After the some of the discussion of blogs on the latest I Should be Writing podcast, I've been thinking about making a minor course correction for the Burning Zeppelin, and I wanted to give my reader(s) a chance to comment.
In her podcast, the inestimable Mur Lafferty comments that, in that they are a platform, blogs should be about the author as well as her work. In other words, I shouldn't just post about stories, ideas, my takes on writing, and so on, but also about my life, my day, and the thousands of small victories and challenges that make me (and my writing) who (and what) I (and it) am (are?).
On the other hand, the Burning Zeppelin Experience was founded to explore a certain kind of fiction in literary, visual, and experiential (that is, roleplaying) form. I don't want to stray too far from my roots here.
Full disclosure here: in my other existence, I have what I think is a pretty interesting life. I'm a teacher in an inner city school and my wife, the Abigail, is a counselor who specializes in trauma, especially bullied and traumatized kids. I have strong, and in some cases iconoclastic, opinions about widely varied issues, and I'm not afraid to speak my mind about them (or, get up at a ridiculous hour and campaign about them). If I open the Burning Zeppelin Experience up to posts about my real life, you aren't going to be deluged by "my sandwich was great today; how about yours?" posts.
I don't eat many sandwiches, anyway.
So, what do you think? Do you want to read about my other life as a teacher, husband, friend, and dude? Or shall we keep it strictly professional here on the Burning Zeppelin Experience? Your comments have the power to influence me this way or that, so don't be shy. Comment away!
2 comments:
I admit I tend to zone out when you get all into the nitty gritty writing stuff. More on your life as a teacher, dude & husband to the Abigail would be welcome. I also wouldn't balk at the occasional sandwich review.
I tend to dislike blogs with a passion. I prefer ones like Loren Eaton's I Saw Lightning Fall, which specifically and explicitly focus on the topic at hand. I don't think you need to (or should if you don't want to) add personal details to a blog that isn't about you personally. You have an LJ account, after all; people who are interested in your life can follow that, if they prefer.
On the other hand, the last time I told someone who asked that I didn't really like personal meandering mingled in with story/writing stuff, Bigg and Rish decided that I hated them, so what do I know?
Don't do it if it's something you feel like you have to do to "do it right." But if you want to merge the LJ and Blogger worlds and just have one location to post in, go for it.
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