I'm still struggling mightily to figure out the raison d'etre of this site. I've tried to post a variety of writings, and art, but I don't know if that material is better left to my eponymous site (FrancisScudellari.Com, if you haven't been paying attention). A blog is a strange and different animal. It thrives on daily posts and prefers journal-style entries. I get bored talking about myself though, and blogging is much more of a self-indulgent exercise than jives with my personality.
As I quite literally still figure out what I'm doing with my poetry and illustration, I find myself taking much longer to produce pieces. So, there is a lag between posts. I don't know how much that matters to folks, but I tend to get antsy whenever I haven't posted in a few days (and this post is a prime example of that).
I'm also internally debating whether I should be posting poetry on the web at all, or if I'd be better served trying to send the pieces out to various publications in hopes of reaching print. The egalitarian in me likes to share what I write freely, but so far that methodology hasn't really served me very well — at least based on the general sense of apathy its received with (excepting all you wonderful folks who've commented over the past couple years).
Right now, the inclination is to keep on with the keeping on — but with the understanding that updates might become less frequent. If that changes, you'll be the first to know.
15 comments:
Please do keep on keeping on.
I've been wondering why I blog. All I know is that it is an outlet. A positive outlet. And it is a connection to the world. Being somewhat introverted, blogging allows me communication with others when I want communication with others. I don't have to tidy the house or change from my pjs into street clothes in order to hang with my blog friends.
Wow. I'm a selfish character, aren't I? Good thing I keep to myself! :)
Keep posting Francis, think of this blog as window to your house (francisscudellari.com). If you could post the entrecard widget there and allow comments , then you can concentrate in your main website..I have visited your main site and it's pretty cool, but presents a very formal front that seems too impersonal, at times, I have the feeling that you might not be able to read my comment.
While in this blog, I'm sure you will...lol...I like the interactive part of it.
Keep going..for our sake. I hope you won't mind my candid comments above. Thanks.
Ah to blog or not to blog. Well, I'm an expert in that department. After killing my blogs and restarting them (many times) I've come to the conclusion that it's simply another creative outlet (as Susan says)not to be taken seriously and not to be judged on how many people visit.
However, I sympathize with you on this. The odds of me killing my current blog are certainly high, but only because I get bored.
We all get trapped in this yearning to be heard amongst the masses, to be the one who manages to raise their voice above the din of the masses. And when we get this cold realization that we are simply an iota amongst the millions we wonder at the futility of it all. That is why now I try not to take it seriously, post when I want to and never use the stats as a barometer anymore. It is simply a creative outlet.
And, I believe, if you have your own site...why duplicate? At least that's what I think. In time I'll be able to afford my own niche on the internet void and move all my writings to one logical point. I think Jena Isle's suggestion of using a widget to steer people to your main site is an excellent idea.
As for publishing your work,that is certainly commendable and the next logical step as an aspiring writer. Personally I've been trying over the past year, and so has Mike. Unless you plan to pay to have "chapbooks" put together (and personally I don't consider that being really published), it's a dog eat dog world out there. Both Mike and I have so many rejection letters we can wallpaper with them LOL. Heck, I might just make one coffee table book out of all my writings instead, so at least it can collect dust in my children's bookcases LOL, but it will be there at least.
The way I see it, the blog is a venue to get feedback and even to improve your writing style and experiment with it as well. Sort of like an electronic scribbler.
What ever you do decide Francis, you have a loyal following (considering the millions of blogs out there).
Take care my friend. Sorry for the rambling comment. :-)
~JD
I think we all wonder why we blog, but then someone says something and for a while it all becomes clear again. Don't worry about the time between posts. Whatever it takes.
I couldn't be bothered to blog for years because I assumed it was some kind of electronic journal where you exposed yourself in public. I'm not about that kind of navel gazing.
Now I blog as sort of professional journal. I talk about my writing, my inspirations, and what I have learned. I'm finding it more successful to have a subject matter that is personal and yet removed. I challenge myself to write every few days as a matter of exercise. I'm literally working those writing muscles.
Wyatt at Pan Historia
FS-
You are bringing up a frequent topic that rumbles through my mind. I think we all do this for different reasons, but I think that maybe one site or place to keep it all together is the logical venue. At first, I had the fantasy of some publisher stumbling over me on the internet and calling his secretary to "get this Lorenzo in here next week, we've got to publish this kid."
Now it is more of a motivator to sit and write down all that I work on in my head all week long.
I'm sure whatever you decide to do, it will be all good. I will make it a point to travel to the website. Keep creating...
LL
yah, i'm going thru that, too. i've read a few lately that are so focused and have blog envy.
but then again, i'm liking it, liking meeting the bloggy pals i have and do think it's helping my "bigger picture" writing so... blog I shall continue (hopefully with more regularity) I was on hiatus for a while. Hope you keep it up too, whatever form it takes.
Francis, I am asking the same questions to myself. Your blog is excellent, although I prefer prose works to poetry. And it's always a pleasure visiting here.
