I have been thinking about blogging. So much has happened in my life since I retired from paid work and started the blog in 2008. Yesterday I looked back over some of my early posts and felt glad that I now have something of a record of this changing and final phase of my life. The most interesting ones now are those where I have wondered about personal change, about the challenges, joys and anxieties of living my own life. The factual, historical blogs are useful for remembering the things that have happened but some of them are a bit long and are probably boring for other people to read.
I realise now that blogging is not like keeping a diary because it is immediately public and I have no control over who might read it. That is an interesting discipline to put on my thoughts and my writing. In more recent posts since coming to live in Malta, I have surprised myself by posting the poetry that occasionally comes into my head. Perhaps this is a way of putting some order into a jumble of thoughts and feelings. But usually I have tried to make each post about a particular topic or experience with a photo that somehow alludes to the theme but may not be directly connected. Perhaps the photo is a way of suggesting all the silences that always surrounds words on a page. I have no idea why I have chosen one of the silver roosters that sit on the formal dining table at San Anton Palace to head up this post! Perhaps it is the reflections in the table top.
I am trying to bring some order into the deluge of experiences of the past six months so that the blogs I put up are readable. I won't be doing it chronologically and it will be impossible to include everything but I will try and maintain a discipline of writing something everyday. At least until I start on the next book!
4 comments:
Hi Jo,
Nice to see you back writing the blog.
Wondering how you managed to get inside the palace?
I know that they have opened new areas of it to the public. But had no idea that you could visit the formal area inside.
On another note I whole heartedly agree with you regarding MGF, amazing how the guys stck together, when when you shed light on a little character flaw. I say little but i don't know the size of it, really.
Keep them coming!
Fair winds, my dear friend.
Hello sailor! Malta Council for Culture and the Arts get us in everywhere and with an English-speaking guide as well! There's another tour to somewhere interesting next Sunday and I'll write about it on the blog.
Hi Jo, I agree – it is the public nature of blogging that distinguishes it from keeping a diary. It means that even if nobody reads my blog, I’m aware that someone might, so I try to write well. Many use blogging for marketing reasons, ‘branding’ or promoting themselves or their products. I hate the idea of this, but then must recognise a bit of it in me. But mostly I blog because I enjoy composing a post that may be read by others, which may sometimes start a conversation. And as you describe, in a different way from diaries, it brings order to our experience and helps us remember.
Knowing little about Malta, I enjoy your posts about the country.
Hello Bryce, interesting comment about the twinge of anxiety in relation to branding. I am also aware of a small nudge to present myself as a writer - I don't know what brand but the kind of person who enjoys playing with words and respects the craft of writing. Thanks for helping me identify it.
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