Rules for the Road: Writing and Blogging

I started a blog a few years ago, using it almost as a public journal. You might say I wasn’t sophisticated about the blogosphere, but on the other hand, I could write and I had a lot to say–about writing, babies (two at a time and what that was teaching me), reading, discovery. Wild turkeys.

I wrote as I would write a letter to the most wonderful recipient in the world if I’d ever developed an epistolary habit. And lo and behold, some wonderful recipients surfaced, found their way to my words, left behind some of their own.

Then I started to learn the “rules” of blogging. Things like:

*keep it short

*use bullet points

*write only what will be useful to the reader, “how to” or “@#%$# in five easy steps”

Problem is, as you can see right there above, bullet points and easy steps have nothing to do with writing–not with writing passionate epistles to imaginary readers and not to writing a book, either. Simple rules, as a rule, don’t apply well to the creative process, alas. I think it was Somerset Maugham who said, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.” (Also from Maugham: “People ask for criticism, but they only want praise.”)

My posts got easier to skim, pithier and concrete, but a little boring to produce day after day. I am long-winded. After all, I’m a novelist and a teacher! And a Libra. A half-Jew, bi-class-al, queer and complicated person.

It also goes against my philosophy as a reader–which is to say, as a teacher, editor, writing companion–to allow that there are so many rules about how to write. There are some good guideposts–until someone busts through them in order to do something brilliant, important and human. It’s easier to say what should be avoided. Until someone makes those drastic errors work. Really, all you can say, finally and absolutely, is what works. For you, the reader.

You, yourself, know five rules for getting yourself to write. You know three ways to make a scene sparkle. Can these things be taught? Sure. I’m going to be teaching some of them in this new year, live and online both. But skimming for a few key points is the opposite of reading, and reading is the same thing as writing. Involved. Deep. Slow.

So welcome to the new phase of my blogging life. You may not have time for it. But it won’t waste your time when you do. Have a cuppa tea and let’s muse . . .