start reading.

The Grief Geek

This blog deals with similar and broader issues than my own, in more detail and with greater levels of insight, knowledge and experience.  Caroline is also an enthusiastic supporter willing to share her knowledge and there is a ton of it there.  The Grief Geek is another blog like Chickydoodles where it is possible to be sucked into a rabbit hole of one more article, one more link until the wee hours.

Your turn!

Now it’s your turn to think about the bloggers that write things that move you, make you think and laugh.

Leave the link to your post on One Dizzy Bee’s page here, or tweet your link @OneDizzyBee with #FirstFive so everyone else can fall in love with them too.