Writing and More Writing!

What makes a blog important enough to make it to the best of the best, or the most evocative, or even the most interesting? Is it the content or how the author creates the string of words that complete the thought within what is written? Questions, questions, questions...as a writer I have had to look at what is interesting in what I read and what I write. I think on most blog pages it's how far can you go in anger or word use not in what is actually said. Does that mean that a theological treatise or anything else academic is better? Heavens NO! The other end of the scale can be just as frustrating as those that try to shock us. So what makes something a good piece of writing? In my opinion well thought out and developed ideas that take you from an idea to a conclusion of some kind. A piece that has an interesting way of grabbing attention at the beginning and holding it throughout with humor or using a different way of presenting ideas can capture and hold a reader's interest.

For me, someone who is well informed and not simply angry gives me a reason to continue to read on in any piece of writing. Some of the best writings that I've experienced have often been to persuade me to change an opinion or idea that I hold. It doesn't always make me change, but it does always make me re-examine what I believe and that is what a good persuasive piece of writing should do.

Without humor or something that catches you off guard most writing has little to peak my interest. An example for me is a very well know writer of literature who has a good way of taking you in circles with her descriptions but leaves you hanging as to a purpose for the piece, or simply a story line that will take the reader into a piece. Though wonderful at taking a reader into the character the author seems to be going in circles as to what they are saying or why. Every author has a purpose; a reason for writing. Many of us do it to blow off steam or tell of wrongs done in our world. How many of us write to tell of someone or something that has touched us in our days?

A good writer is not always grammatically correct, but they are always true to the characters, or ideas that hold their own interest. I'm a writer because I love to see where my ideas are going on a page, and always they grow like children on my page. That's like life. Each day they grow, and change with each telling. Not because we're changing them, but often because as we contemplate what happened from our own perspectives more information comes to light. We each have our own truths and they become what we believe. That occurs through what happens in our lives. As for me...I may not be a Hemmingway, or Faulkner but I too must write. It is for me simply a way of thinking and communicating.

Life in the Box

I wake up, turn on the computer and wander through my various emails and check into my writing sites while I'm there. "Oooo, I have a new reader from Romania!" Big deal, right? This little box has made us all, including me addicted to what we can say or see online. So what are we searching for? That 15 minutes of fame? That's a question I can't even answer for myself, but I think it has to do with a larger community of acceptance.

Our communities are getting larger but we don't have the time to actually communicate with those around us, so we do it the easy way by clicking and never seeing a face or hear a voice. It's also a great place to complain about bosses and friends who've hurt us - a more anonymous way maybe possibly.

So why do I write online? To work on my writing skills...after all it is my bread and butter right now, and I am a bit new to this job of writing every week for cash. But I write mostly because writing fascinates me. By changing words around you can change the meaning and idea of what you say, and what you write.

But that doesn't explain why I'm searching other sites out. I like to do research, so that is one of the reasons. But why do I spend time on sites that aren't productive and where people enjoy tearing people down with little or no real communication? We all know the sites where you can write something and 20 people respond with comments that aren't helpful or even sometimes hurtful, or how about those who are constantly emailing you games or things that fill the email box up by the end of the day. I know for some it is about the only good communication they get in a day, but why do I let myself get drawn into this???

For me the reason is people. Behind those notes and observations are real people who are mostly escaping for a while. This is like the imaginary world like a book for some and they can do it in "word bytes" not in huge chapters. I have cut back on my sites and those I interact with online, unless we're related of course, and those I let in are those I have come to care for and think about even when I'm not online. So why do you do it? Who are you out there in computerland?