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November 9, 2007
NaBloPoMo still going......
I am not (in my mind) as dedicated as my blog partner. I do not slave over words and imagination (actually I am not sure she does, it just always sounds so wonderful that it seems to me that she must spend a lot of time on it....) And I love reading her stuff.
However, I do like typewriting, writing as I type. I am not trained in any way. My writing probably stinks.
But.
You know?
I do not care.
I post here for many reasons. I would love to have the kind of self discipline my compadre displays, but despite how similar we are in many ways, I am (in my mind) nowhere near as dedicated as my friend. Or am I?
I post here quite a lot. I like posting. I like finding stuff and reblogging it here. I have no idea why. I think it is kind of like hoarding. I think of my contributions here as a vehicle for legitimising my hoarding tendencies.
See, I can collect links of stuff to do with knitting, or any one of any other things I collect things about, and post them here, and it sort of authenticates my hours of perusing the Internet...
Except today I have been too busy to find anything. And I still feel uncomfortable about writing about me, in Real Life (I have a diatribe about this on the tip of my tongue). It isn't quite what this blog was set up to do.
And, confessionally, I HATE those blogs which describe people's lives in minute detail. I am just not interested in what your kids have been doing, or how your partner makes you feel, or how intimidated you are by whatever is intidimidating you. You know why? I really do not like the whole thing about feeling pressure to blog, feeling pressure to produce, feeling pressure to write something interesting.... or funny ... or creative.......
The only person who creates that pressure is you. Or me. Or whomever is hosting that particular blog.
You don't have anything to say?
Say nothing.
Don't tell me you don't have anything to say.
Just save yourself for when you DO have something to say.
Don't apologise for saying nothing. You know who cares?
You.....
A blog, journal or diary, should never feel like a chore. It shouldn't stop you from from doing other things - otherwise you would have nothing to blog about! A bit like me tonight.
Except I think there is a difference. I have been saving this up for a while.
So......
I hate confessional media. I hate the media obsession with confession. I do not like those TV or radio shows which encourage people to 'confess'.... Or the forums where people ask for advice from strangers. In my world, that is what friends and family are for. It kind of feels wrong to put it out there, in a public space, where everyone, and anyone, can see.
And to post diatribes about your family/people you work with/life partnere/employers just seems plain silly to me. They will always find it. It is never hidden.
What stops me? Well - you post something on the Internet, it is there. Always. It can't be retracted. It can always be found. Would you really say what you have said on a forum or a blog to the person/s concerned in real life? To their face? If not, don't post it. Write it on paper then burn it. At least if things change there's no evidence.
Yet I blog.... What is that all about? I have no idea. But I shall give it some thought over the rest of this month.... If YOU have strong thoughts on what motivates you to blog, then do leave a comment. Material to fuel my unordered ideas would be really helpful! And now I have fulfilled my promise to blog every day in November...... so far.
Posted by glittrgirl at November 9, 2007 10:11 PM
Comments
Hi Glittrgirl,
Way to say it Glittr!! A heartfelt high-five!! I don't often comment on your posts (since I feel more acquainted with Skitten through the SP connection and all), but I always read them with pleasure. I have this blog as one of my "home" tabs. The knit-art posts always make me smile, or think, or both. You're never boring. Your FOs are always beautiful. I see no need for you to go all confessional if you don't feel that way. And I'm certainly with you in never using my ittybitty little blog to air dirty laundry -- I like to share my FOs when I have them, and sometimes my travel pictures or good news for far away friends and family, but if I want to moan about things, that's what a visit with a close friend is for.
Posted by: Maryse 
at November 10, 2007 12:20 AM
A lot of people have asked me why I keep a blog, and I've never been able to give them a decent answer. These days I think it's pretty much habit.
I've kept a blog going for at least 5 years now, if not more.
I go through phases where I feel the need to document everything that happens in my life, because I don't want to forget it. Even if it is the most boring of "today was pretty uneventful" posts, I still post it.
I post because I want to. I aim it at myself, not at the people reading it. If they find it interesting, that's great, but i don't mind if they don't either.
I occasionally read back through my old blog posts. I see what I was doing exactly a year ago, and see how much my life has changed. I like to have points of reference like that.
Anyway, I'm rambling. I like your blog, and your posts are always interesting and inspiring :)
Posted by: Holly at November 10, 2007 9:15 AM
Wow - what nice comments! I never thought anyone would even bother to read my diatribe, never mind comment! Thanks!
Posted by: glittrgirl at November 10, 2007 9:37 AM
Believe me, you are as dedicated. There's no slaving going on here, at least not yet. I think we are both good at just getting stuff out there. You've always been very good at that, and I think in terms of blogging it is much better to put it down and not think about it too much, not sculpt it or mess with it. You can always tell if someone has spent too long thinking about something and in blogging, for my part at least, that just doesn't work. You lose the freshness.
That's why the two na's that we are doing are so good, because they call for a removal of the internal editor and ask for the writer to just put their thoughts down without worrying about it. That really frees you up.
There are people in nanowrimo who can't past the first 6 words because they want each word to be perfect. Hell, you figure that out later. That's the joy of writing, you CAN edit later if you want. But blogging is best when there is as little editing as possible and just a flow of ideas.
That is what you are best at and you should revel in that.
Posted by: Skitten at November 10, 2007 11:49 AM
You mean every detail of your life like this guy: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003987473_webdiarist01m.html?syndication=rss
Sometimes you can have too much dedication to the cause.
Posted by: Knitnurse at November 13, 2007 6:52 AM
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