I enjoy visiting your site each day that I am online. . . which is most days. Your paintings and your poetry are really very well done. I have two blogs just for the purpose of being a bit more experimental on one of them. . . I never would have been introduced to so much excellent work except through blogging and the people who take the time to create and share. Just take a look at the people who've commented here. I've clicked through to all the sites this afternoon and it's really an interesting and eclectic group. You are at the center of THIS little community. I for one would hate to see you give up the blog. Jena's observation about your website is very true. . . this blog is a very inviting place.
To be honest, I blog for ME, for my own self satisfaction. Selfish I know, but a needed outlet for the rambling thoughts floating around my head. I gain a friendship and communication, no companionship is a better word, through my blogs. There is something unique and valuable about the blogosphere as it has come to be called. Not quite tangible, or even expressible, it has to be experienced.
I hope you continue to post your poems. Can you submit them to publishing endeavors and post them? I think the blogs are about finding your self, finding your voice, finding your inspiration. I do not read many of the journalistic style blogs, preferring the more personal and artistic.
Awwwww....the To blog or Not blog mental torture. This topic I do know very well.
I have quite at least 3 times now and 2 of those have been just this year.
But, I always come back. So don't do like I did and tell everyone good bye forever; only to come back a couple of months later.
If you need a break then by all means take one Francis. We will all be here waiting for you when you return.
And don't feel guilty because you do need a break. I need one again already and I've only been back a month.
Some times I think we all just need to take a break from everything occasionally.
I'll still be dropping by and checking which way you go!!
Hugs,
Jackie:-)
Hi Francis,
I'm back, I re-read my comment and that should be:"...concentrate ON your main website..."
My keypads you know, they have a mind of their own, when I'm tired...lol...
There are many here who are silent readers. You have to keep posting...
Take care and God bless.
Keep on trucking. I feel the positives far out weigh the negatives. I was surprised to see that you felt a need to do a daily post.Please loet me give you permission to not do tha.
I love blogging ...mostly...and I cannot picture doing a daily!~ I did not know there was a hint of that expectation? I love Susan's approach and she is on target....I suspect. Every post is a gift and all gifts can vary.
I feel welcome here and can relate...for me that works great :>) The good news is...as far as I am aware...blogs do not require regular feedings.Whatever works for you is what counts!
Linda.
@Susan It serves the same function for me, in a lot of ways. I guess I just feel guilty when I can't post regularly, and I wonder if I'm adding enough personal info to really make it a "blog." But I'm also glad to have a place to converse with folks like you, who I wouldn't have met if I didn't start this.
@Jena I agree, this is a much less formal way for me to present the material. And I try to give a little background to the pieces, which I don't have on the main site. The commenting aspect of the blog is important to me too. I appreciate getting the constant feedback.
@JD No need to apologize. I appreciate the comment very much. I'm torn about the publishing thing. It would be nice to get a few pieces in print somewhere, but it's mostly just to have a bit more "legitimacy" in the eyes of the outside world. I generally like the way my writing is developing, and the idea of spending time and energy away from it to try to find someone to publish them seems a bit daunting. Especially when there's no really efficient way to do so ... just casting them out on a breeze and hoping they land on favorable soil. I'm sure I'll stick with this blog for a while yet. Especially since it does have a built in audience.
@Dave Knowing that people are forgiving of my periodic silences makes it a bit easier to continue :).
@Wyatt I really do appreciate that aspect of blogging. It helps a lot to stay in a rhythm, even if what I'm writing is an off-topic post such as this one.
@Lorenzo I definitely intend to keep creating. I guess I'm just struggling with the best way to present it, and there probably isn't much wrong with having it in multiple places ... it gives people a few ways to find it.
@WashWords I think I will keep it up, especially with encouragement like I'm receiving. I do enjoy my "bloggy" pals too.
@JC Thanks ... I hope to get a bit more prose up before too long.
@David I really appreciate the visits, and I'm happy you find it an inviting place. I'm very happy to have found the amazing collection of people who regularly visit and participate in this space. It does give me a little more freedom to experiment and get feedback.
@Eric I'm still not sure what the policy is about publishing works that have appeared on a blog. I think it may depend on the publication. I can try to send them out, and the worse that can happen is they ask me to supply something else. I'm generally more of a personal/artistic blog visitor myself.
@Jackie Breaks are definitely good, but I tend to get antsy if I'm not writing regularly. I just need to figure out the best way to channel that energy. Right now, I think I'll stick with this a bit longer and see how it evolves.
@Jena I know there are silent observers, but I think there are also a number of folks who just come by to drop their Entrecards and then move on. But that's ok too. If I have 20 regular readers who appreciate the material, that's enough reason to continue.
@Linda It's definitely hard to do daily, what with all of the other things that fill our lives. I'm very happy to do every 2-3 days, but if I take more than that I start feeling guilty. I guess I worry about people visiting too many time without seeing something new, and then dropping away. I may just have to figure out how to put up "filler" posts to keep the interest up between poems and drawings.
I enjoy your postings and would miss them, but I understand the wanting to keep the poetry thing off - it would be sad for me but understandable. I blog for catharsis and my real work and life are not on the web, for the most part, so I think it understandable to feel that way.
Post a Comment