I have nearly daily ideas for blogs, yet I write only rarely. Mostly because my ideas come from my direct experiences with people I know or the students I see at my job. If I was anonymous, I could write about these things with impunity, but because someone might read my blog and become offended if they recognize themselves, I refrain. I have some really funny, entertaining stories to write, which kills me to not share. As it is, people will occasionally think they recognize themselves in my blog and call me out for it. It's not about you, really. I swear. If I think you may read my blog, I will not write about you, although I probably could and likely want to.
Sometimes I have inspiration for a post, but I feel like I don't have four strong paragraphs worth of material, which is the minimum that I strive for in writing a blog. Some ideas I just can't flesh out that far. Others I feel have been done before and likely much better by other writers. With some topics, I struggle to find the right tone. I don't want to come off as negative or self righteous. My goal is to share my experiences and perspective with a bit of humor and maybe a recipe if the story lends itself to it.
Tone and voice are difficult for me to master in my writing. I am an introvert by nature, and my inner dialog is often dark and sarcastic. I think I am hilarious, but when I let one of my inner comments out, people often misinterpret my attempts at humor as sour grapes, mean spiritedness, or negativity. I have learned the hard way that although some people can say the same exact things I do, and in the same tone, they will be thought of as a riot; I will be thought of as mean, bitter, or even rude. I am generally a happy well-adjusted person, and I would never say anything with the purposeful intent of hurting someone, yet for whatever reason, I know I can come off as negative at times and not light-hearted and merely poking fun at a situation. It is a tricky balance for me. If you all could just see inside my head, it would be so much easier.
Lastly, some topics are just too taboo to touch. I know I can't write a blog about my feelings or beliefs when it comes to religion, politics, or social justice without expecting some kind of backlash, despite occasionally having strong feelings about these things. Even tame subjects seem to incite some readers to write me with either a complaint or with a desire to share their opposing view. To that I say, opinions are like noses, (not really what I wanted to say, but keeping it clean), everyone has one, much like blogs these days. If yours is different than mine, I don't care. Get your own damn blog and proclaim it. Maybe I'll read it.
