Blogging on Blogging
I've been thinking about the process of writing a weblog. I had originally thought that the mere fact of writing these little stories would make me a better writer (not that I really aspire to "Be A Writer") but upon further review, I'm not sure that's true anymore.
It strikes me that just writing, without outside feedback (which is basically what this forum is, rarely do I get responses from anybody I don't call "Mom") is more a process of reinforcing old habits than one of education. You don't necessarily know what needs fixing. It reminds me of the phrase "practice makes perfect" - if my dad was in earshot whenever this old saw was trotted out, he would retort "but only if it's perfect practice." If you write a badly-written weblog, people probably won't take the time to send you literary criticism - they just won't come back.
I've often said (typed?) that the beauty of email is you can tell a long story and nobody can tell you to shut up. You get to imagine that the other person is smiling at the appropriate spots and generally enjoying your storytelling, when in reality they may delete it after the first paragraph, or skim down to the punchline. I don't suppose this medium is any different, really.
Anyway, some of the guys at work have told me they find my writing too wordy at times. That's good feedback. I can use that.