Thursday, April 07, 2005
Writer's Blockhead
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money," wrote Dr Johnson. He might just have easily wrote: "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for publication."
It's not a big deal. I could continue to write things nobody ever reads. Writing to a cherished and loyal audience of none. But doing things, anything, without remark, without someone else's consideration or assessment; liking what you're doing, hating what you're doing, made curious, more cautious or crapulous by what you're doing, makes doing it a little less enjoyable, and if I'm honest, a little less worth the effort.
That said - and to make the point I'll have to dip my toe into the perilous waters of the seasoned Bloggers bete noir "why do I/we Blog?" - I have to wonder why I am back doing it. Back Blogging. Agonising what to write about, fretting over gaps in creativity, bellyaching about what are testable facts and what truths get in the way of a good story.
It's a difficult one, a tricksy problem, a knotty stumper. But perhaps it's more simple. Perhaps all geeks return in the end.
Having returned via the route of keeping an unpublic Blog for a couple of weeks to shake the rust, I find I'm already trying harder. The unpublished Blog didn't have to be regular. It didn't really matter if the entry was, to borrow from the Bloggers catchphrase lexicon: "The outpourings of my head-brain fart dumping ground for random thoughts and gushing musings." It didn't matter if it was crap. If it is to be worth anything, I need the kind of gentle pressure generated from the thought that someone - and it might only be some one, is going to be affected through the tiny convulsion that encourages their attention, for a fraction of a moment, to read this Blog.
And I'll then strive for a better effect, and increase my own satisfaction. And in doing so, provide at least part of the answer as to why I've returned. Why I Blog.
It's not a big deal. I could continue to write things nobody ever reads. Writing to a cherished and loyal audience of none. But doing things, anything, without remark, without someone else's consideration or assessment; liking what you're doing, hating what you're doing, made curious, more cautious or crapulous by what you're doing, makes doing it a little less enjoyable, and if I'm honest, a little less worth the effort.
That said - and to make the point I'll have to dip my toe into the perilous waters of the seasoned Bloggers bete noir "why do I/we Blog?" - I have to wonder why I am back doing it. Back Blogging. Agonising what to write about, fretting over gaps in creativity, bellyaching about what are testable facts and what truths get in the way of a good story.
It's a difficult one, a tricksy problem, a knotty stumper. But perhaps it's more simple. Perhaps all geeks return in the end.
Having returned via the route of keeping an unpublic Blog for a couple of weeks to shake the rust, I find I'm already trying harder. The unpublished Blog didn't have to be regular. It didn't really matter if the entry was, to borrow from the Bloggers catchphrase lexicon: "The outpourings of my head-brain fart dumping ground for random thoughts and gushing musings." It didn't matter if it was crap. If it is to be worth anything, I need the kind of gentle pressure generated from the thought that someone - and it might only be some one, is going to be affected through the tiny convulsion that encourages their attention, for a fraction of a moment, to read this Blog.
And I'll then strive for a better effect, and increase my own satisfaction. And in doing so, provide at least part of the answer as to why I've returned. Why I Blog.
// posted by garroo @ 10:38 am 
