There's room for us all

I just read this great blog post by my classmate, Becky. And I feel her pain. Admittedly, I haven't checked out all the links she posted yet (though I'm sure they will be valuable) so perhaps I am being a bad blogger because I don't plan to collect and synthesize information. Instead, she sparked a thought and it made me want to write... which to me is magical in and of itself and is exactly a perfect use for my blog.

That brings me to my just-now-made-while-I-was-commenting-on-her-post theory. The great thing about writing and reading is that there is something for everyone. Whatever genre you fancy to write in, there is no doubt someone who wants to read it. And so, though surely there are more effective ways than others to use a blog in a classroom, I'd hate to think we need to restrict ourselves to that one "genre" if you will, particularly if it means we won't continue writing after the class is over. I want Becky to continue because I like the way she writes; I like how she presents her thoughts; I like seeing what she has to say next.

Even though Becky feels like she is struggling to make sense of it all and questions whether she is really blogging, I love to read her posts. It's the way she writes about the struggle that intrigues me. And so, I argue that she is a blogger, not because she has to blog for this class, but because she has me interested in her and her thoughts and writing. I see blogs as a perfect format to try out creative non-fiction and personal essay writing--two genres that I happen to love.

I'm happy that there are blogs out there that analyze articles and synthesize information--and I'm sure there will be times when I (and Becky) make entries that follow that genre, either because we want to or are required to. But personally, I can say with certainty that if I feel restricted to that form I likely won't create another new post after class is dismissed. And that would be a shame. Because Stephen King's right: writing regularly is the point. Doing it for joy is the point. Someone else actually reading what we've written? Well, that's just icing on the cake.