William Gibson, the author, has a blog. Rather, he had one from January 31, 2003 until September 12, 2003, and then he quit. His final post relates a unique outlook on the relationship between writing books and writing blogs.

I’ve found blogging to be a low-impact activity, mildly narcotic and mostly quite convivial, but the thing I’ve most enjoyed about it is how it never fails to underline the fact that if I’m doing this I’m definitely not writing a novel – that is, if I’m still blogging, I’m definitely still on vacation. I’ve always known, somehow, that it would get in the way of writing fiction, and that I wouldn’t want to be trying to do both at once. The image that comes most readily to mind is that of a kettle failing to boil because the lid’s been left off.

It seems like his problem with this kind of writing goes beyond the simple complaint “If I’m blogging, I’m definately still on vacation.” He adds:

I crave the sweet and crazy-making difficulties that can only be imposed by the box, the Cornellian stage, the frame, of a formal narrative.

So I’m out of here…

On the other hand, there is a blog by Neil Gaiman, the kind of writer whose name is likely to appear on the back of a William Gibson book. Neil gaiman kept a blog while writing “American Gods” and has been keeping a new one ever since the publication of that book, in 2001. He posts to his blog nearly every day.