Well, first, Hub told me that my "Texted" post from last week was condescending. Then I was talking to one of Hub's friends this weekend who mentioned that he wouldn't want to have a blog b/c he would re-read his own posts and probably regret what he had written. And yesterday, I saw Julie & Julia at the movie theater, which (as if you didn't know) is about a girl who blogs about cooking Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Consequently, I've been thinking about my blog and blogs in general, and I feel that certainly there is a risk in sounding stupid or self-absorbed or excessively earnest. I do re-read my posts and sorta groan sometimes. Sometimes I edit and sometimes I don't. I worry about misspelling words. I put on a cloak of irony to be able to talk about some things.
Blogs, as a genre, seem to reside somewhere between diaries and letters as far as audience awareness goes. For the most part, they contain personal and private subject matter and are daily records of trivial thoughts or events and (from what I've seen) written mostly by women--very similiar to stereotypical diaries. (I took a whole literature class at A&M on diaries. It was taught by one of my favorite professors, and it was exactly the kind of class I LOVED.)
On the other hand, blogs can be very close to epistolary writing, too. While diaries (supposedly) are written just for yourself, letters do have an intended audience, and, like letters, blogs are usually written to keep friends and family up to date on your life, but again, very personal, intimate writing. I think blogs even more so than letters b/c you don't really know if anyone is reading what you write. If someone is rolling his or her eyes at my heartfelt post, I can't see the eyes. I could just be writing to myself. I will say having a blog is nice for bad communicators, too. I don't call or write anyone because I'm lazy, so this is an easy, 20 birds with one stone way to disiminate life happenings.
I can't remember where I was going with all that... I guess I'm just saying sorry if I sound stupid sometimes. I am self-absorbed and I think about home decor too much--I'm aware. I'm working on it. I think it makes it better if I'm a self-aware egomaniac.
Monday, August 10, 2009
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3 comments:
I hear ya on that. Sometimes I am terrified of what people will think...but the therapeutic benefits of putting my thoughts out there outweighs the fear!
i feel this way ALL the time. at the end of the day, this is YOUR blog. write what comes to your head, and edit later if you think you need to.
Beth, you could write about your split ends, how you feel too full after a meal or write a 17 paragraph debate on which nail polish to wear and I would find it entertaining and beautifully written. Your blog is better than most of the "beach reads" that came out this summer. Thanks for your words- be it advice, humor or random musings- they are always delightfully entertaining!
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