On Not Writing A Blog

Here's a good point someone wrote to me. It gave me pause:

If you wanna get better at writing plays - write plays - don't write about writing plays.

If you do this, all you're gonna do is get better at writing blogs.

Yes. This is true. Damn it. And it raises the question: What is the point of this, aside from the pathetic narcissism?

I don't really have an answer to that.

I used to blog a lot about my kids. Family and close friends like to hear about what's going on, and my wife started a blog but then stopped, and I had fun writing it. I still do once in a while. I should do more, because when I knew that I was blogging, I found myself being a better dad. At first, that too could be seen as pathetically narcissistic - I'm a better dad so that I can write about being a better dad. But that's not how it worked. What happened was, because I had a forum, even with only, like, four readers, I would constantly be on the look-out for material. I would pay more attention, and thus find more to enjoy and to love about my kids.

Wow. I really ought to blog about my kids more. Cuz they're really driving me nuts lately.

Anyway, I thought that I could use that idea to motivate me to work creatively. And it worked, sort of. I'm looking to create stuff to put here. I could do the same with a journal, but I've never been a journal-er. So I'm going to stick with this for as long as it feels like a motive more than a distraction.

So, where's that song then?

Good question. It's done. But I'm pretty sure I'll never post it, for reasons to be explained later.

The most creative thing I've done since the last entry:
I finished writing and recording that new song. Turns out, sketches are a bad idea.

The least creative thing I've done sine the last entry:
Wrote a grant proposal.

Stuff that helped:
Andy, who taught me how to get the drum track working over the phone.

Stuff that hindered:
Trying to write like a writer I'm not.

Current project:
I'm going to write new material for this blog if it kills me.

Next project:
Reading Waiting for Godot. I've put it off long enough that it's gone from being "reading" to being "a project."

Guitar?:
Nope.

What I want to be reading these days:
Still The Brothers Karamazov

What I'm actually reading these days:
Supposedly, The Brothers Karamazov. But really I watched 30 Rock and an episode of Battlestar Galactica last night. It felt good.

I recommend:
Dave Hill's blog, especially this entry