Blogging 101

I don't know the first thing about blogging. Or, didn't anyway until I started a few months ago. Even so, I think I still have a lot to learn. For one thing, I write and publish before cleaning up a lot of errors and typos.

I use Spellcheck, which catches all the spelling mistakes. But this would be a much more effective tool if it also knew how to check for grammar, nuance, or just plain poorly written or half sentences. The process usually goes like this: I take hours to write something, but only about 2 minutes to read it over, pronounce it the best thing ever committed to paper and send it out there.

But its only later on, after the lovely Amy has read it, that I find out about the 327 items I need to fix- and should have before allowing my thirteen followers to see how woefully erratic my writing skills truly are. I keep promising I'll let her proof posts before publishing but I get in such a hurry to share my brilliant observations with the world that I forget.

Memo to self: Stop that.
Second memo to self: You're not that brilliant either.

Speaking of the thirteen followers, over lunch today I was wondering out loud if any of 'em were even bothering to read my stuff, anymore. I mean, unless there's a comment left, I don't know. For all I know after I hit "Publish" this tripe goes out on the Information Superhighway and immediately drives itself into a ditch. But then Amy made a rather keen observation, one I hadn't considered before:

"Maybe some of your posts are too long."

She's right, too. I've read blog postings from other 'real' bloggers- ones who've been doing it for a while or the ones getting paid- and they all seem to be able to keep their posts to just a few a paragraphs. And still make a point. And come to a conclusion. Drat!

The sad truth in real life is that folks often have to drag me into conversations kicking and screaming. And even then I don't have much to say. But when it came to my writing, alas, brevity has never been my strong suit. My brain hasn't found the "Edit" key yet. So I kind of write on and on, unfiltered, or like having diarrhea of the pen.

But I'll let you in on another secret too. A lot of what's showing up in the blog has been lifted from a journal I used to keep; thoughts on people or places I've known, or experiences I’ve known. And if you think a lot of my blog posts are long, you should see what they originally evolved from. Some of those journal entries went on for days. Apparently, I like to write with a lot of detail- maybe too much.

Still, the final draft of anything that ends up here in Rocketsspace is generally a condensed version of something- usually a journal entry- previously written. However, for my lack of pithiness- or using 200 words when 20 would’ve been more than sufficient- I'd like to humbly apologize.

But then I got to thinking, why?

I'm not getting paid to do this.

I‘m not writing for an audience.

Although I certainly appreciate the thirteen hearty souls who brave tedium to venture in here every now and then, I’m really just writing for myself. However, since I’m not here alone, for those taking the time to read these gabby posts, I promise you this- though the lion’s share of future postings will probably continue to be re-writes from the journaling, I pledge to do a better job of proofing.

But I take no responsibility for boring anyone to death.