Thursday, January 05, 2006

Resolutions

Earlier this week, I was going to start off with a New Year's resolution post. I was going to be sort of in-your-face, and it did not work really well. There are others who are much better at this.

The premise is good, though. I saw a t-shirt the other day with the words: "Change is good: you go first." Which led my little brain to think: why the heck do I have to change – you go first, as far as New Year's resolutions go. I was going to rant on easy targets – folks who need changing. It was supposed to be "in your face" and I fell flat on mine when writing it.

So I am picking myself back up, deleting all of the drivel and continuing.

I actually think self-improvement is an important part of growing. I want to grow mentally, spiritually – I just don't want to grow my ass. Know what I mean?

But I was thinking of past New Years Resolutions, and probably for the last several, it included getting rid of 10 pounds. Thanks to VX, I will try to extract 8 pounds this year, and I don't want any of them coming from my breasts (Oprah said that when she lost weight, and she is a pro, that the first thing she lost were her breasts). My resolutions were not really resolutions – I was not resolved to do something. I have been exercising, so I am more toned, but I have not dropped one pound.

Which brings me to writing – I am going to continue to write this year. Lisa wondered last month if her blogging was keeping her from more important writing. And, truth be told, I thought the same thing. But then I thought – you know, I started blogging to improve my writing. I really did. Painters don't start with masterpieces – they start on scraps of paper, and even when planning a great work, they do many other drawings in preparation. I think writing is the same. You just don't start and finish a novel by merrily typing into the computer. Well, I don't think I can.

So this blogging is sort of like doodling to me. It is fun, it is interesting, and I can try out different things, with nothing but an audience of very interesting adults reading and critiquing my stuff.

Over the last two weeks, several things have been bouncing in my little brain – did not write them down. I have noticed that writing is also good for other things – I sort of plan what I want to say and say it. So sometimes I am improving myself just because I want to write about it. It may not make sense – one person journaling said he led a more interesting life because he wanted to write about interesting things. And my blogging is a form of journaling. ~Deb turned her journaling into a book, and while I want to write about other things, I am turning my blogging into something. What? I have not a clue – but if you continue reading my daily rantings, perhaps we can get there together.

15 comments:

kathi said...

Everyone blogs for different reasons. It's a release for me. Sometimes I'll have something in my head that I just can't wait to get out, other times it's just like journaling. Cheaper than laying on a couch in someone's office, and I've met some truly great people. Plus, reading others situations and their reactions to them challenge and encourage me.
For whatever reason you do it, I'm so glad that you'll keep doing it. You've gotta know how loved you are on here, it's obvious. Your honesty and humor keeps me checking on you daily...okay, sometimes several times a day. You get the jest of it.
Love you Leesa, honest.

Joe said...

I'll be here reading as long as you choose to write. Like my morning coffee, I've come to need my "shot of Leesa" to start the day off right.

I prefer to think of blogging like jazz. For me it's all about improvisation. I have no idea where a story is going when I start writing it and its nice to just go with the flow and see where it winds up.

mikster said...

I don't have a specific reason for blogging...and I definitely plan little when it comes to it. Usually it's a phrase or a couple of words and I build around it.

Muse said...

I'll keep reading as long as your writing. I wish I had your skills at storytelling.

As far as writing things down when you think of them, try audio bloggin instead. Its pretty cool to do. :)

Prata said...

If you bring it..I'm there. And speaking of audio blogging (podcasting)

I've actually been on a stint to get ready to do just that. I just haven't gotten around to setting myself up in that capacity. It's a useful tool though that's for sure.

Gleeful gleeful!

Grant said...

Losing weight is easy. I do it all the time. My favorite way is to tell it I'm buying it an ice cream, then let it out of the car and take off before it's on to me. Note - this is also a good way to end a bad date. The problem with losing weight is preventing it from returning with reinforcements, which it seems to get better at doing as I grow older.

Prata said...

You know Leesa...(and others) I was just thinking. We should each coordinate a time, and anyone that enjoys writing fiction of some sort, have a little brainstorm event. Somethin' like, we each challenge each other with a form of writing.

What I mean is, each interested individual lay out what they typically write (I am currently writing vampiric fiction) and someone else picks that as their type of short writing to do. Whoever picks that as their category leaves behind the category they normally write about and I am forced to write on that category.

I think that might stimulate some of us into branching out a bit and maybe test our writing skills a bit. Sort of like "organized doodling" lol if that makes any sense.

