“Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!” (Ms. Frizzle, The Magic School Bus)
I still struggle as a blogger, even though I’ve been blogging since 2008.
Why? Because I still don’t like others to see my shoddy first, second, or third drafts. And that’s usually what you see on my blog posts. Ugh!
Taking chances and making mistakes. As a writing instructor, I encourage my students to take chances as they work through the complete writing process. But I discourage them from “ever” turning in their first drafts.
So, when I blog, I feel like I’m not “practicing what I preach.” My own children were often the first to point that out to me, as I disciplined them. And I’m well-aware that I often don’t live up to my own standards, much to my own self-imposed humiliation.
Anne Lamott describes first drafts well in her book Bird by Bird. But since I know Lamott’s term for first drafts will offend some of my readers, I’ll just quote her explanation of these “shoddy” first drafts, “All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts” (21).
In my writing classes, we explore the writing process with every assignment–from invention to editing to publishing. But with blogging, you really don’t really take the time for the complete writing process. You just go from invention to publication in a matter of minutes.
My desire for perfection creates a stumbling block for me in blogging. So, I’ve been tempted to lay this blogging business down just for that reason. I feel like I’m publishing my “freewriting” or shoddy first drafts. When I check out other blogs, I see typos and random thoughts–some of which only the author can possibly follow.
Getting Messy? Maybe I should remember Ms. Frizzle’s advice more often when I’m blogging. In fact, I still encourage other writers to “take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”
That is what life looks like anyway, isn’t it? It’s messy! We rarely get a chance to get every detail of life perfect before other people observe us. I know if people don’t like me without my makeup, they’re probably not going to like me anyway, right?
And if others choose to criticize the content of my writing, will it really matter if the grammar and mechanics aren’t perfect? Maybe. It sure will give them more ammunition to criticize me as a writer.
To blog or not to blog? That is the question. Every blogger must deal with questions like this. For me, it all comes down to my motivation and purpose for blogging. Why do I blog? To please others?
I hate to admit this, but I was unnerved when my my husband Dan once told me, “Karen, not everyone is gonna like you!
After I scraped myself off the floor from that comment, I realized that Dan was right. And even though I would love to please everyone all the time; now, I know that’s impossible.
So, I’ve decided to continue to “hang in there” with my blogging. But I’m still not giving up on the editing process completely. I’ll still hack away at my guest blog posts, articles, and other writing projects that I submit for publication.
But as for my personal blog, beware! I’ll probably still be posting a lot of my shoddy drafts as I “cut, paste, and publish.”
Keep bloggin’!
Now, back to the revisions on my book proposal . . .
If you’re a blogger, why do you blog? What is your primary purpose for blogging?
