This blog made me want to write. Over the next few days and weeks I will assess whether it is worth keeping in my life. I know that social media will never be my “thing,” so don’t look for me on Facebook or Twitter. Gimme a break, I could never tweet unless I went back to Haiku.
I was so frightened to write for people and am certainly not an expert but I did it. I met some great people that I wouldn’t have known without the blog. I’m just feeling there’s not much interest in it and I may be running out of ideas.
What it has given me is the willingness to write anything that comes to mind. That’s not good in blogs or email or even personal letters. Perhaps I can keep them going concurrently but I need, for the first time since I was eight, a journal or diary where I can write anything. And I hate to say it, folks, but I don’t write longhand anymore, even checks (I do everything online). OK, I do write a grocery list from time to time but usually it’s in my head unless it’s a dinner or party. My journal will have to be typed, and probably something I’ll leave my husband to edit or not, depending on how I feel about it at the time!
It is hoped that you can see my reluctance to enter this blog realm, entering it slowly then with a growing ease and now needing another outlet for my writings. Perhaps it has become too easy and another venue would make me more relevant to you, my dear reader. Please let me know your thoughts as I ponder this next phase of life and writing. Thanks for the trip, I’m not giving up yet just need a bit of time off for now. Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 
Two things.
Write for you.
Don’t think for a minute, nobody is listening.
PS. I miss my mom too.
Thanks Otis. Didn’t we meet in an elevator somewhere? No, guess not. Pre-computer, my first-generation portable electric typewriter was the most popular object on 3W the day before papers were due. I had to keep a schedule for it! Figuring out ways to stretch the words with margins and spaces between lines. Now 500-600 words come out of me in 10-15 minutes (which is why I’m not on Twitter). Come to think of it I should have at least charged for typewriter ribbons, because they got eaten up pretty quickly! Dee
Hi Dee, I think whether or not to continue the blog depends on what you want to get out of it…maybe that’s changed since you started it. For me, blogging was a way to write whatever the heck I wanted, however the heck I wanted, since most of the time I only write what people pay me to write, and it’s usually a whole lot of pressure and not a lot of fun. Sometimes, now, I go through my blog archives and read random posts and am SO HAPPY I did something that was just for me, and it makes me feel good to reread what I wrote. Of course I like when other people read it and comment (and wish more people did), but ultimately, it’s still just for me and still gives me satisfaction. If yours isn’t fulfilling your needs (for creativity, emotion, fun, sharing…whatever they may be) for sure, find an outlet that does! (But I’d miss it.)
Christine
Hey Dee,
I’d miss your blog, but can understand if it’s become a chore…I just like to read what you’ve been up to (: I don’t do Facebook…my sister and a few of our friends from Amherst keep saying how great it is, but I don’t think it’s for me. Maybe down the road but not now. Anyway, good luck with your “dilemma” and Happy Spring! Pam
My dear Christine, people pay you to write? I’ve been doing research and writing for three years and haven’t asked for a nickel to do so as I haven’t liked the agressive advertising on several blogs so have removed my name from them. To be tasked for something may be a challenge. Let’s talk. Dee
Dee, I’m a business/marketing writer and editor by profession (20+ years now), so I spend my days writing about other people’s work. I don’t contribute to other blogs or online publications (unless I’m writing an article for a client that will appear under their by-line in an online trade publication or something). So, I use my blog to write about “fun” stuff like gardening, decorating, DIY home projects, and general musings and “day-in-my life” stuff. Not as personal as a journal would be, but it’s a creative outlet I wouldn’t have otherwise. Christine
That is what I think a blog should be, fun. Now people want facebook and twitter. I write. I get tired of rehashing my childhood or expounding on politicaly sensitive topics. If I lose my audience it’s my fault and no-one loses any money. While I may consider writing for others, I think not, and would love to read some of the materials you loved to write. We’re in the middle here, considering giving up our mountain existence but the blog will help me keep grounded through whatever comes our way, as it did when we came here. Thanks for always being there. Dee
Thanks, Christine, it is, will be while blogs are still alive, a creative outlet. I never wanted to “monetize” my site. I’m comfortable here and appreciate meeting people like you. Cheers, D