Blogs get a lot of criticism, even from me who writes in several online spaces. It's easy to get sucked into the trap of almost unconscious writing, or worse: the sort of gibberish that I lament is killing the minds of teenagers everywhere, IM-lingo. (Uggh, I hate it). However, Donna's post from yesterday made me think about the purpose of blogging.
And I realized even when I'm being "intellectual", it's a release of pent-up word energy. It's a way for me to write in a forum where there are no critics (harsh ones anyway), no professors to grade what I write, and if someone disagrees with me, so what? I can alternate my roles from reader, creative writer, book critic, book lover, and thinker, switching from scholar to curious individual (or some combination therein) with each entry I form. I can hope that others read and enjoy my entries, but in the end it doesn't actually matter.
The beauty of writing on a blog--to play, to grow, to learn. It can be a lovely thing, this blogging on varied interests, developing a writing style. Those writing teachers always say "write everyday" (or something like that) and blogging provides an incentive to do so, with the added charm that an audience exists out there in the Interwebs to read, enjoy, and learn with me. My pent-up word energy is out, and I'm better for it because I'm making it available for other eyes, giving me an audience to write for, even if they are only in my mind.
3 comments:
Amen! Despite the infrequency of my blogging I love it. I think that I don't write more often because I'm afraid of it becoming a burden. It is for me and while I'm flattered that I have readers who want more, I like keeping it where it is an escape instead of a burden.
Nice post about online grammar, which has definitely had a corrosive effect on the student writing I see. Although I have no idea what you like, you might track down Idiocracy, the most recent film from Mike Judge. It's not brilliant by any means, but he makes some good observations about the dumbing down of the culture.
As for blogging, I've been pleasantly surprised to see how regular writing on my knitblog has helped me. Sometimes I need to vent. Sometimes I need a safe space to push me to write about something, anything. If others find it worth reading, all the better. :)
Hello Jenn, thanks for your comment on my blog! You sound articulate and eloquent, I like the sound of both those words so just felt like using them as they do appear to describe your writings... good luck with the PhD!
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