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Feb
16
Random Bytes On Naked Blogging
Filed Under Writing |
How much self disclosure is too much?
Some is essential, because readers need a degree of background information, and not only on the facts and logistics of a non-personal issue. As long as I want to communicate why I care, there will be times when I'll need to reveal myself.
I worry that speaking too much from my "me" place might turn off readers, for two main reasons:
- Readers would be bored as hell. Why would someone who wants me to get back to my WordPress walkabout (or whatever) want to read stories about my feelings?
- Too much of the wrong information is a distraction. Once I start getting naked, every layer of disclosure presents new questions about how much is too much, and too much is... LOL... well, let's move along.
Getting Into Trouble
There is such a thing as not enough of a good thing. Just to the not-far-enough side of self indulgence I would get into trouble with myself if I did not dig into own voice, for two main reasons:
- I'd be bored as hell. It's not only about the reader. I've got to be engaged, too, you know.
- The guilt would not be inspiring. I'd feel like a spammer, adding more junk to the heap of what's online.
Writing For An Audience Greater Than Three
For those of you who don't have magical insight to my thought process, an audience greater than three is anyone more than me, myself and I.
One good thing talking to myself is that I already, hopefully, understand my own frame of reference. If not, that frame of reference may be too loosey goosey to hold together in sentences and paragraphs. It may be like a half-finished sculpture that needs to be rolled down a hill to knock off the a few problematic parts. I won't know until I take a chance on turning it over a few times.
Sometimes I find out what I'm really thinking after I start to write.
The minute I write something down I've got issues. Grammar and the "spellchucker" vie for attention like wild toddler twins playing trampoline on someone else's bed, while just around the corner the imagined "someone else" lurks, wondering what's going on and how long it will last.
If I try to placate the lurker I lose the idea.
Some ideas remind me of my uncle attempting to wink charmingly while saying to my aunt, "your baby needs changing."
Herding The Feral Idea Virus
No, I didn't know what I was going to write after that heading. It just popped out somehow, and then there was a little feeling of spark. Good spark. I can work with good spark, and, like compost, it doesn't have to smell good to lead to something good.
I may not want to share the sources or products of all my good sparks, but if I can avoid getting sidetracked into too much personal information, letting *some* of my personal crap out to play can help get the writing rolling. If I am willing to expose myself to the elements I can start on no spark, stir the compost and watch for signs of rebirth amongst the afterbirth.
Sign: this is what might happen next.
Sign: honey, you're not going to say that in public.
Sign: *why* you're not going to say that in public is... excuse me...
Sign: *why* is. Is is is.
Written with a pair of "compost" kickers and ten gallon tip of the hat to Jonathan Fields Strip Blogging: how naked will you go?, and a grinning honorific to my talented friend Miriam and her encouragement for my writing.
Tags: 101 Posts
Comments
4 Comments so far
Hi Elizabeth,
Well, it’s a curious thing. For me, it’s always kind of a nice surprise when I learn something personal about a blogger whose industry-specific work I’ve been reading for a long time. For example, learning a few weeks ago that Bill Slawski’s childhood hero was Gandhi made me say to myself, “geez, no wonder I’ve always respected this guy.” Gandhi has always been one of my greatest inspirations, too.
It’s nice when people you admire for their professional skills share a small anecdote about themselves. It keeps the blogosphere more human.
But, it can go the other way, too. I seriously question the wisdom of sharing certain kinds of personal information on-line, and I am put off when people share things I’d much rather NOT know about them.
But, you’re not going to do that, Elizabeth, and learning more about you has been an especial pleasure for me. I completely identify with your need to talk in your own, human, real voice when you’re blogging. It consumes so much of your time…it should be an investment you feel genuine making.
Have a good rest of your evening, my friend, and thank you for the very kind mention.
Miriam
I usually only say this to my wife, but I wouldn’t worry about how naked you get because you seem to instinctively grasp the balance between who you are as a very interesting person and who you are as a very interesting computer guru. Reading your posts therefore seems less like voyeurism and more like a shared journey of discovery. Thank you!
Miriam and James, the two of you are perfect examples of another layer of this “naked” thing, because you have such different backgrounds. Two ways of going too far are to be too personal for the writer’s comfort, or to be inappropriate for the venue. Both are a matter of perspective.
I wonder how many posts about making WordPress do tricks it would take to alienate someone who does not like to play with such things?
Maybe approaching the kit and kaboodle of what I do from the perspective of a “shared journey of discovery” will help me be relevant to a wider readership. Can facilitation of a shared experience of relevance across very different lives be natural outgrowth of blogging? If so, that would be a very cool thing, a save-the-world and help us all get along with our neighbors Big Deal.
p.s. for James
A guru I am not. I consume too much chocolate and coffee to sit still long enough to visualize nirvana… but thanks for the thought. You are a peach.
And a p.s. for Miriam
Just when I got un-shy after your last compliment you throw me another one. You, too, are a peach.
The two of you remind me that I am rich in the presence of peaches.
[...] I still thought it would be more reasonable to stick with the post ideas that are more easily optimized for search, though I fought myself less when I wanted to explore the “pure Elizabeth.” [...]