I'm still trying to figure out how this works, so this is an experimental post. Perhaps I'll begin by explaining the name I chose. Everything else I tried was taken, more or less. Thought I was pretty clever when I came up with Canadian Idle, My Back Pages and Wordier Than Thou. I wasn't. Toyed with Massey Lassie (Massey is my hometown), Shaking Off Futility (I'm a Joni Mitchell fan) and Idiot Wind. In keeping with the Bob Dylan theme, I chose his song title (with The Band) "The Clothesline Saga" because it's the funniest song I've ever heard, and because I love my clothesline.
Why a blog? I read very few of them, and find most of the personal sort to be remarkably boring and self-indulgent; perhaps this one will be no different. But the intention is to record observations I think are interesting, to pose questions about the things that puzzle me and to impose some discipline on my daily writing practice. I don't kid myself that this is real journalism or writing, though I believe it can be the groundwork for it; but neither will it be a catalogue of the boring details of my day or a spew about my personal life (which won't be a hard promise to keep, since I don't have one) or my emotional ups and downs. Mainly this blog will be about my take on the world around me, both the momentous and the minuscule. If you want thorough and well-researched analysis, you should be reading elsewhere, of course, but I hope to include in my blog recommendations for magazine articles, etc., that inform my thinking.
If a blog seems more akin to talking than to writing, I expect mostly to be talking to myself, but the blog may help me keep in touch, in an admittedly impersonal and one-sided way, with the many people I don't see or talk to nearly as often as I'd like.
If nobody reads it, it will still be a useful tool for me in working out ideas. If anybody wants to add to the discussion (or answer some of my questions), I'll be delighted. I hope to explore "Why a blog?" further in the blog.
What am I likely to write about? The environment (why can I put tampons in my green bin but not makeup pads?), health (why do I Run for the Cure, instead of running to prevent the damn disease in the first place?), language (I do correct spelling and punctuation for a living, and my educational background is in linguistics), education (I'm about to start an M.Ed. in workplace and adult education -- completely online), community (I try to live by the Gospel according to Jane Jacobs) and what's so funny about peace, love and understanding.
At the NMAs, June 2009
Award-winning bald head
About Me
- Cynthia Brouse
- I'm a Canadian magazine writer and copy editor, a part-time teacher and corporate trainer, a menopausal single woman, a devoted aunt, a home owner, a breast-cancer survivor (so far), and a few other things I won't get into yet.
PIctures with hair (and beer)
Cynthia's 51st, July 2008
Consulting Bob Newhart in Chicago
Cynthia, September 2008
Me, dramatic?
3 years old
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3 comments:
I'm too impressed and too ADD (used to the pace of quick email communication, instead of thoughtful responses) to say much more than "wow" at this point. Kari and I have been talking about blogging as a writing and thinking exercise, but only she started one, and then may not have continued. I am inspired by yours and may try to convince myself I have reason and obligation to write one, if just for myself. It's like a journal, I suppose, with a possible interested audience. I'm always interested in what you think and write so keep on blogging!
Congratulations, Cynthia! You certainly should be blogging--you've got interesting thoughts and you express them well. There are a lot of bloggers who work with far less! As much as you can, let your blog evolve for itself. I don't think blogs can get away without some self-indulgence (and I can make an argument that the act of writing at all is a self-indulgent one in the first place), so don't try to restrict yourself to much. Be aware that your writing will be read by others, but since to a large degree you can't know who your audience is or what they might want, you can't tailor your work to suit them, so don't worry about it. Let the writing lead you.
Good luck!
As always I'm impressed and I never tire of reading your words. What a great opportunity for those of us who are far away on the other side of the world to feel closer to you in this too-busy age. I await with bated breath....
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