Friday, March 4, 2011

To new Beginnings

Welcome to my newest attempt at blogging.  Over the years I’ve seen more than a few blogs come and go, most abandoned within a few posts of starting them.  I’m lazy, I’m not disciplined, and I can always find something better to do with my life. 
            Lately I’ve been watching the way the internet is growing around me.  Through the Pendragon Variety podcast I’ve watched networks form, inspiration bloom, and wannabes become writers.  Watching the internet social networking scene expand, from myspace, to facebook, and now sites like twitter, I’ve stubbornly resisted it.  Though I did let facebook sneak in unexpectedly, (in my defense, at the time it was the only way to meet people on college campuses) I remained a rebel.  All the negative press, the dislike of the net spreading our lives out for all to see, the irritation every time I heard the words, “I’ve GOT to tweet this!” it really got under my skin.  I don’t like writing letters.  I don’t like writing blogs.  I don’t like updating my status, and I don’t want to tweet.  I could give up months of that kind of contact for just one day face to face with a friend.  Talking, joking, and sharing our lives the old fashioned way.  The way that can’t be misinterpreted or shuffled to the bottom of the ‘recent news’ pile.  Our stories are one thing, but I firmly believe that our lives shouldn’t ever end up in the internet’s ‘slush pile’ to be sorted through for editor’s picks.
            That said…  The thing that drives me the craziest about ‘japanthink’, as I call it, is the stubborn refusal to change.  “That’s the way it’s always been.” They say, and I want to shake them until they learn to stop recording things on cassette tapes. 
            So maybe I need to move on to MP3s.
            I want to be a writer, and I want to be a professional, and I want to do it in a time when job security is an international joke.  Maybe it’s time to learn to use the new tools that are at my disposal.
            This blog has several purposes.  It’s not going to be the story of my life.  It’s not going to be my adventures in Japan.  Might that show up?  Sure, maybe.  It’s going to be my inspiration.  It’s going to be my monthly encouragement to write, and pursue my dreams.  It’s going to be the place I share the essays I write for work, and trumpet my little triumphs to the world.  It’s going to be my coffee lounge, my writing closet, and my platform.  If I want anyone in the world to know my name someday… first I have to tell someone what it is.
            So here I go.  Into the unknown, hoping third…fifth… maybe sixth time is the charm.
            But I make no promises about the tweeting.
            

4 comments:

  1. Welcome to the 21st century! I know somewhat how you feel. I hate writing letters or diary entries. Blogging is my attempt to do both. But I can't go out and visit the way most people can, so I have to get my contact any which way. The internet does not have to substitute for physical contact -- it can serve as a bridge during the times when you cannot show up at someone's door. The thing facebook has helped me with is getting a sense of what is going on in the lives of my friends who are active on it. If they post about having a bad day, I can cheer them up, even call them. If they don't, how will I know my aid is needed? I know too many people to call them every day, or even call all of them in a month. But with the use of the interenet, I can keep up enough not to feel completely out of touch when I can pick up the phone.

    Granted, I think I might be a touch more hyper-communicative than you are. But the advice I have heard from writers over and over again is to WRITE. Anything and as often as you can. To develop that habit in as many different ways as possible. Then it is merely a matter of narrowing your focus, which is usually easier.

    That being said, this was very inspiring to me. Maybe I can start thinking more about my own process. *HUGS* Good luck! You are awesome!

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  2. I'm right there with you - I just started my first attempt at a blog myself! For years, I've resisted being a presence on the net - I've become known, in fact, as "the one who doesn't always check Facebook." And I hate phones, too. I like PEOPLE. Face-to-face, eye contact, the whole shebang!

    But I was told that, if I want to be taken serious as a writer, I needed to have an online presence. So I gave in, too. And in order to not be forced to write a constant slew of journal entries (I've never successfully kept a diary in my life!) I gave myself a focused prompt to write about my experiences trying to get published, from how I write to the steps I take to get on a shelf. Because I can't write about "what did I do today?" without stabbing an eye out. Seriously, if you know me, I'm just not that interesting.

    Good luck with your blog! And I'm still keeping you to 15K a month. That ugly shirt in the back of your closet is waiting. ;)

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  3. Adryn YAY! I'm glad you finally decided to come back to blogging :) I've always enjoyed reading your writing and I have faith that you will stick with it this time.

    (Because we will make you.)

    I will link your blog on mine.

    Keep writing!!!

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  4. In defense of the internet, yesterday was my birthday, and guess who remembered it? Right! It was my internet rat friends. Like Pagemasters larping in the back yard, they came along with their stories and scooped me up, making me small with magic yogies and hauling me away to a fantastical party in the rat room with banners, virtual gifts, and feasting. There were musical instruments and rats leading the singing of a half dozen different birthday songs, all written by the participants. We celebrated to exhaustion, then snuggled together in fleecy hammocks 'til the morning. I'm tired just from reading it all. Talk about word count!
    By the way, does the blogging count against the 2000 words?

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