…when one looks closely at one’s efforts and one’s stats and wonders to herself, Why do I bother?
Surely I’ve got better things to do with my time than exercise about 4% of my body and maybe 90% of my mind. My literature reviews are mostly sought by students looking for a quick and easy way to write a paper without getting caught for plagiarism. They’re not taken seriously by any great number of readers and the one time someone stopped and told me what a jerk I am for writing them at all just one friend and two nice strangers graciously said it wasn’t really so. The writing usually goes pretty much unnoticed. The reality may click off a spark of conversation. And my very rare political rant or slightly less rare bitch on life in general are avoided like the plague.
I’ve dumped the Creative Writing weblog, saving just certain posts and imported them here to Spinning. More fodder for the student cheat.
My writing of fiction is sort of losing its momentum and if I write anything at all, it’s in the hypertext format (which sends friends and family and the general public into a panic and they tiptoe away hoping I won’t know they’ve stopped by for a visit).
So even as I take my time in setting up a more official website, I wonder, Why?
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
Only do it because you love it. More and more I’m convinced it’s the only reason to do anything. Love of the task, or love for someone it’s done for. The things I’ve been paid (profitably) for in this life weren’t things I loved. Not. One. Single. Thing. Money is obscene, in that it gets us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise do, over and over again, for love of nothing but paying the bills and having a roof over our heads and those of our loved ones — while the work we love languishes or fills up all our off hours.
But if you love your blog, then keep it up, because people — a few at least — read and come across things that speak to them.
Some of those students desperate for ways to fill a word count about a literary work might read more than just that article, or they might see in your words a good reason to actually read the literary work in question. You never know.
We never know how our words affect others.
But still — only do it if you love it!
I don’t love it anymore, Barbara, but I guess what keeps me going is the need to write about the things that mean something to me (versus fiction-writing) that I wouldn’t be sharing otherwise.
Your words about the students passing through and maybe getting something from it is why years ago I put back the google option that I had shut off for a while. I really don’t mind if they take my words; I hope that yes, some take them to heart and read differently from then on. Thanks for your kind comments-I appreciate you’re stopping and making time.