New Year 2012

[mabfan]

I haven't been very good about blogging over the past year or so, and I chalk it up to a variety of factors. I have found Facebook easier for brief updates on my life and the sharing of things I find on the Internet, which tends to preclude my posting here. (I use Twitter and Google Plus as well, but not as much.) Furthermore, as I read the many things that others share, I tend to wonder if my own musings are really of great interest to the surrounding world. So many times when I think about sharing something, I freeze up and in the end choose not to post at all.

There's also the fact that I haven't done much fiction writing this past year, and whenever I sit down to blog a nagging voice in the back of my head berates me (or perhaps it chastises me) for using the writing time for blogging instead of fiction. Time is a major issue, what with Muffin and Squeaker pretty much needing our attention in almost all their waking hours. Add that to the day job, and to the other things that occupy my life (local politics, shul, etc.), and in the end I feel as if the moments slip away too quickly for me to attend to them.

Many others have used the Gregorian New Year to look back at 2011 and summarize what they did. The fact is, I can't remember much of what I did. Muffin and Squeaker had a birthday, of course, and my aunt Miriam passed away, and Nomi got a new job, but on a day-to-day basis my life was mostly going to work and taking care of the kids. I'm not sure how interesting that would be to post about every day. ("Still not king.") Besides, Nomi and I have the bi-weekly column at Brookline Patch to fill folks in on the adventures of our lives with Muffin and Squeaker.

This is also a time people make resolutions for the new year. If I were to do so, I'd probably resolve to write more fiction, maybe to get back into the groove. I'd also possibly resolve to blog more (I see many others have mentioned that on their blogs). In the end, I think that all I'll be able to do is try. I hope I succeed.

Comments

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

It's possible that blogging doesn't take away from fiction writing time, but it's also possible that it does. Sometimes I can't help but think that every word I write here is a word I didn't write elsewhere.

"If only one or two people get something out of it, then I think it's worth it to put it out there."

I'll keep that in mind. It does help.

"You have a job and toddlers, for Bob's sake; if you manage to put on matching socks each day before you leave the house, you're doing well."

Ha! Yes, that's true. (Reminds me that two shabbats ago Muffin refused to wear matching shoes. You have to pick your battles, and we let her spend the day in one black shoe and one brown shoe.)

[violetcheetah.livejournal.com]

When one is two, having two different types of shoe just means more people notice how cute you are. A few years ago I was at the Aboretum's Mothers Day "Lilac Sunday," and there was a 2- or 3-year old girl wearing a pink tulle tutu and yellow rubber rain boots, and I noticed her.

As to the first point, another question to ask is, is a particular blog post inherently less important than a piece of fiction you might be writing in its place? If the blog post is thoughtful and personal, it might have as much meaning to another reader or to yourself as a short story. Also, might the act of crafting it help you improve your writing overall, meaning that later fiction will be better? I'm not used to playing angel's advocate, but I've only recently started looking at some of my blog posts as "real" writing, on par with my fiction or memoir, so maybe I'm just trying to selfishly reinforce that. I think the main thing is, when you feel a desire to write and have time, write -something-, rather than doing what I do and getting paralyzed trying to decide between options. If you end up on a piece of fiction, cool; if you keep getting distracted on the fiction by thoughts of the unwritten blog post, maybe just give in. But if the girls require your attendance at a tea party, well, maybe you need the life experience of a tea party to include in a short story.