Thoughts?

KyuBall said...

I think we all want to write "something" and that's why we blog. I blog to become a better writer, maybe someday I'll actually put something together that is better than three pages of complaining.

Prata is definately on to something, kind of like a fiction writing improv session. I don't know if I'd be able to participate, but I like the idea.

Leesa said...

kathi: thanks, sweetie!

joe: yeah, sometimes I don't know where my posts take me.

mike: I sometimes think that "randomness" or "no reason" comes from not knowing what is really going on. But I sort my panties by hue, so perhaps I am off-base here.

muse: this blog is a secret, so I only blog at work. Tape recorders sound like they would be the source of incriminating evidence (at home). This is sort of like a diary.

dirl next door: thanks, sweetie. Everyone seems to fall in love with the "girl next door."

prata: you have probably forgot more about technology than I will ever learn.

grant: if I throw stuff out when I spring clean, am I losing weight?

shannon: you are so sweet!

prata: Interesting idea. I would not want to coordinate it (hint), but I would be game to write in someone else's style. Perhaps all the stories could be posted to the author's site (with all of them posted to Prata's site as well). So if someone wanted to see all of them, they could go to one site.

kyuball: come on, let's doodle.

Boris Yeltsin said...

You are a great writer. I think you're right on about artists who don't do masterpeices all the time, they doodle on scrap peices of paper, then apply what they've learned from doodling to their masterpeices. I didn't know Deb wrote a book. I'll have to ask her about that.

Deb said...

Hmm..... very interesting. I do believe that everyone has their own reasons for blogging. Some people are selling crap for the love of God! But for the general people in and around 'our circle' of friendly bloggers, I really think that some of it is truly a passion for writing.

Writers are artists, no matter how you look at it. You're creating something from within---maybe you went through a traumatic event, and you feel the need to write about it -- for theraputic reasons or not.

Now, you have Romey, who writes a lot of fiction---that is entertaining, and people like that I admire as well, because they have such an active imagination.

For me? Writing fiction would be VERY new to me. Telling fiction is another story...hehe..... my girlfriend's gonna kill me for saying that.

What about starting a community blog where each person writes two paragraphs of the 'same story'---creating a fictional outcome. You have writer #1. Who will of course, write the first two paragraphs, then you have writer #2, and so on. ?? Any thoughts of that?

I've always enjoyed your writing Leesa, I have always read it word for word---you really catch your reader's attention...especially under a Christmas tree! ;)

Keep writing!

Phoenix said...

Blogging is an escape..from everyday life, from other places online...a place where you can virtually write whatever youre thinking and not get shouted down for it...its a nice little home from home...and if you can turn it into something bigger and better...then go for it Leesa ;-)

SuperSpyGal said...

When I'm reading anyone's blog I always look for some sort of personality to shine through...whether it be funny, serious, quirky, sensual, etc...Leesa, you seem very genuine. You post what's on your mind and in your thoughts, and THAT is reason enough to keep posting..You have a great blog and it draws people in...be true to yourself first, the rest will follow !

Leesa said...

boris: ~Deb has written more than one book. Not sure when the next one will be published.

~deb: interesting concept. I was thinking of a similar idea when I read prata's suggestion, and I wonder how egos would play on this. I think most of us are the only one's who can write on our blogs. Of all of my regular posters, very few have blogs where two or more people can post.

michael: yeah, for most of us, blogging is an escape. But I have read some pretty serious and reflective blogs were it is not an escape at all (one in my mind talks about when she was molested as a child; stuff most of us never had to deal with). But where else can you wish ill of your boss or call your hubbie a SOB and have little retribution (and perhaps a lot of cheering in the background)

superspygal: thanks, but my personality shining through is not intentional. It is just how I write.

Prata said...

I'll set up a blog for multiple posters. I've tried this before but it never panned out due to time constraints and sometimes apathy. I also participated in something like this before, with 15 different posters. It went very well but it wasn't a blog like this it was a bbs. I eventually had to drop out of it because I was in school at the time and had my net connection turned off due to my getting a D in math for the third consecutive year. Although I aced geometry. My mother apparently couldn't figure out that I was bored at school and even with weighted classes..I knew that information already I wanted somethin' more difficult to do. I still suffer from this problem.

It seems the multi-poster blog is more comfortable for people, so let's go with that. I'll drop a URL at some point.

Actually I'll just post linkage on my blog when I get somethin' goin'.