Friday, July 22, 2005
Thursday Night Quotes
So I'm going to start one of these weekly blogging segments that I enjoy in other people's blogs. Mine will be a weekly quote about writing or maybe just a good line from a poem. So here's my first entry, it's from the preface of Slouching Towards Bethlehem, a collection of essays by Joan Didion: "A writer is always selling someone out."
Hmm...is that why everything I write is about my family? Luckily, they love attention so much, they don't care whether it's good or bad. My father won't care that I write a book detailing all his womanizing, gambling, and episodes of terrifying rage, he'll just be delighted it's about him. I admire the man for that.
The quotes beg for comments, by the way.
Comments:
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Really interesting comment. In her view, all personal blogs can fall into that notion?
# posted by 
: 1:24 AM
: 1:24 AM
Helen: If I could be half as interesting a writer as my father is a man, my career is made. Don't let me give the wrong impression, I love and repect the man. Besides, I'm grateful for endless material.
Bes: Maybe. The stakes are a little higher for Didion. If you're selling out, you have to be endeavoring to "get" something for your sale. What do you "get" form a personal blog? And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, this makes the "selling" even more poigniant. You sell the it out not to get soemthing, but for the sake of the selling. Hmmm... I like that idea.
Bes: Maybe. The stakes are a little higher for Didion. If you're selling out, you have to be endeavoring to "get" something for your sale. What do you "get" form a personal blog? And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, this makes the "selling" even more poigniant. You sell the it out not to get soemthing, but for the sake of the selling. Hmmm... I like that idea.
Good point, since actual books and print articles still differ from personal blogs. Maybe personal blogs can be deemed to be on the same path, on a lower scale and level, like you pointed out. Thus, they are selling to "get" viewership, or kind of a membership, to have people coming back more to learn more about things that are unique only to that author, and something that actually interests them. It's interesting.
# posted by : 10:13 AM
: 10:13 AM
What do you "get" from a personal blog? As the possessor of one, I'd assume you could answer that.
-- Lotte
-- Lotte
# posted by : 1:58 PM
: 1:58 PM
Incidentally ... just saw your post at the bottom of the page. I *am* a designer. Let me know if you need help with laying out the journal.
lottelita@hotmail.com
lottelita@hotmail.com
# posted by : 2:02 PM
: 2:02 PM
Lotte: Thanks for the offer. Unfortuneately, the journal's mostly wrapped up already. Luckily, literary journals don't have to be held up to the highest of artistic standards. Most are pretty straight forward. Unless you're talking about a journal like Tin House, but I think that thing's overdone anyhow.
What do I get out of my blog? Well, I haven't had it long enough to tell(only two weeks). But so far, I have gotten: lots of frustration, a black hole that sucks up all my time leaving no discernable compensation, and a pressing addiction to clicking on my statcounter website.
I am missing something? If I am to continue to "sell out" I'm going to raise my rates.
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What do I get out of my blog? Well, I haven't had it long enough to tell(only two weeks). But so far, I have gotten: lots of frustration, a black hole that sucks up all my time leaving no discernable compensation, and a pressing addiction to clicking on my statcounter website.
I am missing something? If I am to continue to "sell out" I'm going to raise my rates.
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