Writing for a blog is a strange experience. On the one hand I feel like I’m writing for an audience of exactly one – me. But on the other hand there is the enticing possibility that my blog will attract someone’s attention and maybe, just maybe, that person will return after the initial visit. I’m a devotee of several blogs (that will soon be added to my blog roll) and I admit to being envious at their prolific content. Granted, those blogs have the advantage of having several writers, but still, a slight envy remains.
I’ve found that my problem is not so much a lack of ideas (I seem to have plenty of those) but rather one of writing a post that conveys those ideas in an organised coherent manner. I’ll write and write and in the end I find my way to the delete button because I’m convinced that I’ve written utter rubbish. Ultimately I stick with writing because I can’t seem to stop, no matter how bad I think my own writing may be.
I recently entered a short story into a national short story competition and even though I didn’t place in the top three, I received a call from the organisers to tell me they really enjoyed my story (and to check that I hadn’t plagiarised it – a compliment of sorts, I think) and that I should keep writing. I was enormously flattered but afterwards I felt deflated. Receiving praise from a total stranger didn’t make it any easier to crank out the next story. That story stills sits on my hard drive, unfinished and gathering electronic dust. Ah well, maybe its time hasn’t come yet.
So back to the blog.
I’ve asked myself many times what it is that I want to achieve with a blog. The answer changes depending on my mood and the kind of day I’ve had. Ultimately, if I had to pin down one answer it would be that I hope that a personal blog could allow me to exercise a creativity that is largely stifled in my everyday life and with the added bonus that I might encounter like-minded people in the blogosphere who share some of my thoughts and opinions. Or maybe I just want to talk about myself.
Hopefully reality will live up to my hopes and something readable will emerge.
I’ve found that my problem is not so much a lack of ideas (I seem to have plenty of those) but rather one of writing a post that conveys those ideas in an organised coherent manner. I’ll write and write and in the end I find my way to the delete button because I’m convinced that I’ve written utter rubbish. Ultimately I stick with writing because I can’t seem to stop, no matter how bad I think my own writing may be.
I recently entered a short story into a national short story competition and even though I didn’t place in the top three, I received a call from the organisers to tell me they really enjoyed my story (and to check that I hadn’t plagiarised it – a compliment of sorts, I think) and that I should keep writing. I was enormously flattered but afterwards I felt deflated. Receiving praise from a total stranger didn’t make it any easier to crank out the next story. That story stills sits on my hard drive, unfinished and gathering electronic dust. Ah well, maybe its time hasn’t come yet.
So back to the blog.
I’ve asked myself many times what it is that I want to achieve with a blog. The answer changes depending on my mood and the kind of day I’ve had. Ultimately, if I had to pin down one answer it would be that I hope that a personal blog could allow me to exercise a creativity that is largely stifled in my everyday life and with the added bonus that I might encounter like-minded people in the blogosphere who share some of my thoughts and opinions. Or maybe I just want to talk about myself.
Hopefully reality will live up to my hopes and something readable will emerge.
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