So I've been slowly moving to a 3-blog system. Surprised? You didn't know I had 3 blogs? Not surprising - I didn't tell you. Oh, and 2 of them have sat largely empty while I contemplated the split. It's all me, it's all my writing, why split?
I've been treating this blog like a journal or random writing notebook that other people might just happen to also read and relate to. I haven't been treating it as a piece of work with an audience, but a small audience has nonetheless developed. Which begins to create a mutual responsibility. And I find myself censoring, only posting what I feel might have semi-broad appeal to the people I tend to see commenting and lurking. My other thoughts and writing stay underground, so to speak - all the things that REALLY aren't ready for prime time, the experiments and attempts at various voices, the themes that might push past the zone of acceptability, the disjointed bits that might come in handy later.
So I created "Bits in Progress" to house them. And proceeded to post...nothing. Another blog? I barely have time for one. And it's likely to have the same audience anyway, so similar problems arise. If I'm willing to post it publicly, why not just use the blog I have? But if I can separate the "bits" from the introspective journal-type posts, that allows a cleaner and more consistent experience for the audience. I'm still in the midst of this ongoing debate."Bits in Progress" may be a late-bloomer yet, but as of now, empty.
This weekend I created #3: Privileged Information. It's a private blog, invite only. If no one reads it, I might as well journal, but there's something about putting early work out there for reaction that lets me incorporate, improve, mold into something, even when the comments are few or not directly helpful (there's information in that, too). In Privileged, I am not as concerned about the audience - if they are reading, I hope it's to help me as a writer, or because they like experimental work. If they don't enjoy the direction, no need to follow it. I may explore themes that are outside people's comfort. I may casually include elements that would cause people to wonder about my moral character because I even want to explore them. Privileged is not a PG blog and it won't even try to make you feel comfortable. It's my repository for the misfit writings, my practice runs, my B sides.
What are my hopes for Privileged Information? I hope to attract a small, trusted cadre of people who say hello when they read, even if they don't have a comment. Who read for structure and style as much as for content. Who choose to read posts as excerpts from a larger work that doesn't exist yet. And mostly, who help me grow as a writer and a person. That's a lot of hope for a little blog that might get one or two posts a month. I'll work on toning those hopes down.
So all this to say, Writing Out Loud won't change much, though maybe the experience will be slightly more consistent in style/approach to exploration. And, if we know each other through exchanged comments and twitter talk, most likely I'd be happy to have your voice at Privileged, too. That requires a DM with email address.
This is a pretty boring post, I'm afraid. Administration rears its head even in the best of experiences. And developing this blog has been one of those, for me. Every comment gets my full attention. Every interaction means something to me. Thanks for reading.
