Last night, I met with a group of local bloggers to talk about why we do what we do. Our reasons for blogging ranged from fostering a sense of community, diplaying art, promoting business, providing information about organizations, looking at life from individual perspectives. We talked about the identities of our blogs and our intents.
For some folks, blogging is like a public diary…an online version of group therapy. This approach to blogging can be both cathartic and can simply help human beings connect with other human beings. For others, blogging needs to have a more clearly defined purpose. For most of us last night, our blogs were somewhere in the middle.
But also, in July, at my husband’s twenty year high school reunion, I talked at length with an old friend from graduate school, who is both a gifted artist and writer. Bobby asked me if I was still writing. When I told that I’d started blogging as a way to make sure that I was getting in some regular writing practice (aside from all of those composition assignments), he responded quite strongly.
He said, “Don’t blog, write. Don’t blog because it drains the essence of your writing and then what you really mean to say is a shadow, a glimmer. Don’t blog, write.”
I’m not sure how much I agree with what Bobby said, but I have been thinking about if for a couple of months.
Still, it was nice to talk about the craft of blogging (and I believe it’s a craft that has its own kind of legitimacy) with other bloggers. I’ve been casting around for a clearer identity for my blog, and I’ve been thinking about ways to merge my other, public, blog with this one.
And last night, as we discussed blogging and community, passing around a few laptops and sharing posts, this affirming comment from a new reader showed up in my email: “I’m new here to wordpress, by the way. Your blog is the first I’ve seen on this site, and was the reason I decided to sign up and create my own. I sure do wish you had been my comp teacher.”
I shared the comment with my fellow bloggers, many of whom have become my closest friends, and we all agreed it was a great comment…the kind of comment a blogger waits for.
And then this rainy, rainy morning, I was clicking around the news sites, looking for something to think about besides Sarah Palin and Hurricane Ike, and I found this story about 17-year-old, best-selling author Michelle Izmaylov. She writes in the sci-fi/fanstasy genre, and her book Dream Saver quickly rose to the top of the Barnes and Noble best seller list.
I didn’t imagine that in the midst of my crisis of authenticity, I would find inspiration from an expected comment and in the words of a 17-year-old girl, and yet, what I took from both my new friend and from Izmaylov is that perhaps I’m overthinking my writing identity, purpose, and venue. It is, after all, really about the writing itself and not about the when/where/why/who so much as the pure vision.
Ismaylov speaks very simply about the act of writing: “It’s a lot about not giving up….It’s a lot of planning and a lot of rewriting….Writing is just like everything else: It’s the classic 90 percent hard work and 10 percent talent. It’s just a lot of hard work.”
And so that’s the answer, really, is that the struggle, the questioning, the re-imagining is all part being a writer. I won’t say “the process of becoming a writer” because, I think, that anyone who is asking these questions already is a Writer.
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September 13, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Cliff Burns
Great: another teenage phenom, like Christopher Paolini. But the gal is right on the button when it comes to perseverance and dedication. All the talent in the world gets you nowhere unless you have the courage and tenacity to continue working when there’s no guarantee of success.
Writing is enormously difficult–recently I completed a novel that required three years of the hardest labor I’ve ever done. No one should be under any illusions that being involved with the arts means an easy or leisurely life. Quite the opposite, in fact…
September 13, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Scott
And that’s one of the wonders of blogging. It gives people a chance to get their thoughts and feelings out there, but there is no clear definition of success, the success is up to the individual blogger. As was said, a simple comment from a reader means success to some of us. A chance to keep the writing discipline between short stories and novels is another success story, and so on, and so on. I am excited to start blogging again, and have my own measure of success this time around.
September 14, 2008 at 4:01 am
17-year-old author, Michelle Izmaylov, is a best-seller at B&N. « The Book Bark!
[...] Izmaylov, is a best-seller at B&N. 14 09 2008 I found this story on CNN from A Common Place Book. Lo and behold, young Michelle is a Georgia girl from Alpharetta (the town where my parents had [...]
September 14, 2008 at 8:40 am
Wren
Many, many, many years ago, back when the world was still new, I worked for the California School Boards Association as a graphic artist and general dogsbody. They published a quarterly journal, and it fell to me one time to contact a small list of published and well-known writers and ask them what their advice about writing would be to young aspiring writers.
