DH and I have had a couple of conversations recently about the purpose of my blog. It's definitely a personal blog (as opposed to a corporate or organizational blog), meaning that I'm reflecting on what I think and see and feel. Originally Muchness and Light started with a definitive Alice in Wonderland slant that shifts my writing from time to time, but I quickly realized I had more to say than what Lewis Carroll or Tim Burton could directly influence.
I don't run ads, with the exception of my links to Zazzle and my Amazon aStore. If you purchase products through those links, I get a small percentage, which helps cover my blog and domain services. I've debated setting up an agreement with an ad service, but I don't really see the necessity or the long-term benefit. There's already enough going on on my page. I don't want to clutter it further with unrelated content or pretty pictures. I can handle being scattered without any help from the outside.
I don't write a lot about the day-to-day facts of my life, though I'm likely to mention them on my Facebook fan page. Most days for me are a mundane mix of errands and chores and momness. Sometimes, something exciting or extraordinary happens. If I'm inspired, I'll write about it. If not, I'll keep it to myself. But I always try to find something more to say than just what I'm thinking and feeling.
There's always the issue of what the reader adds to my words. You aren't me, you aren't in my head, and you may or may not know the impetus for a piece I've written. You certainly don't know the thought process I went through, jumping from one point to the next. But you bring your own experiences and moods and expectations to your reading and that will undoubtedly influence your own perception of my writing. That's what's expected of the audience, and I think that's what makes feedback interesting.
Sometimes I'll discover that someone has read something and totally missed my intent. It can be frustrating, making me question whether my words were effectual. I have to remind myself that I'm also not in your head. I'm a reader in my own right, and I know there have been many times when I've reread something, perhaps for the dozenth time, and realized I was interpreting it in a completely new and unexpected way.
Every so often, I'll go back and read something of my own—an old post or random writing—and be surprised to see context and meaning I hadn't noticed before. I've written specific things that were intended to be about one thing and ended up being about another, only recognized in hindsight. I've been in one mood when I wrote, then in a juxtaposed frame of mind when I reread it, and seen my writing in a completely different way.
I guess that's part of the fluidity of the written word. It can say so much or nothing at all. I'm sure I have days (and posts) where I do both.
But, like me, Muchness and Light is a process. My voice is on a journey of its own, and I'm excited to see where it takes me. For the first time perhaps in my entire life, I feel like there are other people who want to hear me and who value not only what I'm saying, but the fact that I'm saying it at all. It's simultaneously humbling and gratifying, knowing that you've made the choice to read this—that you have sought me out and want to see what I have to say, even if it seems like I'm only talking to myself.
(Yes, I know it's a Strokes song. So does Adam. But he's the one I love the most, not them.)
I am certainly interested in what you have to say! I like reading your writing, even though I don't always comment, only because I can relate to some posts more than others. I am always more inclined to read good writing from people I know personally. :-)
Posted by: Sandra | Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 11:18 AM