The Undiscovered Country

Pros and Cons

I've been writing enough, but not properly. I know in the past I've extolled the "virtues" of blogging, but when I started to cast around for subjects to write about I figured I was doing far too much blogging. I didn't like the way my writing was going, because I was blogging simply for the sake of it. By cutting right back I actually find myself now focussing on what I really want to write.

The above is part of a comment zwisis added to my last entry. Oddly enough, I had been thinking along the same lines. Honestly, that’s part of why I haven’t been around to either add entries or comment in yours.

I’ve learned a lot about writing through this journal. I can better communicate, because the comments people leave either informed me I made my intended point, or not. It’s also helped remove any stuffiness in my writing.

That can also be a detriment, however, as zwisis stated above. When there’s no one to critique or correct my writing, it’s easy to get lazy. Here I write with a conversational tone, breaking some sound grammatical rules, and it can bleed into other works I intend to publish.

I miss writing for hours a day. I lamented a bit a few days back about my abilities, or lack thereof. What others write are so high-quality and interesting, I feel like I'm just learning the alphabet by comparison. I managed to remind myself that my style of writing is different, not necessarily better or worse. I see lots of room for improvement, for certain, but that won't happen until I write more. Comparing myself to others is depressing and almost guarantees I won't write.

We all have a unique voice, and to try to mimic other people's writing only suppresses what makes us unique - even special. We can't improve if we're too busy pretending or envying. Some of us have developed our unique voice so well, we’re recognized by our words alone. It's something every dedicated writer strives for, or at least should strive for.

To change the subject a tish and add a bit more brutal honesty, another reason I haven’t been around is an undercurrent of anger, contentiousness, and nasty rumor around here. Others have noted this as well. For that reason, even if they never got involved in specific instances, I know of a few who have left the site, backed away from blogging and/or are considering leaving as well, myself included. They feel they can’t write what they want to, because of the fear of backlash and insults, both overt and covert.

Maybe you can answer it for me, because I don’t have a clue. This used to be a community where everyone could be themselves, write about whatever they wished, and not be slammed for it. No longer. Any ideas why? If you do, please refrain from mentioning any names, or giving specific examples where others can guess who you’re talking about. This isn’t an invitation to gossip.