Wow. It's been a while. Not because I've been on vacation or any such thing - more's the pity. Nope. Simply.... because.
I'm still out there reading and commenting on other people's posts. Everyone seems so inspired and I love reading it all. I, on the other hand, seem to have hit the proverbial wall. Why I've been able to keep it up for so long and suddenly, in the immortal (or not so much) words of Emeri: BAM!!, I have no idea.
These two paragraphs have taken me two days, and I can't help but wonder if I'm all blogged out and will ever again find anything interesting to say. Hell, I haven't mutilated, sliced or bruised myself horribly in at least two weeks, so really, what is there is to say?
Obviously then, the question becomes why do I do this? Why do I want to keep blogging if there's nothing left to blog? Why do I like it? Why do I sit here and tell people all the drivel that wanders through my head?
And oh lordy people, there is much, much drivel flowing through my little mind. Yea indeed, drivel abounds, drivel washes through my head in waves. And when the tsunami passes, it dribbles.
Drivel dribbles. And alliteraition abounds.
I obviously don't do it for the fame, because god knows I'm not a popular blogger with my 10-12 comments per post (though I do love you guys, your comments never fail to amuse, plus I need amusing so comment dammit!), and 2 or 3 others who simply lurk (hello Divine Ms. M, hello Mr. Scoots).
I do it even less for the fortune - Dooce I'm not; Dooce the mommy blogger extraordinaire who makes a living off her blog (I actually typed "blot" there, Freudian slip perhaps? I liked her until the ads started popping up all over the place and I got sick of reading about poop, her poop, her daughter's poop, her dog's poop, the lack of poop - I swear people it was(is?) a fixation! Actually I started getting over the Dooce thing when she morphed into a mommy blogger. Me and babies? Not so much, eh? But I digress.)
I have a friend who's been trying to convert me to Twitter and I wonder if I wouldn't be better off there, cyberhome of inane drivel. But I just don't get it. Yeah, I'm that old that I don't get Twitting. What the hell is the point of it? Are people on Twitter called Twits, I wonder? If ever I become a twit, I'll do it all in haiku, I swear.
And so, in a fit of pique, and despite my rule of shutting the hell up if I have nothing to say (which come to think of it, pretty much covers the last four years of my life as a blogger, so lets change that to my rule about blogging to say I have nothing to say), I decided to unload upon you, my 3.5 readers, just to see if I could get back into the groove.
We'll see.
.
17 comments:
The best way I know to get inspired is to read a lot of blogs and when you feel like commenting on something you already have a topic for your own blog. Nobody minds, especially if you link your inspirational blog.
I still have to say I'd like to read more stories about your past...how you and the Mr.'s first meeting went...how you ended up living where you do...what your first year teacher was like...the ways in which you conflicted with your parents (but never with BB...).
There's more in you, I do think; you'd just have to change what you've been exploring in your posts.
Be the wizard Jazz, be the wizard...
XUP - I should maybe try that.
Joce - My past isn't all that interesting. But then, nor is my present. My life is all very prosaic
Mr. J - Hit me with your best shot Pat Benatar.
Blogging is a tricky activity. Sometimes you get so inspired you have barely enough time to write all the posts you had in mind, sometimes you are simply out of inspiration and wondering why you have started blogging in the first place. Finding a topic is not so difficult, but finding one that will interest the readers is more challenging.
Quite honestly, I could have done without the events that inspired my posts lately and would prefer some time of nothing I need to talk about!
And you know, I may be the only person who feels this way but I have checked out the Dooce blog a few times and don't care for it. I know she has a bazillion readers, but it doesn't speak to me. Even though I'm a mother, "mommy blogs" generally bore me.
Everything ebbs and flows. Follow your process and inner knowing . . . I, for one, would miss you. But you have to do what is right for you. Maybe just less frequent posts?
I think it is important question we all need to figure out. Why are we doing it? Are the rewards worth the price? Are there better ways to spend our life energy and time? All of us will have different answers at different times.
Don't just disappear Jazz. Let us know what you decide.
First, this was a damn funny and well-written post! I sympathize with all of it--I've felt that way so many times myself.
You keep blogging because theres something in you that cant stop, even when you dont have anything to say. Your mind will find a way to say something because it needs to; this post proves it. You do it because you love writing. Because you enjoy the audience and the feedback. You enjoy the mental exercize and the ritual of it.
You're awesome, and thats why you blog.
Boy, you must have worn your ass out with all those words and TWO great pics. (I crack myself up.) I don't think you should feel like you owe anyone an explanation. Obviously I do not blog for my (7?) readers, I blog for myself although I appreciate people like Xup that make an effort to entertain us or make us think. But here's the thing, Ms. Jazz, you may consider your life prosaic, but relating tales of all the points in your life is very interesting to us because it helps us to know and love you. Or wonder about you. Either way, if you follow any of Jocelyn's suggestions, I KNOW that I won't be bored. OR just wait two weeks and tell us what some idiot was doing on the bus. Either way, I'm just glad you exist.
When DD was taking Creative Writing courses, she was told to write every day, even if it was all crap, because writing is a habit to be established. Once the habit is there, I suppose the law of averages says that SOME of it won't be crap, so that must be the stuff to keep.
I hope you find your words again. I for one enjoy reading about your life, even when you don't mutilate/ slice/ bruise yourself horribly.
Personally, I love you. And I can't stand Dooce. So, if that helps, run with it.
I've been thinking about taking some time off, too, so I know the feeling. If you need to recharge, do it and don't worry. We'll be here later when you get back. I guarantee that.
even by saying nothing, you say it all! :) Love the 'twit' statement, havent' tried it, don't plan on it, but love the reference to differ to when others speak of it
In fact, dearest, you had a helluva a lot to say in that blog. And you generally do. You sell yourself short, you do, you do. I don't know what I would do without a Jazz fix on a regular basis. I believe we think in similar realms and I often don't get huge comment responses either. But, I think, if I like what I wrote, that's what matters and my readers, like yours are connoiseurs of brilliant and sometimes subtle ironies. N'est ce pas? Hope you don't give up.
Thank you all for your kind words. Though I was thinking of stopping, I just don't want to. Your suggestions mean a lot and just forcing myself to write helped a lot.
Jazz, I agree with everybody. Gotta' have fun or you stop. You would certainly be missed. Some of us write because we can't stop ourselves. Even paid authors take vacations. Hope to keep reading.
Wow. LOTS of affirmation here! And rightly so. For me, whenever I see you aren't posting for a stretch, I assume you're on vacation. I guess that's not always the case. Jazz, you're one of the few people I know who can write an intersting post saying they have nothing to say. That says a lot!
(Late chiming in here.)
I hope you won't give up your blog. For me, the urge to write seems to be cyclical. I suspect that's a pretty common experience, going through periods of finding one's life and thoughts banal and not wanting to inflict them on others.
You're far from banal, though, so I hope you won't disgusted one of these days and chuck the keyboard out the window for good.
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