… not why I write per se (still trying to answer that question), but why I write here and to a faceless audience. Not surprisingly, another's insight prompted not only introspection, but a reconsideration of blogging in general:
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
- - Cyril Connolly
I suppose this means one should write secretly by candlelight with a feather pen and a jar of ink, then slip the parchment into some secret compartment under a creaky floorboard to forever waste away in obscurity, all the while relishing in one's own brilliance and superiority over others who couldn't possibly undertake such a feat. Though a romantic notion that your long lost letters might be discovered (there's probably a Nicholas Sparks novel about it…), I'm not convinced that writing publicly renders the writing insincere. Bloggers (most of us, anyway) have no incentive to pander to the readers.
I'm inclined to think we write because we have something to write about. And it's up to others whether they want to listen. So, in a sense, Cyril Connolly is spot on… write for yourself, irrespective of the (your) public.
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
- - Cyril Connolly
I suppose this means one should write secretly by candlelight with a feather pen and a jar of ink, then slip the parchment into some secret compartment under a creaky floorboard to forever waste away in obscurity, all the while relishing in one's own brilliance and superiority over others who couldn't possibly undertake such a feat. Though a romantic notion that your long lost letters might be discovered (there's probably a Nicholas Sparks novel about it…), I'm not convinced that writing publicly renders the writing insincere. Bloggers (most of us, anyway) have no incentive to pander to the readers.
I'm inclined to think we write because we have something to write about. And it's up to others whether they want to listen. So, in a sense, Cyril Connolly is spot on… write for yourself, irrespective of the (your) public.
1 comment:
I like the floorboard reference, reminds me of "The Raven". Yes write for yourself, but without human interaction, what is there? Nevertheless,quality prose.
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