I don’t usually write (or like to read) the ohaisorryiamtoobusytoblog posts, but I briefly considered writing one yesterday when I fielded a phone call from a friend who was genuinely concerned for my well-being, as I had not been tweeting regularly or blogging at all for the last week. Not kidding.
Well, I’ve felt a little off.
Things have been happening and I’ve even taken photos of a few things, intending to write witty and engaging posts about my recent escapades with paint and power tools. But everything I wrote just looked blah to me. I hovered over”post” at least a dozen times in the last ten days, and I just never made the click.
Sometimes it feels weird trying to pull meaning and insight out of my everyday doings. I try to do this. I often use my blogging to make sense of things, to piece things together so that the world seems more cohesive and explainable. But when there’s nothing dramatic going on, what is there to write? What is there to do but just live and keep on living until there is something finally worth writing?
That looks depressing, and there’s the problem with even just writing this post – I’m NOT depressed. (This time, anyway.) I’m fine. Everything is just coming out all wrong, and I think that because I don’t feel like I have anything that simply MUST be said, I just haven’t said anything much. There’s no sense of urgency, none of that deep-seated need to spill my guts. It comes when things are really great or really awful – you know the moments, where you have to write it or you’ll go crazy, those moments when you don’t even think before you click “post” and you can just breathe a sigh of relief what it’s all OUT.
At times like that I don’t give a shit if it’s written well or not. Blogs are narcissistic and meant to be cathartic.
But when I have time to construct a thoughtful and well-written post and I just CAN’T write it? It frustrates me so much that I don’t even want to sit back down and try again until I feel that must-tell-the-world feeling again.
So today, I’m actually going to click “post” because I really want to know what you fellow bloggers do when you can’t write the way you want.
Are you comfortable posting what might not be your best writing?
14 Comments so far
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Personally I hate posting a post I don’t fully love, but since I notice I always find something I would change or do different, sometimes I just throw it up and I get a better response than I think I would. It just depends.
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Rebekah Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 9:07 am
I do that too – post and then think ooh, should have said this or written it a different way. I’m paranoid that I’ll somehow be misunderstood or misinterpreted and offensive.
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By Jessica on 02.14.10 9:32 pm | Permalink
I know what you mean. I have this one post that I kept almost posting but I’m just not happy with it. I definitely do post “filler” posts sometimes, because I do like to blog consistently (damn type a personality) but you’re right…sometimes, there just isn’t much to write about.
Jessica´s last blog ..I Adore…
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By Jessica on 02.14.10 10:41 pm | Permalink
I think we all do filler posts some times, just to stay active in blogging. It;s the equivalent of the phone call to the friend even if you don’t have much to say. Its just the comfort of routine. But sometimes but best writing can be off the cuff, so don’t stress. We’ll keep reading.
Meghan´s last blog ..Welcome to My New Home
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Rebekah Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 9:03 am
At one point I kept a list of memes that I liked but didn’t want to do right away because EVERYONE was doing them right then… I meant to plop them in later as fillers. And of course I lost the list. But maybe it wasn’t a bad idea.
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By Meghan on 02.15.10 12:26 am | Permalink
I just today posted something that I consider word vomit, but I just couldn’t get it to come out as elegantly as I would have liked. It happens. I think that we judge our posts much more than our readers do, so I try to give myself a break.
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Rebekah Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 9:01 am
That’s a really good point. I do need to remind myself of that once in awhile – it’s hard when I’m in “writer zone” working on fiction where it all has to be perfect. (And yes, I AM working on the novel!)
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By Erin on 02.15.10 10:47 am | Permalink
Okay first of all hi, I just came across your blog!
Second of all, I struggle with the same thing. I don’t necessarily always write about anything dramatic, ever, but I do want to like what I’ve written. I think that sometimes you just have to keep writing and work through the not so great days, publishing at your discretion.
You’ll hit your stride again, I’m sure! How great is it that people care when you DON’T write?
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Rebekah Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 9:00 am
It IS great! And welcome!
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By amy on 02.15.10 1:30 pm | Permalink
There are definitely times when there’s a post that just didn’t come out the way I wanted it to but I post it anyway. I have this NEED to post Monday-Friday so I try to get most of them done during the weekend, since I need silence and have to “get in the blog zone” to write a post I really love.
I was wondering where you went, too! You’ve been silent on Twitter lately.
Stephany´s last blog ..Joining the Bandwagon
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Rebekah Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 8:59 am
I was silent on Twitter because football is over
(
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By Stephany on 02.15.10 2:45 pm | Permalink
I’m with you on the “when there’s no drama, what is there to blog?” line of thinking. When you’re just living your life and are generally “happy”, a place to work things out and reflect just isn’t needed as much. But, I figure you still keep it around for when it is needed, and we’ll keep reading!
A Super Girl´s last blog ..The evolution of cooking
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By A Super Girl on 02.16.10 11:14 pm | Permalink
When I first started my blog, I promised myself I’d post twice a week. It didn’t matter if the mood struck, if I had something brilliant to publish. Nope. It was about just keeping at it.
There are a ton of posts I think are horrible. From sentence structure to actual storyline, I shudder at the fact that it exists because of me. But I keep them up, all of them. Because no one is ever perfect. And in a creative community, we sometimes need to be reminded of this.
Paige Jennifer´s last blog ..Spend Your Time Wisely
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Rebekah Reply:
February 27th, 2010 at 9:24 am
I keep those posts too. Some of my old stuff I think is still pretty great, and some of it makes me cringe. I’ve had to password-protect a few for various reasons now, but I can’t bring myself to just take them down. That’s what I’ve written and I want it to be there, even if I’m the only one who still sees it.
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By Paige Jennifer on 02.23.10 2:10 pm | Permalink
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