It’s interesting to consider the concept of blogger as independent columnist, untethered to any media outlet. There is a certain freedom in writing whatever you’d like, unedited, and catering to the audience that finds you. Of course, there are also the tradeoffs of an often limited distribution and—more often than not—less compensation for your work.
I’ve tried my hand at blogging in the past, with little success. After 20+ years of corporate writing, I’ve grown used to having my topics handed to me. I struggle with finding my voice and my own thoughts. Too, I fought against staring at the screen and willing the words onto the page after eight or more hours of doing just that. At the end of a day of writing, the last thing I wanted to do “for fun” was write.
This semester’s discipline of a weekly post will move me slightly back that direction. I anticipate a little stretching of dormant creative muscles that I’ve nearly forgotten how to use. It will be a good exercise as well to rediscover the hidden opinions I harbor about my profession and the direction it’s turning. I think I’ll surprise myself—and my small handful of readers—as to what attitudes and thoughts emerge during this process.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t ever regret my career choices and consider myself blessed that I’m paid to use my talent and passion for the written word. I like my job almost daily, and am often astonished that I get paid to do it. But every once in a while, I yearn for that lost motivation to write for my own pleasure, for the sheer joy of watching the prose pour onto the page. I like to think it’s still there, and will eventually come back to me when I’m ready to receive it.
