You now have access to all sorts of writers. Amateurs. Professionals. Amateurs so good that they ought to be professionals, and people who should be banned for sullying the written word.
There are blogs that are so beautifully written that reading them is intimidating. “Will I ever write anything half as compelling?", you ask yourself. "Keeping at this isn’t making my writing any better. Should I just stop, and go back to mundane, unjournalled existence?”
Then there are blogs that stun you with their simplicity . (Unfortunately, he just stopped blogging). That ache to capture the simple moments of life which make it all worth the while is manifested only in the attempts of a chosen few. For the rest of us mortals, there is only amazement.
This accessibility of material and simplicity of prose is dangerous. It makes you think that with practice, you may actually write that well. Hope isn’t such a bad thing though. Neither is ambition. But delusion is.
Head down. Blog on. Always remember "de parvus grandis a cervus erit".* There may be hope for you yet.
*from small things arise great ones
3 comments:
Blogging started as personal logs (that is why b-log I would think). An easy way to express opinions/thoughts, generally update people on what is up with life. Sometimes give out a rant or two. I had a blog in 2001, when it wasn't this popular an activity.. and most blogs I read then were like that. Now its expanded into a lot of variety - we have a lot of blogs which are written like English prose, or some blogs that are somewhat journalistic, and its a different, classy to some extent, and definitely authentic type of blog.
But as far as I am concerned, writing 'well' - which is very subjective to begin with - is not something that I look for.. I just prefer the old style casual blogs.
It's a personal thing. I started blogging because I needed an outlet for expressing myself. I like the idea of picking up an idea or a thought and fleshing it out in a coherent manner.
'Good' writing is again subjective. I go back to my posts a few months later (that is when I can be objective about them), and I like some, and don't like some.The hope is that I'll like some of them as much as I like the blogs I've linked to.
I am under no illusions that I am writing literature here. I'm only trying to put my thoughts to web in a way that'll satisfy me.
Yes yes. I was talking more of "Girl in the hat" which definitely is an awesomely written blog. Extremely classy, beautifully expressed, its almost literature - she can practically publish if she wants.
The whole definition of a blog is freedom, definitely don't want to encroach upon that. But I can have my own reading preferences :-)
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