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Saturday, March 31, 2012

About this Blog

Why do I blog?

--because I like to record events in my writing life.

--because I like to record my thoughts on my writing process.

--because I like those records to be in a findable/retrievable place.

--because I like to read over my posts and reflect on how I have changed...and how I am still the same.

--because I like to connect with other people who love to write books, or love to read books.

--because sometimes I do not know what I am really thinking until I write it down.

--because when I blog, I try (TRY) not to whine too much, so it is mostly a positive record.

--because I like to have a place for children who read my books to find me.

--because I like to have a place for teachers and librarians who read my books to find me.

--because without it, I never would have met many good writing friends, nor would I have my agent.

--because I choose the content I wish to publish.

--because, for a semi-hermit* like myself, it is a way to come out of my self-imposed shell.

--because facebook is just too overwhelming.

--because it makes me happy.

And really, that's the only agenda.  This blog is a place that I made for myself where I can write about things that I want to, mostly things that impact me as a writer.  I am not a master-networker (neither in my on-line life, nor my "real" life), but I do like to create safe places for myself (and others, for if you are reading this, you are always welcome here!) where I can just "be."

Sometimes, though, to be perfectly honest, I find myself worrying about my blog.  I might want to write about something and then I find myself worrying Well, Shelley, will anyone really want to read this?  Who cares about it anyway?, but those are dangerous thoughts.  Once I start worrying too much about  if people will LIKE it, then I am no longer being true to the purpose of my blog--and the purpose of my writing in general.

My purpose as an author is not to please the audience (although don't get me wrong--really like when this happens!), my purpose is tell the best story that I can, in the best way possible.

My purpose as a blogger is not to garner ten thousand LIKES.  My purpose is to be truthful to myself.  (Even if that means writing boring writing posts from time to time (or all the time!) as I try to figure out how it all works.) (And of course, to overuse parentheses, obviously).)

hrh

*I know.  How can anyone who parades around in jewels and velvets and crowns and actually leads 500 children in an improv Jai-Ho flash-mob claim to be a hermit?  Well, I am an introverted extrovert, I suppose. (or an extroverted introvert?)  I thrive on a certain amount of social-ness, but then need quiet, alone re-charge time.  More than I actually get, hence the overpowering desire for a cave in the wilderness....or a hobbit house somewhere.....

14 comments:

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Ooooo, I'd love a hobbit house.
My favorite on your list is sometimes not knowing what you're really thinking until you write it down. That's one reason I like to write blog posts and mini-reviews of books, because it makes me focus my thoughts and leads to illumination. And I need all the illumination I can get.

erica and christy said...

I think you're like a lot of us! I work with people all day and function quite well in society, but there's something about the online community of writers that keeps me here!
erica

Rebecca Gomez said...

I can relate to all of this! Keep it up.

Kelly Polark said...

I am thrilled I found you and your blog because I discovered wonderful books and a wonderful writing friend!
I love the connections that blogs create in an otherwise solitary pasttime like writing. I do like to be social, but I'm a huge homebody.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you on Facebook. It can get overwhelming trying to keep up with it at times. Twitter too. But I do try to post/read from time to time.
: )

Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER

Julie Dao said...

Absolutely! I'm a hermit myself and sometimes I cycle between worrying about baring too much of my thoughts and not sharing enough to keep people's interest. But I know that on my blog, I'm being true to myself. I wouldn't trade blogging and my blog friends for anything!

Joanne R. Fritz said...

I enjoy your blog, Shelley. And I started mine for two reasons: simply to keep track of all the blogs I love reading and also to have a place to review all the books I've read.

And it's not just facebook that's overwhelming. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, the Blueboards, Goodreads, Pinterest... there is far too much of that distraction that is social media. I can't keep up. Nor do I want to!

Julie Hedlund said...

I LOVE this post Shelley. All of your points resonated with me. I don't think I could live without my blog, for (almost) all the reasons you state.

After all, if it weren't for blogging, I wouldn't have "met" you! :-)

Stasia said...

Shelley, you totally rock! That is all :)

Dawn Simon said...

I love this post. I blog for many of the same reasons, and I totally relate to the introverted-extrovert thing. (Also, how great that you led kids in a Jai-Ho flash mob!!) I find some of the posts of my own that I like best are my "let my hair down" quickies.

Side note: in one post, you commented about "Moves Like Jagger." Now I think of you whenever I hear "mo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oves like Jagger." :)

Corey Schwartz said...

Love all your posts! I've been having trouble blogging lately (and by lately, I mean the past two years). But I don't give up on it because I would miss all the fabulous people I've met!

Lydia Kang said...

Looks like we've been mulling over a lot of the same blogging issues. I hope we both come out in a positive way in the end, blogging without too much stress involved!

Stina said...

I love this and it's so true. You have the perfect reasons to blog (including the FB one). :D

Elana Johnson said...

I would love a hobbit house too! And I love that you're a hermit. The only place I want to be is home. Lights off. Door locked. Movies on. Family home. Don't bother us. HA!