Well, this is my 4th try – my network keeps crashing. I can’t remember what I wrote and I’m frustrated enought to log off and go to bed. 
Synopsis: I’m not comfortable writing for general reading, I’ve discovered, so these will probably be very short. And two – I’m amazed I wrote a poem for our first assignment. Didn’t think that was me.
3 responses so far ↓
1
Karen McComas
// Feb 21, 2006 at 6:09 pm
I hope I got the color of an orange correct or this comment won’t get posted! I’d like to encourage you to think about why you aren’t comfortable writing for general reading (I’m really interested in this as I hear it but don’t always know what people mean by it).
Since it’s going to be so important to capture your thoughts in writing, let me suggest a couple of things for consideration. First, you could push through this discomfort and post more here. Another possibility is that you could use a weblog like tabulas for your private thoughts where you can allow only certain people (like your facilitator and journey mates) to see them. Another possibility is nicenet where again you get to say who reads. Let me know your thoughts (oh, and do stop by my blog to see that writing for general reading isn’t all that bad – although I often do pity the people who stop by to read as I write in that blog mostly for me, not for an audience).
I’m excited to have you here!
2
shannonkmurray
// Feb 25, 2006 at 5:04 pm
Why not write for general reading? Phobia, most likely.
I’ve written for a long time, and communicate best through written medium (i hate the phone!), but…
i’m a recluse who forces myself to interact outside my little family and circle of friends. The thought of someone outside that safe haven reading what I write is daunting. What if they don’t understand my meaning? my jokes? my tone? What if he reader gets the wrong impression of me? Or – egads – the RIGHT one! *grin*
i’m a closet commedianne, and my closest friends call me a SAM – i/e/, one who makes comments just for deliberate irritation – so i’m often flippant in my “outside” persona. Inside … that’s where the writing comes from, and that’s the part very few people ever see. To have it out where anyone else sees it – is dangerous. i don’t open up that way often, even though the few who have had access to my writing tell me it’s good .. but they are biased.
i’m hoping that i can work my way through this block here in this group of like-minded writers.
3
Karen McComas
// Feb 25, 2006 at 5:09 pm
This, then, is enough. You are a writer, like it or not. And being a writer has nothing to do with good or bad, it has to do with a way of being. I can no more go without writing for very long than I can go without food or water. Without writing my mind gets messy and I often feel as though I might explode. Once I have the chance to start writing (and this works with both pen and paper and keyboard now) I can sense physical changes, much like a junkee who just got a fix of whatever takes their edge off.