See You Soon!

Posted on by

by James Scott Bell
@jamesscottbell

Today commences our annual two-week hiatus here at TKZ. This blog has been hale and hearty since 2009, which is a testimony to the quality of our writers and commenters over the years. 

Blogging began back in 1994 when Justin Hall, a student at Swarthmore College, started publishing personal content on his website. He called it “Justin’s Links from the Underground.” This was his “log” on the web. A web log.

The term “weblog” came from Jorn Barger, a bearded James Joyce fan. Later, tech billionaire Evan Williams coined “blog” as both noun and verb, and “blogger” to designate one who blogs. As co-founder of Pyra Labs, he helped design the site Blogger which went public in 1999. (Williams would go on to co-found a micro-blogging site called Twitter.)

In 2004, “blog” was Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year.

Blogs took off in the 2000s, with professional and monetized blogs like TechCrunch, Gawker, and Huffington Post becoming major players in media, offering insights into technology, gossip, and news.

Writers started blogging, too. One of the most influential blogs was Joe Kontrath’s A Newbies Guide to Publishing, which gave practical advice to writers trying to break into traditional publishing. At the end of 2010, however, his blog morphed over into leading the charge for indies. 

On August 7, 2008, a date that will live in fame, a group blog for writers called Kill Zone made its debut. Of its original cast, only our great founder and admin, Kathry Lilley, and a fellow named Gilstrap remain. I looked up John’s first post and saw this:

I faced a storytelling crisis last weekend. Staring down the throat of an August 15 deadline for Grave Secrets (coming in June, ’09), I needed an ending. 

So the first Jonathan Grave thriller was coming. It came (with a title change to No Mercy).

I mean, I already had an ending from the initial drafts, but I needed an ending. A kick-ass final sequence that would leave the reader exhausted and satisfied. The one I already had took care of the satisfaction part, but it didn’t have the roller coaster feel that I wanted.

So I shot one of the characters.

What a great tip. It’s another side of Raymond Chandler’s advice: Bring in a guy with a gun.

And that’s what we’ve always been about here. Tips and techniques and advice and encouragement for our fellow writers. God willing and the crick don’t rise, we’re going to keep on trucking (Okay, Boomer) in 2025.

While you, dear writing friends, keep on writing.

Merry Christmas and Carpe Typem. See you soon!

34 thoughts on “See You Soon!”

  1. Thanks for all the advice throughout 2024. I’m looking forward to more in 2025.

    As for blogging: Justin Hall is the undisputed Blog Longevity Champion, however, I have been consistently blogging since May 1997. Other people had blogs by then, but they have all found better uses for their time. I have not, which leads to my claim of having “The (Second) Longest Running, Continuously Active, Personal Blog on the Internet.”

    Just wanted put that out there 😉

  2. Thank you to all the TKZ contributors who work so hard each year to bring us content. And thank you to all the commenters who are also part of the community. I say it every year but it bears repeating — this is the *one* writing related blog I have stuck to in all these years and I thank you all for what you do.

    Have a blessed and joyous Christmas/Holiday/Break everyone! I will undoubtedly be clicking on the TKZ link by accident during the break due to sheer habit. LOL!

  3. What a great blogging year on TKZ! Our dedicated audience makes it all worthwhile. Happy holidays, everyone. Cheers to a happy, healthy, productive 2025!🥂

  4. Jim, thanks for that fun retrospective about blogging.

    Konrath’s then-radical predictions about self publishing came true. When TKZ began, all the contributors were traditionally published. Now most of us are indies or a combo of trad and indie.

    Your Sunday posts always educate and inspire. Every day, I continue to learn from my colleagues and TKZ commenters. Honored to be part of TKZ’s friendly, helpful community.

    Merry Christmas to you and your family, Jim!

  5. Happy Holidays to all whatever you celebrate. And if you don’t, then enjoy the lights and the music and have a good end of year.

    Thank you all for your insight and tips! Looking forward to a productive 2025.

  6. Like others, TKZ is the only blog I never miss. I’ve learned so much from it. Thank you for your dedication— coming up with your fantastic posts every week, or in some cases two, is very difficult!
    So thank you again and Merry Christmas and may you all have a prosperous New Year where words flow like water and not molasses.

  7. Thanks for the history lesson on blogs, Jim. TKZ has been instrumental in helping me on my road to publishing novels, and is hands down my favorite writing blog. Thank you for all you’ve shared with us, taught us, and discussed with us over many years. It’s made a huge difference.

    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

  8. Thanks for all you’ve taught me over the years, Mr. Bell! There have been others, of course, but you’re up there toward the top of my craft book pile. Along with many folks from right here at TKZ.

    (Oh, and thanks for the insider tidbit about Mr. Gilstrap’s No Mercy. I really enjoy hearing about how things develop in another author’s playground.)

    Here’s to many more posts, blogs, tips, tricks, fun, and just plain old good fellowship and camaraderie here in these halls. How I wish we could plan an eyeball-to-eyeball get-together some time. I’d shed my loathing of travel in a heartbeat to be there.

    See you in 2025… 🙂

  9. Enjoy your well-deserved break! I started subscribing to this blog just this year and it’s been immensely helpful and informative, so thank you very much to all the posters for their knowledge and generosity! I feel lucky to have discovered it here.

  10. Thanks for all the background info on blogging, Jim. Another great post!

    TKZ is the gift that keeps on giving, and I’m honored to be a part of it.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

  11. I just looked at my own still-active writing blog. My first post was on January 22, 2008. “Why Don’t You Write a Real Book?” is a defense writers can use against the popular-genre naysayers. Starting off with a bland topic has never been my style.

    Merry Christmas and Winter Break to all.

  12. TKZ Blog starts my day and often starts my writing. A trove of practical advice from the writing trenches.

    So, we knew John Gilstrap goes back to the origins, but I’m curious to know your blogging start date, Jim.

    Thanks for a great year, enjoy the holidays, and see you in 2025.

  13. How is it that 1994 still feels like “just a few years ago?”
    Not to diminish TKZ’s very laudable achievement of fifteen years running! My mind just doesn’t know what to do with the “2000s” yet. It’s been a blur.
    Here’s to many more years of great content from all of TKZ’s contributors!

  16. Hi Jim.

    I love TKZ. Thank you all for always keeping it fresh and inspiring. I too have learned so much from all of the commentators and responders. TKZ was the best discovery I’ve ever made. You are family to me.

    Happy Holidays to all.

  17. Thanks to you, Mr. Bell and all the writers who make this such an interesting blog. I really enjoy reading it and am grateful. Blessings in the New Year!

Comments are closed.