life through the movies
Went to see the film Julie & Julia today. The basic premise is that a woman feeling sort of lost in her life decides to spend a year blogging about cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook. It was a good movie, well acted & entertaining.
For me, it brought up the question of "why blog?" When the author first starts blogging, she's not sure anyone is reading. It seems she's using the blog as a largely way working through her own issues, figuring out how to start and finish a project and how to work with something (cooking) that's meaningful to her outside of her job. Eventually, tons of people read her blog and it ultimately turned into a book deal and a movie. Sort of a cinderella story for bloggers.
I keep thinking about the process of blogging as a way of self-development, introspection, and obtaining perspective. My blog isn't as purposeful as Julie's was - I'm not setting a public goal and I'm not basing my writing around a specific set of tasks or theme. My blog will never have a huge following either; only a few even know it exists and I doubt word will spread. The fundamental idea is the same, I think. The idea that some unknown (or known, for that matter) person might read my blog means I have to look at issues differently - no random spewing of emotion because, if someone does ever read it, my hope is that my writing has something to offer. That something might be humor, it might be a through provoking idea, it might a connection of two lives through a cyber world.
I've been reading more blogs lately. One that is interesting is Scribbit, a mom/writer in Anchorage. One of her entries centers on the idea of blogging, and how there are more producers than consumers any more, and that people might read and never let the writer know. It would be fun to get comments on my posts, I always appreciate any I get. Still, I don't believe that I'm going to create new relationships with my blog - though I think it would be rewarding to do so. I wonder if there's an etiquette to being a blog reader? To me blogging invites voyeurism, if there can be a non-sexual voyeurism (I should look that up - I might need a better word). It invites people to peep in on your life and, if you're lucky, you get feedback that helps you continue to process.
Julie had her blog. Julia spent 8 years on her cookbook. I guess the message is to find something worth doing, something which makes you feel purposeful and fulfilled, and then do that thing.
Hopefully I'll find that "thing" during this year.
For me, it brought up the question of "why blog?" When the author first starts blogging, she's not sure anyone is reading. It seems she's using the blog as a largely way working through her own issues, figuring out how to start and finish a project and how to work with something (cooking) that's meaningful to her outside of her job. Eventually, tons of people read her blog and it ultimately turned into a book deal and a movie. Sort of a cinderella story for bloggers.
I keep thinking about the process of blogging as a way of self-development, introspection, and obtaining perspective. My blog isn't as purposeful as Julie's was - I'm not setting a public goal and I'm not basing my writing around a specific set of tasks or theme. My blog will never have a huge following either; only a few even know it exists and I doubt word will spread. The fundamental idea is the same, I think. The idea that some unknown (or known, for that matter) person might read my blog means I have to look at issues differently - no random spewing of emotion because, if someone does ever read it, my hope is that my writing has something to offer. That something might be humor, it might be a through provoking idea, it might a connection of two lives through a cyber world.
I've been reading more blogs lately. One that is interesting is Scribbit, a mom/writer in Anchorage. One of her entries centers on the idea of blogging, and how there are more producers than consumers any more, and that people might read and never let the writer know. It would be fun to get comments on my posts, I always appreciate any I get. Still, I don't believe that I'm going to create new relationships with my blog - though I think it would be rewarding to do so. I wonder if there's an etiquette to being a blog reader? To me blogging invites voyeurism, if there can be a non-sexual voyeurism (I should look that up - I might need a better word). It invites people to peep in on your life and, if you're lucky, you get feedback that helps you continue to process.
Julie had her blog. Julia spent 8 years on her cookbook. I guess the message is to find something worth doing, something which makes you feel purposeful and fulfilled, and then do that thing.
Hopefully I'll find that "thing" during this year.
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