Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Writing Right
There is no such thing as ‘writing right’ since there are a lot of ways to be a writer. One can be prolific or spare, write novels or essays, craft seventeen perfect syllables or write dialogue that only a reader with a compass can decipher. There are a thousand permutations of writing right.
This is mine. This nearly 11-year old blog is my own precious permutation.
It isn’t what I do when I’m not writing an incredible novel. It’s just what I do. It’s not filler nor teaser nor fan fodder. This is my medium.
The word is that blogs are amateurish and pedestrian, falling out of favor, self-indulgent, and out of sync. The world is moving faster now or slower, it can’t decide which. A friend asked me, “Have you thought of writing a book?” And I think – I have written a book – over a thousand original pieces published on this blog – 2,392 posts, 307, 000 readers. It occurs to me that I probably have more readers than many writers have books sold.
I love every well-written word I read. I love someone who crafts a Facebook post so it tells a story. I love a perfectly pitched Tweet. I love the blog that takes me diving in the Caribbean and the one with the sparest of poems about children. I love the art of the backyard bird photos and the railing against the regime posts.
I love the people who say what they mean. I love the people who put words on a page and leave them for people to pick up and love as their own. That’s my goal – to find a dozen sand dollars, some perfect, some with broken edges, and hold them in my hands for other people to see. I’d ask them to sort through them all and find one to keep on their dresser.
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Photo credit: Photo by Lacey Williams on Unsplash
6 Comments on “Writing Right”
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Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
I love books, I read books all the time. And, I really like the daily (or at least regular) blog–yours in particular and others as well. I love checking to see what’s new, I love getting a short story one day and a dog confession the next (well, I have to say, I’m not really a dog person, but still…). I love some of the continuing lines, about the kids and/or the sibs and the political action, as well as the “and now for something completely different.”
A book is a good thing. A book of essays is a good thing. And a regular blog, especially one that goes on for a long time, is a very special good thing of its own.
So keep it up!
I had to laugh at the question about writing a book. I hear it too. I have printed out my posts so that the grandkids can have them all as a record. I enjoy eclectic, ad free, well written bloggers, especially ones with wayward dogs.
I am newer at this than you are, but I view my blog in the same way. I don’t have a niche topic or product. I don’t have a brand or sponsors. I don’t even have that many followers, though I do enjoy exchanging with those who do read and comment. I also enjoy trying to tell the best story I can with each post and reading other bloggers who may do things completely differently.
Congratulations on your long career as a productive, skilled blogger with a sustained output that shows commitment and dedication to your craft as a writer.
I feel the same, Jan. Everything in life has its own approach. Blogs, too.
Wow, 11 years is a long time. It’s so cool to have all the old posts you can look back on and see how much your craft has evolved over time. Thanks for sharing!