Last weekend, I realized I hadn’t written anything but a
tweet since I’d opened my Twitter account. Not a word. Except my blog. But,
see, I’m not a “blogger”. I have a
blog but I’m not a blogger. I do not help people with my expertise, entertain
people with my comedic essays, or interact with people about controversial
subjects. The bloggers I’ve seen online edit and hone their often lengthy posts
on their gorgeous background of a blog. They network and are part of a blogging
community. They are artists. I just write.
I thought, “What's the point? Get rid of it.”
After reading this post by Cat Lumb about having a first draft become the thing you like best of all
and keep instead of the subsequent edits, I realized why I love my blog so much
and couldn’t delete it. I commented on her post that “first drafts have an
amazing combination of raw emotion and the writer’s real voice. Which [is what]
I want to read. And hear.” There it is. My blog is always a first draft. Maybe because I write it for fun, maybe
because I know no one is reading it…I type and post. Done. It’s freeing, in a
way, to be able to dance like no one is watching. I type like no one is
reading. (Which is true, but whatever.)
I love writing my blog. No one reads
my posts, as I am sure no one will read this one, but at least I am writing. You're supposed to have a target audience (I'm well aware of this as a teacher) but I don't. My blog is more of an online journal than a pro blog. Thing is, I want to
write. I need to write. So I write—about my life, my kids, anything. It feels
good and it keeps me on a schedule to make sure I keep writing.
And, because I just type whatever is on my mind then post
it, it is me. This is me. Writer unplugged.
