an interesting question has come to my attention...
blogs: distraction or 'real' writing?
i freely admit that this is more scrapbook of random observations and images than it is the next Long Day's Journey, but i have to say this amuses me. it keeps the words coming. to the point that my editor can jump for joy (well, perhaps just do some lunges in preparation for upcoming jumps), that i've actually started a draft of that article i've been promising him.
dare i say, when perusing my notes for said article, i even discovered some notes and a preliminary draft of my next play. and while i got stuck, i shopped around various sites online and realized there was a theatre company up here i have a contact with who may be interested in most recently produced blah blah blah.
the point being, i think i've just been in a holding pattern for the longest time. i'm used to being prolific, inspired, acclaimed, all those obnoxious things. instead i've been in the pit.
i guess this blog wouldn't qualify as literature. but it keeps things flowing. i'm quite proud of it, actually. i'm amazed at the terrific writers i read on blogger who keep their own sites. i want to be like them as much as i want to be like Wes Andersen or Charlie Kaufman or F. Scott Fitzgerald, or Jason Sherman or Morris Panych, etc., etc., etc.
a random search of eBay for "the real thing" brings up these 3 Kangaroo Scrotum Coin Purses for your perusal.
a random brain search brought this entry. and a note to self to treat all my writing like the real thing, paid, unpaid, produced, spec, or even these silly captions and whimsies.
u/v
2 comments:
While I think I agree with the spirit of the idea that even the much-maligned blog is "real" enough writing, I can think of too many writer blogs that have been abandoned simply because they were interfering with other writerly pursuits.
Maybe it's boredom, or the mental space a blog can take up (have I posted lately? should I post? has someone posted a comment? am I being linked to? what's my technocrati index? should I add RSS/buttons/stuff to my blog?) or maybe it's just that so many writers find their precious precious time being eroded away by their blogs and blog culture (if such a thing exists.)
Then again, there seems to be a pretty common curve with bloggers. Many folks blog easily for a few months or years, then lose interest and often just announce one day that they are taking a break. Most state they weren't really sure what they wanted out of their blog, but it somehow never got there or stopped satisfying in some way.
good points, all! i agree that the lure of a ready distraction from the task at hand (see:looking for a cool new skin, etc., etc.etc.) in the guise of being "about" writing is a definite danger with blogs. for me, if i leave the vast blank page of Word for my little online project, the rest of the internet is a tempting, tempting step away.
i suppose it's all about balance: recognizing when something is working for your process as opposed to when it's working against you. for me at the moment, this is all a part of the greater package. who knows what the future will bring?
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