Blogging
A couple of weeks ago I listened to a radio broadcast about blogging. I think it was a BBC news show, but I'm not really sure. Anyhow, they said that blogging was an activity that is increasing in popularity, and that for some religious people, it is a spiritual exercise. A form of prayer. That description struck a chord with me, although I do not often describe my blogging in that way. I mean, how can a word like "blog", which sounds so ... stupid and technological and just plain "made up" be associated with prayer? I don't know, but it is. In my own mind as well as the minds of the folks at the BBC.
Hopeful Expectation is my second blog. The first one isn't really worth mentioning; I think I posted about three times. I remember setting the blog up, and putting a lot of thought into developing a theme. I was really excited by the whole idea of putting my stuff on the internet, and allowing complete strangers to read it. I decided not to tell anyone that I had a blog because I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. For some reason, I had this idea that a blogger should "know what he is doing." As I write post number seventy-something for Hopeful Expectation, I can honestly say: "I don't know what I'm doing."
I suspect I stopped writing the first blog (at least in part) because I told a good friend about it. I broke my rule about not telling anyone. Her response was "How come you didn't tell me you had a blog?" I felt her question was a rebuke. I felt embarrassed, and I didn't really know what to say. I tried to explain that my blog hadn't "found its voice" yet. I said that I wanted to figure out what the blog was really about before I told people about it.
We had this conversation near a rocky beach, standing on a boardwalk littered with LOTS of seagull droppings. I could hardly walk without stepping in it. It was cold, and right around the time we started to have the conversation about my blog, it started to rain. And my friend was visibly unhappy with me. So at that moment, blogging became too much work. There was too much shit to walk through. Cold winds and gray skies, along with a friend's hurt feelings ... I just quit writing. It wasn't very good anyway. Honestly.
Hopeful Expectation is a prayer of some sort. For what? I'm not sure. I guess it depends. I'm not entirely happy with it, and I only talk about it with some reluctance. The people who eat and drink with me, ride around in my car, and see me face-to-face on a regular basis tend to know little or nothing about this blog. It's a little difficult for me to articulate why that is. I know I don't like to pray aloud these days. Talking about my blog would seem sort of like praying out loud, or baring my soul. Yeah ... but why not to the people who already know me? Maybe I think they would know too much if they read my thoughts.
Sometimes I'm not a fan of blogging because I think my writing time would be better spent developing/perfecting stories that can be sent to a publisher. I know a few writers who are debating about blogs, and they offer compelling pro/con arguments. Without going into too much detail, I will say that I've found blogging to be a useful tool. It helps me sort through my thoughts, which is something that needs to be done if I am to write.
Last week I started a story that I feel good about, and I do believe it will find itself on a publisher's desk in the near future.
Hopeful Expectation is my second blog. The first one isn't really worth mentioning; I think I posted about three times. I remember setting the blog up, and putting a lot of thought into developing a theme. I was really excited by the whole idea of putting my stuff on the internet, and allowing complete strangers to read it. I decided not to tell anyone that I had a blog because I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. For some reason, I had this idea that a blogger should "know what he is doing." As I write post number seventy-something for Hopeful Expectation, I can honestly say: "I don't know what I'm doing."
I suspect I stopped writing the first blog (at least in part) because I told a good friend about it. I broke my rule about not telling anyone. Her response was "How come you didn't tell me you had a blog?" I felt her question was a rebuke. I felt embarrassed, and I didn't really know what to say. I tried to explain that my blog hadn't "found its voice" yet. I said that I wanted to figure out what the blog was really about before I told people about it.
We had this conversation near a rocky beach, standing on a boardwalk littered with LOTS of seagull droppings. I could hardly walk without stepping in it. It was cold, and right around the time we started to have the conversation about my blog, it started to rain. And my friend was visibly unhappy with me. So at that moment, blogging became too much work. There was too much shit to walk through. Cold winds and gray skies, along with a friend's hurt feelings ... I just quit writing. It wasn't very good anyway. Honestly.
Hopeful Expectation is a prayer of some sort. For what? I'm not sure. I guess it depends. I'm not entirely happy with it, and I only talk about it with some reluctance. The people who eat and drink with me, ride around in my car, and see me face-to-face on a regular basis tend to know little or nothing about this blog. It's a little difficult for me to articulate why that is. I know I don't like to pray aloud these days. Talking about my blog would seem sort of like praying out loud, or baring my soul. Yeah ... but why not to the people who already know me? Maybe I think they would know too much if they read my thoughts.
Sometimes I'm not a fan of blogging because I think my writing time would be better spent developing/perfecting stories that can be sent to a publisher. I know a few writers who are debating about blogs, and they offer compelling pro/con arguments. Without going into too much detail, I will say that I've found blogging to be a useful tool. It helps me sort through my thoughts, which is something that needs to be done if I am to write.
Last week I started a story that I feel good about, and I do believe it will find itself on a publisher's desk in the near future.
posted by Wordsmyth at
12:09 AM
6 Comments:
I'm not sure I would describe a blog as a prayer to any god as such - although I'm sure it may serve this purpose for some. But certainly it fulfils a cathartic function. I often think it provides a safe, rant space. There are those bloggers who use it as community space, a means of gathering together like-minded individuals from around the globe or to keep in touch with friends who are spread to the four winds. These relationships may spill over from virtuality to reality. Like yourself, I don't publicise mine as some could take offence to my venting my frustration 'publicly', particularly if they recognise themselves in it. But I appreciate the pressure valve. Sometimes it is good to maintain anonymity.
A lot of times the usefulness of a prayer is that it takes what's inside you and puts it out there for scrutiny.
you are the ninth link in my favourites. what would i do with only 8 favourites? that would be weak. so please, keep writing and praying here :-)
Great site loved it alot, will come back and visit again.
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Really amazing! Useful information. All the best.
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Interesting website with a lot of resources and detailed explanations.
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