“Between the idea and the reality … falls the shadow.” -Hunter S. Thompson
Sorry I haven’t been around much lately.
See. There I go – you’re not supposed to allude to the fact that you haven’t written much lately. Copyblogger will tell you that. All the smart ones will tell you that.
The thing is – all the smart ones have something I don’t.
You need a certain conceit – or maybe simply confidence – to write regularly and publicly with an audience in mind. For reasons I’ll come to explain, I haven’t had that lately.
Well, I’m not sure I’ve ever had it, but I did a pretty good job at fooling myself for awhile.
But, I do write. I have to. (Whether I end sentences in prepositions or just jot fragments or whatever.)
So, I’m going to write about what interests me. In my own head, I’m going to stop trying to compare myself to other marketing sites or copywriting sites or productivity sites. The world needs another one of any of those three like I need a third nipple.
So, come along if you like. Or don’t.
I unsubscribed from Copyblogger about three months ago. I haven’t melted and no one’s come to kill my cat.
Yet.
I felt like it was poisoning my own writing. If six bajillion people read copyblogger, and they all follow the advice written there – no matter how good it is – won’t we have six bajillion people doing the same thing? I don’t wanna do that, too.
So, for the six of you who wondered why I hadn’t been writing much … here’s the thing … everytime I tried to write of late (and by of late, I really mean the last six months), I’ve become increasingly aware of feeling fraudulent.
You may not like what I’ll be writing here. You may not find it interesting.
But at least it’ll be true.
And heck, if you’re like my son and can’t take your eyes away from NASCAR because a crash could happen at anytime, then you might want to stick around.
“Write hard and clear about what hurts.” -Ernest Hemingway
I like.
I care.
And I beat you to unsbscribing from C by a months at least.
Nice to see you back! I’ve been wondering where you’ve been!
Beautifully said! As writers, our authentic voice is all we really have. Yours is smart, clear, and from the heart. Follow it and the rest of us will tag along!
Can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see a new post from Daily Blur in my inbox. Thanks for writing this. Glad to hear you’ve taken a new turn in your writing – though I might argue that this thread of authenticity has run through your blog all along.
– Jeff
I feel your pain. Been faced down by the blank page and blinking cursor for months myself. Appreciate the honesty. Glad to see you’re back in the saddle, albeit atop a different horse.
–c.
My work organization had a frank team discussion about being “real” today (32 heads nodded). I’d rather read real than bull-roar any day of the week. Glad to read you whenever the real mood strikes.
Just noted you’ve edited the masthead logo….LOL
Thanks, Dennis. And well played on copyblogger. 🙂
Thanks, Amy. Very kind, indeed.
You rock. Do you know I think about you this time of year when Amy Grant pops up on random Christmas music? Thanks for writing.
Very kind, sir. Hope your class went well.
Thanks, Yo. I appreciate it.
There’s some joke here that starts with “How many …” and ends with “… change a lightbulb?” but I’m not sure what the middle part is yet.
🙂 🙂
Holy crap. Thank you Tim. I guess it’s time for me to stop telling myself that I don’t have anything to offer an audience and start being honest.
To me – it seems the hardest part about this is that you don’t have stats or quotes or other bs to hid behind. It’s just you – a vulnerable and easy target. Yikes.