One of the authors I contacted, and got a reply from, was Mary Stewart, the British author of a wonderful new version of the King Arthur story, told from the POV of Merlin the Magician. The book was called “The Crystal Cave,” and it was one of my personal favorites.
Mrs Stewart had this advice to give: “Write, write, and then write some more.”
That was all. At first, I was disappointed. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like sound advice. Now that the world — and I — are much, much longer in the tooth, and I have become a journalist and an aspiring writer of fiction myself, I’m sure of it. Not only that, but Stewart’s wonderful book and her advice inspired me to start writing myself.
All writing is useful. It’s practice.The more you write, the better it is, because the task of capturing the swirling, unorganized visions and thoughts and snippets of ideas that make up imagination is difficult and requires both practice and skill. Creativity in writing takes many forms. So don’t let your elegant friend put you off blogging, Lucy. Blogging is writing, and what’s wonderful for you (and me) as the writer is that it does sometimes inspire people to comment and react. We get a little feedback, always welcome to us crazy, solitary types who close ourselves into a room and turn our imaginations into word paintings.
I, for one, love your writing. I look forward to reading your posts. And it delights me that we can communicate in this fabulous way as writers, as women, and most importantly, as fellow human beings.
“Write, write, and then write some more.”
September 15, 2008 at 9:14 pm
barkgrowlkiss
Last night, I told Cavey (my affectionate name for my boyfriend) about the existence of my wordpress blog and asked if he would like to read it. I stole him away from ESPN for a few, precious moments and watched intently as he read my introduction to the wordpress community. His first reaction was, “It’s good.” That overwhelming dose of positive reinforcement was immediately followed by, “Lots of writers don’t like you guys…you bloggers.”
Well, lucky for him I was already partially sedated from my chamomile tea and my new Jodi Picoult novel, so I didn’t claw into him too ferociously. Poor Cavey, he didn’t realize he was being insulting. After all, he was just repeating a sentiment that he’d obviously overheard on none other than…a sports show.
“What do you MEAN writers don’t like bloggers?” I asked. “That’s insane. That’s like saying dancers don’t like ballerinas. Bloggers ARE writers.”
I really was completely naive to the fact that many professional* (paid) hard-copy writers feel that bloggers like you and I are stepping on their toes, invading their territory, and generally just wasting our own time. A little Yahooing on the topic and I realized Cavey was right! Many writers* (the non-blogging type) really DON’T like us!
I don’t get it? Why isn’t blogging accepted and respected? The reasons I found aren’t doing it for me. I’m not even willing to see the other side; which is odd for me since I’m usually very open-minded. The right to express oneself through writing isn’t found in some exclusive, gated community to which one has to prove him/herself to gain admission. As long as people are free to speak, I should be free to write. Here are some of the reasons the Paper Snobs want to shut down the Cyber Scribes.
1. The CSs lack accountability for the topics they choose to discuss. They can “get away” with misinforming the public as well as disguising their own slant, influence, and personal agenda into the supposed facts.
Hey, buddy, how about the idea of readers sharing some of the responsibility? I doubt very much that many people here on wordpress are petitioning for their blogs to replace textbooks in schools. We’re mainly catering to an adult community of writers who CHOOSE to read what we post. If I saw a blog posted and it said that there was a threat of toxic mercury poisoning from eating zucchini, you think I’d throw all my fresh garden greens into the garbage? No! Because I DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING I READ. And if I did? That would be my own fault. I’m not just skeptical about information found in blogs; I’m skeptical about information published in well-known newspapers as well. Are the PSs really claiming that they’re always well-versed in the topics they cover? I’m somewhat of an animal (especially American Pit bull Terrier) activist, and I rarely find that the journalists working for press do their homework before reporting. I recently read an article claiming that a “pit bull” attacked someone and it weighed well-over 100 pounds. That seems odd to me, because a real APBT would NEVER weigh over 65 pounds, and even THAT is heavy. I’d bet that the reporter in question couldn’t pick a pit bull out of a lineup of Dogo Argentinos, Cane Corsos, Boxers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Ca De Bous, Patterdale Terriers, and American or Alapaha Bulldogs. (Would you? Check it out at http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.htmlI‘ll BET the journalist in question just took the word of the eyewitness who called the dog a pit bull without doing any research of her own. Now how’s that for accountability?
