To Blog or Not...

A little over a year ago, I began my blog. In the general scheme of things that isn't very long. I think it was a line in a movie titled Remo Williams that went something like "A year for a flea is eternity, but for a planet it's less than a blink of an eye." My year as a blogger has been somewhere in the middle. Some days were eternity, some days an eye blink.

It has been a year of discovery and chaos. I am not alone in that. Personally my life has leaped from one crisis to the next with barely a breath in between. I have found that life is generally like that. Eddies of peace are rare and treasured. This is not the most tumultuous time of my life but it's less peaceful than I had hoped it would be.

Professionally, it's been a busy year filled with new experiences, friendships, and responsibilities. Growing gracefully in my profession has been a start and stop process. Writing can be a lonely business, yet I find there are many demands that steal my writing time. The business aspects of writing and promotion have changed in the last few years so that the writer is responsible for nearly all of their promotion and publicity. For those of us with no experience in that area, it is a harrowing journey.

In the Internet world, one of the possible tools is the blog. Blogs defy definition. For some they are a personal journal where the writer shares incredibly personal or private information, sometimes to the point of embarrassment or even compromising their family's safety. For others it is a bulletin board with a simple informational list with products, contests, or services.

A few blogs are primarily controversial tell-all columns and in a world murky with hidden agendas, there is a useful place for such blogs. Popular or not, they shine a light on the underbelly of that dark world and they ask the hard questions, demand the truth, seek the answers that the rest of us can't find for ourselves.

There are blogs for every possible subject or agenda from raising a child to raising the Titanic. If you have an interest, then there is most likely a blog out there for you. Blogs range from the religious right to the pagan and agnostic. I found a curious blog that is devoted to mustaches of the nineteenth century. When I need some down time, I go there and read the comments and look at the pictures.

In my author group, there has been considerable discussion about blogging. Some declare there is not time. Certainly I agree that it is a commitment not to be take lightly. Others have banded together to blog as a group. The advantage to that is the shared responsibility. The downside is that difficulty of working with a varied group. And of course, readers might have a difficult time settling into the varied rotation. If the group doesn't have a shared agenda and vision, it can be confusing and disorganized. I visit one such group blog occasionally, but never know what I will find with I arrive. I may read a treatise on child abuse, or be presented with a recipe, or even find a book excerpt waiting for me. There is no rhyme or reason to the presentation.

As I evaluate how I want my blog to evolve, one of the things I must consider it my audience. Frankly, I don't know who you are or why you read my blog. I don't think I'm amusing enough to draw an audience so I'm puzzled about what the draw is.

Easter is traditionally the threshold of spring, a time of renewal and new growth. In the coming weeks I will be thinking about how to make this renewal my own. If you--my readers--have any suggestions about what you would like to read, please feel free to add a comment on the blog or drop me a line at annycook67@yahoo.com I will be very interested in anything you might have to say.

Anny

Don't forget to drop by Kelly's Blog at www.kkirch.blogspot.com where she's coloring Easter eggs and Amarinda's Place at www.amarindajones.blogspot.com where she's entertaining the Easter bunny. Blessings on your day.