Over the last few weeks I took an unofficial sabbatical from blogging.  It was so unofficial that I didn’t even tell myself.  Instead, somewhere deep in my subconscious I was looking for an answer to a question posed by a fellow blogger about who do you create for?
On the face of it this blog is full of stories about basset hounds, baking, gardening and taking photographs.  But really it’s been all about me trying to find my sense of creative purpose and fulfilment.  Something I’ve been struggling with for some time.
It was easier to take a blogging sabbatical and busy myself with the practicalities of life and my never ending list of chores than face the hard work it takes to master creativity.  In wrestling with the question of “who do I create for†I admit I’ve even contemplated making my unofficial sabbatical permanent.
But I’m back.  Blogging with a clearer mind and exciting plans for my camera, my kitchen, my garden and a deeper appreciation of how important it is for me to blog as a means to inspire my creativity not for the blog to be the end result.
I realise how self indulgent that might seem but I hope that you’ll stick around and be part of that inspiration.  If you’ve got a few minutes please let me know what reading blogs or writing blogs means to you.  I’d love to know.
I would miss your blog if you took a permanent sabbatical, Julie but it seems the break has given you a renewed sense of purpose. When I switched my blog from “learning photography” to sharing more what I was doing with my photography, it was a big shift. I now have less traffic and I blog less but it wasn’t until you mentioned that I understand what happened. The blog was no longer the end result but my writing was more to speak out loud to make sense of what I was working on. Even if no-one reads it, I gain some clarity for myself and that’s important. For sure, I am going to stick around these parts and see what you create. I’m very much looking forward to it!
Oh Sabrina – you say the nicest things, and keep me inspired. One of the wonders of blogging is to have found other people who are learning and sharing. In love reading about your photographic adventures and admire all the work you are doing with Rear Curtain and ART. Look forward to hanging out with you on line. Vancouver is still on my sights for a trip next year.
I started writing my blog to see if I could sustain a regular writing practice outside my journal, and to see if maybe I had what it takes to be a columnist. I wasn’t expecting anyone outside my immediate family to read it. Now I’ve got a small audience of people I know and complete strangers, and to be honest, I regularly get stage fright and worry that what I write is boring or irrelevant or self indulgent. The result is that I don’t post as often as I used to, and it feels harder — sometimes more of a should-do chore than a love-to-do enjoyment. But I’m going through a bit of blogging and writing-in-general naval gazing, and I think the honest and right thing for me to do is write about what I love, and if anyone else wants to read it, then that’s a bonus.
Sue, I know what you mean about “stage fright”. Reading more about writers, writing and how creativity works has opened my eyes to how central this is to any creative endeavour. I love to read your blogs and since meeting and starting to get you know you a little more I enjoy them all the more because they are such a reflection of who you are as a person. Thanks for taking the time to tell me why you blog.
As a writer myself (though not a blogger), Julie, I love the sheer joy of using language to express thoughts. I consider writing to be a kind of blossoming, and how often can you say that about anything? Three cheers for your blogging!
Great to hear from you Jeff. I always loved reading what you wrote. So lovely to know you’re still cheerleading for me :o)