Posted by polerin under My head is a bowl of goldfish on Caffeine and MoonPies.
Comments Off on Writing, Boundries, and Starburst Jellybeans
So, as many have realised before me, this blogging thing is hard. Generally I have several ideas that are banging around in my head at any one time, and flesh them out in my head, on twitter, or through discussion in person. This is still true right now, but I’m having trouble expressing them in this format, or even the more familiar (to me) essay format. The post about the Rep. Joe Towns silliness is a good example of this: I know there’s a meta-narrative I’m trying to coax out of the incident, but I’m having trouble framing it correctly.
A significant part of this difficulty is likely that I’m just plain out of practice, which is why I’ve taken out the part of my brain that is responsible for formulating coherent long form arguments and taken it to Davis Cookware to get polished and sharpened. Unfortunately, they are running a few days behind so I’ll have to do with the cobwebs and these short practice posts until they get around to it. It should also help as a writing discipline exercise, working to keep my writing short and on point.
Y’see, one of the few things I know about fiction writing is that drama is a product of confinement. Keeping characters confined and keeping the story within strict boundaries helps focus the story on the core ideas and conflicts. I have the feeling that blogging is much the same way. Many of the bloggers I really enjoy reading seem to have a very good sense of narrative, and how to connect the ideas in one post to another, but keep each one separate, focused, and clear. These are the things I need to harness in my life in order to make my way through the day instead of being run over. Narrative is the path that we walk, drama generates interest and is the motive force, and starburst jellybeans are my rations. This blog and its posts are simply the tool I’m using to follow that path and contribute something to the world around me.
So I’m going to try this blogging thing, and see if I can use it to break out of a cycle that I’ve built. Given my post-a-day goal, I can’t promise that I’ll always be interesting, in fact I’m likely to be boring and long-winded a great majority of the time, but lets see how it goes.
Quick overview of the topics that for now I view as likely to be common themes: ADHD, Transsexualism, art, Leftist politics in a conservative area, and cheese. I really like cheese. The rest are things that are a part of my life, and I think aloud about. One of them, ADHD, is the reason I’ve started this blog. For several years I’ve been building a cycle of self-defeating behaviors centered around a fear of failure. I’m constantly driven to try new things, design, build, imagine… and then I falter in implementation due to fear and frustration. I convince myself that whatever I’m working on isn’t worth it, or that I’m just going to fuck it up.
This has got to stop. There are many things I could do to help train myself to shut up and just do it, but this blog is one way that I can reach out to the world in the process. Feel free to reach back, I enjoy the conversation.
Speaking of which, lets lay down some ground rules. These will be in a separate page, but lets go ahead and touch on them now.
- I’m big on freedom of speech, and I expect people to challenge me and my ideas. This is how we learn. This is my space however, and my patience has limits. None of these rules should be construed to mean that I don’t want you to participate in the discussion, even (or especially if) you disagree. If I make a moderation decision that you dislike and you ask nicely I may reconsider, but don’t press your luck too hard.
- Do not use my space for personal attacks on anyone. I don’t care if it’s Dick Cheney naked doing the penguin dance on the back of our civil rights, keep it to the point and refrain from personal attacks.
- Things I will not tolerate. Racism, Transphobia, Sexism, Ableism, or any other treatment of a person or group as anything other than fully human and deserving of respect.
- I reserve the right to disemvowel, moderate, and generally act like an autocratic ass. If I think you are being rude or uncivil, expect me to take action against it.
- Sillyness is fully encouraged, as is the commonly discouraged form of humor known as puns. Humor is still subject to the above rules.
- Summary: Don’t be a Douche, Have fun, and lets get this party started.
- P.S. If I make a horrific spelling or grammatical mistake, let me know…. in an email. not in comments.