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hmbress
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| Posted: Feb 13 2008 at 3:54pm | IP Logged
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Ok - so it's not my child - it's me, and I wasn't sure where to post this - but I am having a heck of a time with this blogging thing - it takes me so LONG to get my thoughts down on the page! I think I'm (if I may say so) intelligent, articulate, and technically proficient - but the process itself is cumbersome for me.
My educational background is a bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering, with an MBA on top of that. I worked for a large corporation for 9 years, then ran a small business from home for a few more. I can write a lab report or a business proposal with the best of them. But prose? It's all new to me. I grew up an early reader, a voracious reader even, but now I see that it was almost all twaddle. Aside from my high school literature classes, I've had almost no formal education in the arts or humanities. I feel so stunted as a person!!!!! This is the primary reason I'm attracted to Charlotte Mason and Real Learning.
All of you literary women (you know who you are - the ones who perhaps shudder at math, but whose beautiful thoughts flow effortlessly onto your screen) what would you suggest for me? I've greatly improved the quality of the literature I'm reading (thanks to all the great recommendations found here) and can see improvement in my composition skills just from doing that. But how can I improve the speed? I cannot afford to spend an hour (or more  ) getting a post put together. Do I need to put a time limit on my writing? Is my perfectionism the problem? Are there any online workshops or drills or such that might help? All of the above?
I'm all ears! Or eyes, as the case may be 
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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)
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SallyT
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| Posted: Feb 13 2008 at 10:02pm | IP Logged
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I need to visit your blog! But you'll notice, if you cruise around a bit, that everyone's not writing long posts every single time they post -- even a short item can make for a good post (not to mention easier reading!). So don't feel as though you have to overflow with prose all the time, or ever.
But since I'm one of those who do tend to overflow . . . I guess just practicing helps. The more you do it, the easier it gets. And blogging is good that way -- I want to be disciplined in my writing life, and I find that one way that I'll be sure to maintain the habit of writing daily is to write for an audience (even if it's small -- I love writing to my online friends!).
But that writing for an audience can be counterproductive if you're feeling self-conscious about it all. It motivates me to write more and more often, but it might make you feel more shy and shut down -- and, as you say, perfectionistic. You might consider doing some writing by hand, in a notebook, as a private journal that no one will see -- that way you might be less likely to be self-editing every other word. Items from your notebook could turn into blog posts : just periodically pick something you like, type it up, revising as you go, and post. Already having something on paper, in a private format, can really help with that blank-screen-writer's-block thing.
Hope that helps!
Sally
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Feb 13 2008 at 10:35pm | IP Logged
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Well, I'm not the literary type, but I do blog a lot, and I seem to get a good bit of positive feedback, so maybe I will offer my 2 cents worth.
Just write.
Don't worry about who is reading and just write what's on your mind and in your heart.
Even if it sounds silly or boring or off-the wall, keep it real. Just keep on doing that, plugging away, and eventually you will find your voice, and then there will be no shutting you up!LOL!
Honestly, to me the posts that I like to read the most are those that just ring true. Sure it is fun to come across a well-thought-out post full of useful links, helpful hints, and interesting information. I love learning new things. But that's not what brings me back to a blog.
What brings me back is feeling like I have learned something about the person writing the blog. That I somehow know this person, that we have sat down to a cup of coffee together and chatted. That I have been engaged in conversation.
That, to me, is the essence of blogging.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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MaryM
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| Posted: Feb 14 2008 at 3:56am | IP Logged
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hmbress wrote:
| Is my perfectionism the problem? |
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Well, it is for me. I don't have any great suggestions to offer, but wanted you to know you are not alone. I obsess over my wording and revise and such at length that it also takes me way too much time to write a single post (on my blog or even more detailed ones here). And I do attribute it to the perfectionism that is a big part of my melancholic temperament. It is one of the struggles I have with actually posting anything on my blog (though not the only one  ). For what it's worth, I have a much more difficult time composing at the screen. I do find that if I take notes away from the computer and write down my thoughts as they come to me, I do better.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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hmbress
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| Posted: Feb 14 2008 at 1:46pm | IP Logged
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SallyT wrote:
| ... writing for an audience can be counterproductive if you're feeling self-conscious about it all. It motivates me to write more and more often, but it might make you feel more shy and shut down -- and, as you say, perfectionistic. You might consider doing some writing by hand, in a notebook, as a private journal that no one will see -- that way you might be less likely to be self-editing every other word. |
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Sally - I am definitely not shy (introverted, yes, but not shy!) but perfectionism is a constant temptation. I think this is just the latest manifestation. I've overcome the tendency towards perfectionism in many areas (with the help of my spiritual director, good confessors, and a good pastoral counselor), but I tell ya - it's like that whack-a-mole game! It keeps popping up in new areas! Good thing I like whacking moles! 
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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)
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hmbress
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MaryM wrote:
| ... you are not alone. I obsess over my wording and revise and such at length that it also takes me way too much time to write a single post (on my blog or even more detailed ones here). And I do attribute it to the perfectionism that is a big part of my melancholic temperament. It is one of the struggles I have with actually posting anything on my blog (though not the only one ). For what it's worth, I have a much more difficult time composing at the screen. I do find that if I take notes away from the computer and write down my thoughts as they come to me, I do better. |
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Mary! You understand! I am not the only one with this problem! You described my predicament to a T.
You are so right. When I journal by hand my thoughts flow onto the paper quickly and easily. It is only when I know others will read it that the obsessive revising and worrying comes into play. So - what does this mean? Most likely it's my wanting-so-desperately-to-be-liked-accepted-and-highly-thoug ht-of thing. Again!
Ah, well, at least I know now what it is, and can expose it to the Light. I know from experience that in short order it will be scurrying away to hide in the dark crevices, only to reappear again in some other form tomorrow. But someday, someday - it will be crushed under His heel! (How's that for mixed - what would you call it - allusions? )
Pressing "post reply" now before I have a chance to obsess over my wording ...
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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)
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hmbress
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| Posted: Feb 14 2008 at 2:14pm | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
... Don't worry about who is reading and just write what's on your mind and in your heart ...
... Honestly, to me the posts that I like to read the most are those that just ring true. Sure it is fun to come across a well-thought-out post full of useful links, helpful hints, and interesting information. I love learning new things. But that's not what brings me back to a blog.
What brings me back is feeling like I have learned something about the person writing the blog. That I somehow know this person, that we have sat down to a cup of coffee together and chatted. That I have been engaged in conversation.
That, to me, is the essence of blogging. |
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Theresa - exactly the suggestion I needed. And I agree completely with you about being real online. That has been something I've been attempting to do more and more since I started blogging again after my short hiatus. I felt almost fake and artificial before when I was just putting on my best face and only talking about the best moments of our days. Now I've realized that we so need (at least I so need!) the hope and encouragement that comes only from others being transparent and vulnerable and real.
It was really bothering me that so many friends, online and otherwise, were telling me how much they admired me and how put-together I was, when I knew they were only seeing what I wanted them to see. And yet at the same time I thrived on the feedback and encouragement and words of thanks from those who had been helped in some way by what I had posted. Being the all or nothing type I can sometimes be (perfectionism, you know!), I gave up blogging for a while until I could find the balance. And thanks to you and this discussion, I think I'm getting there. Thanks ever so much, to all three of you!
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Heather Rose (ds13, ds10)
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Slow Writer
