Why blogging is my muse
If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy.
If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem.
But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to change the world
and a desire to enjoy the world.
This makes it hard to plan the day.
E.B. White
I started writing “books” when I was five, little stapled folders of paper about ghosts, elves and two girls having strange adventures which worked out just fine in ten pages or fewer. I even tried to pre-sell copies of my first series, The Ghost-Hunters, to various relatives, none of whom coughed up the cash.
It was almost easier to write then. I was a lonely, awkward loner, always on the outside, always looking in, observing, watching, recording. That’s a good place for a writer to be. When I got older (and happier and more balanced) I was much more often in the thick of things, doing rather than watching, being rather than observing. While this made my life a more vibrant, colorful, enjoyable place to be, it left less time for writing. This felt like a tremendous loss, but it was a loss I was ready to bear because what I had in exchange was more valuable to me — people around me I loved and who loved me; satisfying work; theater; boozy nights; bicycle rides; travel; languages and politics. (The disclaimer to this is I know lots of writers have managed both — cf. Hemingway. It never worked that way for me.)
Blogging changed that. While blogging is best with an element of thoughtful observation, it also demands that you live smack in the middle of your life so that you have something to write about. Blogging is the intersection of living and writing. It gave me permission to stay in the thick of things, and still write. It gave me back writing without the burden of being a watcher, rather than a doer.
So perhaps it is unsurprising that I am frantically and deliriously in love with posting every day. The discipline NaBloPoMo demands is a perfect counterpoint to the demands of NaNoWriMo. This month, I am what I have always wanted to be: a writer.
And that’s pretty much my NaNoWriMo thought for the day.
I too use blogging as my muse. Not only for writing but staying “adult” in a kids world, since I stay at home. The design part of blogging helps me keep my inner geek happy
Oh my god. Not to be too melodramatic, but where have you been all my life? Thanks for commenting on my blog or I might never have found you. (i.e. I like your blog.)
I feel the same about DP, and always loved her line about Katharine Hepburn: “She ran the emotional gamut from A to B.”
Have to go read now.
When I was a child I wrote all kinds of short stories too. I had a strange fixation with twins back then, so they often starred in my stories. But when I look back, I still marvel at my stories, my ability and eagerness to write back then.
So I regard blogging the same way as you. I’ll never make a living as a writer, and that’s fine. I’ll probably never be published in anything except those old college newspapers and magazines. But as a blogger, I can write everyday. And it forces me to look at my life, analyze what’s interesting or sad or happy. What’s happening, what it means and how I feel about it. I may not be a good one, but darn it, I’m a writer!
A strong “me too” on all of the above comments. The whole blog thing has given me a legit reason to call myself a writer, even if I’ve never (yet) been published anywhere… a “writer” is one who writes! Doesn’t really matter where.
Oh yeah, and let me echo the thanks for commenting on mine – I enjoy reading this a lot.
Blogging does make you live more deliberately.
“Blogging is the intersection of living and writing” I love this. I think you just explained (to me)why I love blogging so much.
Kim, you said what I was going to say! Haha, but seriously, you know that will come up again at some point. I’m most certainly saving it and quoting you.
“Blogging is the intersection of living and writing”
I’m with E.B. White. It’s hard to plan the day when one wants to both change the world and enjoy it at the same time. Except. When one writes, what one says can change someone’s world (even a little, even your own) and brings intense enjoyment at the same time (unless one is Dot Parker who only liked having written.) Professionally, I write to a deadline. For pleasure, I write when I feel like it. But writing is always part of the enjoyment of the day; saving the world is not always the intention.
I keep hearing about this nanowrimo thingie, but don’t exactly know what it is. (Hence “thingie”!) Probably you have a link to it somewhere. You have to write every day, is that it? But what if you already do that? Do you have to write twice a day then? :-> I’ll go pester Google now and leave you alone.
(Just spent 10 minutes staring at the keyboard trying to put my thoughts about this post into words, and I still can’t properly). I love it when life makes sense, I love blogging, I love your blog. I loved this post because it brought all those things together.
(oh and my word verification was bliipie – I love it when it’s a pronoucable word! It’s all coming together!)
I loved your post (I tend to read over Custancia’s shoulder) and it made me reflect on why I blog (inconsistently). I also think its really cool that you and Custancia are back in touch!