Fence Post

(Kate's email) Re: discussion you had with Mom about Lindsey's fabulous blog: edit your blog, by all means, but don't force your tone; it comes through in your writing.

(My email) Don’t force your tone because it already amply comes through in your writing? Or, don’t force your tone because it’s obvious that you’re forcing it in your writing and you don’t want that?

My blog is scarce due to a lack of tone. I generally don’t have a tone about much that’s worth writing about. I need the tone. Lol. Am I showing hints of being contrived as opposed to impassioned?

I’ve also been exploring the blog world. I look at a lot of blogs, some just skimming them. I can’t believe how many blogs there are out there that are purposeless and boring. Like human tofu, blandly blogging about which tea they had that morning, their cats, the trip to the grocery store, the meal they made. Holy crap! This stuff is noteworthy? Now, therein lies the question – noteworthy to whom? If they have a specific reader base that’s eating that shit up then they’ve satisfied their blog’s purpose. Blogs, even more so than other writing, are chiefly driven by who their audience is. The people for whom you write govern the purpose of your blog. If your perception of your audience morphs, so does your blog. Like Brain, who, originally, was giving the family updates as a means to not have to send multiple tailored emails to everyone who asked her how it was going, her blog has morphed into an entity of its own because of its expanded audience. Its original purpose is now a component of its sum purpose.

You have exemplified a different and equally organic approach to blogging by remaining true to your audience throughout. When I started mine I had no idea who I wanted my audience to be. Family only? That’s special but begs unique restrictions on content. Strange readers? A blog without a reader base would serve little purpose. Friends only? Maybe a little attention-desperate. There was this exercise we were taught to do way back in junior high English. Whenever we wrote, creatively or otherwise, we always had to write three lines at the top of our first empty page answering these questions: In this writing, what are my audience, purpose and message? It’s clear so many blogs are written without the answers these questions. The proof: The amount of blogs that are titled “random ramblings” or “just the thoughts and scribblings of a. . .” This approach gives people an excuse to write about nothing and, boy, do some of them write about nothing. This stamp of non-commitment seems to say, “If you don’t find my writing or what I’m writing about interesting, don’t blame me, my disclaimer is at the top of my blog.” (I conveyed this to Lindsey and she changed her title to Kiss My Ass. Ha ha. What a girl!)

I don’t agree with this vagrant modus operandi when it comes to writing. One should have a purpose, take a stand, have an attitude, a tone. Fuck it. Maybe I’ll blog this email, it’s got tone. Effective writers are not just read but are agreed with and disagreed with as well. The only way to get away with writing about next to nothing is if it’s humourous. Don’t tell me about what it’s like to sit on the fence post unless you’re telling me about the splinters in your ass. (Dave Barry’s blog is a great example of topical and humourous. Of course, he’s a Pulitzer Prize winner.) And don’t say shit like, “That’s just my opinion.” How redundant is that statement in a blog? You don't have to defend that your blog is subjective, that's the charm.

If you’re a fan of tea drinkers or cat lovers I guess there are blogs out there for you. But there are some clearly well written ones out there and I want to find more of them.

But that's just my opinion.