The Dykewrite assignment for the week was to write about the trend in blogging from a personal perspective. Would we bloggers still write if the trend died? Would we still be online diarists even if we had no audience? Would only those blogs with literary merit survive?
Here’s what I think. If the trend died, I think only those inclined to write or keep a journal would continue. I’m mostly here because I’m a lemming. I followed Tracy and a bunch of funny girls down the hole. It’s not like I didn’t have the idea or inclination previously, I just didn’t have the time and the waters weren’t tested by anyone I ‘knew.’ I never wrote consistently before I started blogging and I still feel like I don’t. The last six months is probably a record for me. I enjoy it a lot, but it’s still more about having the time than being in the mood to do it. There’s always stuff to get off my chest.
Honestly, the feedback is a huge motivator. I feel like I’ve made friends with real people in the process, and in this ocean of online posers that’s huge. Still, chances are I’d give up blogging if most everyone else did. To me, blogging is as much about reading as it is writing. If no one else that I liked to read continued to write I probably wouldn’t write either. At least, not online. I do think that if there were no feedback systems and there were no chance of our anonymity being breached that a lot of writers would worry less about offending people. Many bloggers worry about safeguarding identity and how much we reveal online. And no one likes a troll in their comments.
I’ve always been a writer, though. Not the kind of writer you think of when you hear the word writer. I’ve never been inclined to write fiction or poetry. The bulk of my writing has been sporadic journaling, letter writing and business writing. It’s all analytical to me anyway. If I’m not writing about some business process, I’m writing about some event or situation in my life that I either want a record of or feel need to analyze further by mucking about in the details. It’s sometimes easier for me to express feelings or high emotion in writing but I don’t do it too often. I do love the physical act of writing, the mechanics of it. I loved having a special pen and fine paper or a journal book. Now, I love writing with the computer. I type well enough that I can get what’s in my head out fairly quickly. I prefer the keyboard to the pen because I can self-edit as I write.
One reason I’ve liked blogging is because I feel it’s improved my writing skills. Sometimes when I go back later and read something I’ve written, I’ll think “that’s not half bad.” For the most part I just think I’m average, skill-wise. There are many who are better writers and many who are worse. So, I don’t believe that only those with literary merit would survive because it’s not just about skill. Really, it’s about ambition isn’t it?
I think it is about ambition. My blog writing differs vastly from my "serious" (and I’m using that term very loosely) writing. When I’m writing privately I must continually remind myself that I’m writing *for* myself; and when I’m blogging I must do the opposite. The writing comes out with very different flavors. Blogging for me is extremely motivated towards popularity, I think. I’m so goddam competetive!
I started blogging because I’d always wanted to write a book, but never knew if anyone would read it or if I had the skills to do it. Bloggin gives you feedback — like you’d mentioned. It’s excellent.<br><br>The only negative feedback I’ve gotten is when someone doesn’t agree with a point I’ve made. It’s never been negative from the writing point of view. So… maybe I’ll give that book a try!<br><br>The making friends aspect is wonderful, too. I do feel like the folks that regularly come by are my friends. And, the authors of blogs I read on a regular basis have become friends as well.
hehe…this blogging thing is the longest I’ve kept anything like a journal since high school. i love the feedback.
grey bird, you always have so much to say and yo always say in such an eloquent manner…for me, my blog is much like anything else i write…i try to make it as honest as possible but it is definitely for me…to censor it for the benefit of others would steer away from that…if someone doesn’t care for it, they do not have to read it…but i like the community aspect of the ring as well as the feedback…i am going to mine the blog for a section of my book i suppose…to me it is rough draft material…squak!!
Whatever the reason, keep on writing, GB! I always enjoy your posts … you often make me look at something in a different way, and I appreciate your honesty. Also, I may be a day late, etc., but my sincere condolences on the death of your old friend.
I don’t think it’s all that much of a trend to many people. It may have started out that way, but once we started, we found out that it was "the thing" for us.<br><br>We learn a lot about ourselves and each other by writing as well as reading other people’s blogs. One of the great things is that it expands your mind as you get to see life from different points of views. It brings us together.<br><br>As for the popularity thing, I think in this case quality goes before quantity. Meeting a few special people out there, that you’re able to connect with, is the best thing of all.
As a professional writer, I blog to stay loose. The dykewrite thing hasn’t been something I can quite figure out yet. When I hear the word "assignment," I think "invoice."<br>
I started blogging as a way to get past the emotional pain of the beginning of the end of a 10 year long marriage. It really helped me, and for a while, I was really putting out some very painful and raw stuff. My site is now VERY tame in comparison, if not mostly because I am in the midst of a child-custody divorce, and I can’t let things that involve my private life get into the wrong hands… just yet. Once things are final, I will once again write my life… but for now, it’s mostly just for fun, and to exercise my mind (and fingers!).<br><br>I love blogging, and will continue to do it for myself, regardless of the hits or lack thereof.