2. The CSs have no credentials and their writing is sub-standard, making the writing profession as a whole look like a joke.
That’s just silly. Many bloggers DO have a strong list of credentials, and even most who don’t can hold their own with a keyboard OR a pen.
Furthermore, we’re not out there holding protests in front of print-book stores trying to steer potential purchasers away from the newest paperback. We’re here, online, whenever a reader CHOOSES to find us. I didn’t know that Penguin or any of the other pub. companies hold a monopoly over written freedom of speech!
And honestly, if we’re all such crappy writers, why are the PSs so bothered by our existence? If the PSs believe that their superb brand of writing caters to an intelligent and discriminating audience, why oh why would they think said audience would stray and begin reading (gasp) BLOGS? Hmmm…something for the PSs to chew on after they remove their feet from their mouths.
3. We PSs have had to work hard to get where we are. It isn’t fair that these CSs are calling themselves writers even though they didn’t have to go through what we did to get here.
I had to go through quite a lot to get to wherever ‘here’ is. I had to get certified as a teacher, complete a separate four year degree, overcome many personal obstacles, and spend countless hours writing dozens of blogs that not many people ever saw before getting my first loyal reader. I wrote and edited and reedited those little known blogs while holding a full time job and balancing the social, familial, and romantic aspects of my own life. As is the case with many bloggers, we are teachers, x-ray technicians, accountants, nurses, editors, lawyers, assistants, counselors, publicists, realtors, small-business owners, etc. etc. etc. And fact is fact; most of us are NOT receiving the same notoriety that print authors receive, so we’re hardly stealing anyone’s thunder. I deal with similar snobbery when I tell people I teach hip-hop dance to a group of middle school girls. I have no credentials to do so, but as most bloggers, I do so for FREE. I do so because there is a DEMAND for me to be there. I do so because no dance group would exist in town if I hadn’t started one. Do I have any credentials? No. Am I trying to choreograph for Dancing with the Stars? No! And you know what…if someone felt that I was good enough to do so…it shouldn’t matter if I’m credentialed-up enough or not! Ability is ability, and while I have a great deal of respect for the publishing process and how difficult it is to get a book in print, some of us simply do not have the hours available during the day right now to go through it!
I hope that this comment will serve as something more than a rant to at least one person who reads it. Fellow CSs, if you feel that any of my points are valid, please feel free to use them in OUR defense. I’m not turning my back on books. In fact, I’m devouring Change of Heart four chapters at a time every night before bed. Still, I truly enjoy plopping in front of my PC when I return home from work and reading the refreshing stories, opinions, and musings of all of YOU…my fellow WRITERS…here on wordpress.com.
I’m so happy I’ve found a new favorite writer to add to my list: Andrew Sean Greer (pleeeeeeeeeeease, people, read Confessions of Max Tivoli, you will thank me), Jodi Picoult, Alice Sebold, Emily Giffin, Jessica Brody (The Fidelity Files…girls, you just GOTTA!), and Lucy. That means one of my favorite writers called a comment I sent to her INSPIRATIONAL! If that’s not reason enough to love the immediate connections we make through the wonderful FORM OF WRITING that is blogging, then I don’t know what is!
Absolutely, as Wren (and Mary Stewart) said in the previous comment, “Write, write, and then write some more.”
September 15, 2008 at 9:15 pm
barkgrowlkiss
That link was supposed to read…http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html
Whoops!
September 15, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Paper Snobs, I’m not skeered’a you! « BarkGrowlKiss’s Weblog
[...] Paper Snobs, I’m not skeered’a you! This post was originally written as a comment on Lucy’s blog, which I love. It’s was my reaction to this post: http://acommonbook.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/who-is-a-writer/ [...]
September 16, 2008 at 1:07 am
crseum
As a person who loves your blog, I am obviously biased but I agree wholeheartedly with Wren (and barkgrowlkiss). Im excited about the merge however and whenever it happens. Heck, Im excited every time you post baby!