Okay, I received a question some time back about why I kept writing about sports, particularly football, in my earliest posts. The truth is that I wanted to add a body of work to a blog that was still in it’s infant stages, and since I was in the spirit of football, as it was that time of the year when the playoffs are under way, it seemed a natural fit. It was easy enough to write about – I have found that sports usually are. There are raw emotions, high expectations, moments of excitement, clashes in personality and style, etc. The works. Which mean, in this particular case, that I fixated on sports, probably a little too exclusively.
These were the blog entries preserved under my first blog page ever, with the dates listed underneath. A note should be made that the dates are not necessarily the actual dates that I wrote the pieces, just the ones where I decided to finally post them. As a matter of convenience, I just put the dates down, since they were written more or less around that time period, with the notable exception of the essay, of which perhaps I am the most proud, that was my first reaction to my son’s first reaction during his first real day at school. It was also his first day away from his parents, or grandparents, or anybody that represented familiarity and routine. That particular piece evokes both strong memories and emotions within me, because that was such a big moment in his life, and I felt his confusion, his fear, his not wanting to let go.
It is difficult to write, especially about something that other people might care about. That said, one source of pride, justified or not, was a compliment that I have received on occasion, especially regarding sports, saying that I have the ability to make my writing of a subject that some people might not usually care about interesting enough for them to keep reading.
Still, I know that, having just looked back at those entries after an extended but unexpected long pause in activity, they were predominately fixated on sports, particularly towards the end, in February of 2011. So, I will have to add some other types of writing that could more easily be digested by a wider audience, and that most likely would mean less sports. Not that sports will be excluded – I am not against writing reviews or previews, making some predictions, etc. If that is on my mind, and it might seem to be either of interest to somebody reading, or the writing is halfway decent enough that it just might hold the interest of those who do not care about such things, then it will go in. I don’t see a problem with that, and if you’re not interested in reading it, then skip it. No big deal. Life is too short.
That said, I think I will need to start focusing on extending these entries. As accessible and readily available a topic as sports might be, it is, usually, limited to a certain audience. Not everybody will be so thrilled as to jump on the topic, and I hardly got any responses regarding the sports entries, and certainly not in comparison to some of the other things that I have written that had nothing to do with sports – particularly those that had some personal significance and/or story attached.
So, after a small debacle with the password, during which, for a little while, it seemed I might have lost the blog altogether, I am back, and intend to not only get active, but more active then ever before, and with a far wider range of diversity then I was showing with one article after another with NFL playoffs reviews and previews, although admittedly, I am not quite ready yet to submit any fiction pieces. Not yet.
Of course, if I am about to embark on that journey, it would be wonderful to have people along who will actually read these entries. Since recruiting has never been a strong point (nor has organizing, for that matter), it nonetheless should be stated I will also try and make more of an effort to actually gain something of a following. These last few weeks, I have begun to organize my writings like never before, creating folders that make more sense then the random jumble in which I stored earlier writings. This has helped build my confidence towards what has traditionally been my greatest weakness, my Achilles Heel, if you will: editing. Let the journey begin, and I hope we begin it together. I would definitely appreciate your company! Come along for the ride, because I think it will be fun!
Let the journey begin.
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