Take THAT Dick Schickel!!
Dear Editor,
Yesterday I attended a Writing Today Conference at Birmingham Southern College in Birmingham Alabama. I was excited to be there; I am a hausfrau with high hopes of one day possibly breaking into print in a form other than letters to the editor. So I was hoping to pick up some pointers on how to achieve that goal.
Our keynote speaker at lunch was none other than your very own Richard Schickel and his topic was every day writing. I was listening intently, for the most part, although a small part of my brain was occupied with wondering what would happen were I to throw myself upon the unclaimed cheesecake at the table and gorge myself, when Mr. Schickel cut me to the quick with his words.
He had been speaking of writing and was urging everyone in the room to go with their instincts, write about what they love and to, above all, get paid for what the do. He then went on to say that no one should waste their time blogging, since it is an unpaid activity and no one other than your mother and maybe a cousin or two will be reading it.
I was poised over a piece of unattached strawberry cheesecake, moving in to make the kill, when he uttered those infamous words. My jaw dropped and I stared at him in disbelief. You see, I am a blogger. Yes, I hang my head in shame as I confess here that I am a blogger, unpaid, unpublished, and a blight upon the literary world.
Fortunately for those of us stunned bloggers in the room, the woman who was leading the afternoon session entitled "From Blogging to Book Contract" stood up during the Q and A session and called him to the carpet, forcing him to acknowledge he had never actually sat down and read a blog. I applauded her loudly and then I left the room. Because I didn't need to hear anymore.
I agree with him 100% that I should be paid for what I do. I spend a lot of time and effort crafting my blog entries, painstakingly proofreading them and polishing them before I post them on my site. Sure, there are lots of badly written blogs in cyberspace today. But many are sharp, insightful, well-written, and oftentimes, hysterically funny. Just to name a few that I visit: birminghamblues.com, citizenofthemonth.com and mytinykingdom.com. These blogs have huge followings and people visit them daily to read what each author has to say.
What makes reading a blog so enjoyable, versus a traditional newspaper or magazine, is the immediate connection between writer and reader. The writer posts an essay and readers can post comments regarding it. A dialogue is oftentimes begun and different viewpoints can be expressed and dissected. A great example is a post on Citizen of the Month a few weeks ago about race relations. The story was about a jogger who had been targeted by a group of black teenagers and beaten to a pulp. The author gave his opinion and invited others to do the same. What ensued was a heated debate between the readers with the author acting as sort of a moderator. It was a wonderful opportunity to see how people in other parts of the country think and feel.
I have to admit, too, that blogging provides a huge ego boost to the blogger. I write a post and people read it and then they comment and tell me how brilliant they think I am. Now I admit I am hardly writing about cutting edge topics on my blog, but I have a lot of readers who appreciate my point of view on topics such as rude people in Wal-Mart and passing gas in church. Writers are, first and foremost, extremely egotistical, and a blog provides its author with ultimate creative and editorial control, as well as instant feedback and accolades. Truly, on my blog, I am the king of the world!!
So Mr. Schickel, please go to www.time.com and read some of the blogs your own magazine endorses. Read the comments posted by the readers and appreciate how a blog opens up a dialogue between people with an immediacy afforded by very few other forms of writing. And next time you speak at a conference, check out the topics being covered and don't inadvertently insult half of the participants in the room! And if you're not going to eat your cheesecake, can I have it??
Jennifer Brunner
www.dailydiatribes.blog.com
And you may be unpaid, but you are not unpublished, or unnoticed. Just watch. (Comment this)
Wise men tell us that we have two ears and only one mouth. Therefore we should listen twice as much as we speak. Perhaps the 'irrelevant' bloggers Mr. Schickel referred to were those on the right that don't allow comments. They are all mouth, and that usually belching hot air.
Perhaps Gandhi was wasting his time when he said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." After all, he wasn't being paid, was he? Bloggers HAVE made positive changes in the world around them by spreading their opinions - including the results of the latest midterm elections. It is the mainly one-way print medium that approach irrelevancy, by giving a voice only to those already bloated with power. (Comment this)
It was Anne Glamore at www.tinykingdom.com that called him to task!! (Comment this)
Peace.
(Blue Gal sent me...and I am glad she did. Your blog is going on my sidebar as we speak.) (Comment this)