Why Blog?
October 2007
Okay . . . this is a first for me. I’m typing directly into the “Post” window at wordpress.com instead of onto a Word doc. Sort of an artificial sense of danger since there’s nothing to stop me from copying & pasting & spell-checking & endlessly revising even after pressing “Publish” – but I’m uneasy nonetheless . . . here we go . . . I’m blogging. Look, Ma, No hands.
Why? Why am I blogging? It feels utterly narcissistic. There must be a point other than to dwell in my own minutia. Maybe I’m succumbing to peer pressure. All the cool kids are doing it.
One thing I’ve discovered from these last few weeks of being a content contributor at Thirty Voices is that having a place to post actually motivates me to do something I love to do.
Write.
My whole life, I’ve had the urge to write. But I’ve only sporadically followed through on that urge. A class here or there. Letters. Freewrites scrawled on restaurant napkins.
It came as a revelation to me that, after recently allowing myself full days of writing, I could only describe the experience as, “going in.” Not into myself. Into a place. A real place. It’s like being under a spell. And when I come out, I have something to show for it. How could I have felt like a writer my whole life and not realized the hypnotic power of practicing the craft? So I guess that’s my reason for being here, right now, typing directly into this “Post” window at wordpress.com. I want to have a motivation to continue going in.
What’s this blog going to be about? Not sure. For now, it’ll be a place for random reflections & links. Hopefully, sooner than later, the words I deposit here will take shape into something that might have meaning to someone other than myself.
Thanks.
Nadine said,
October 12, 2007 at 1:23 pm
I love this post Ruth. We don’t really need to address our love for blogging with therapy, it IS therapy.
Ruth said,
October 12, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Yay! Thanks, Nadine . . . you’re so right! Happy blogging . . . and have a great weekend w/ your adorable family.
Nadine said,
October 12, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Yeah – I joined Thirty Voices! I’ve been waiting for a comment on my post there for a couple of days now (hint hint) and just realised I had to go to my dashboard and ALLOW comments (I’ve never used WordPress before) Doh! Better go climb back in bed now it’s way too early. You have a great weekend too!