“Thesis word cloud” flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license
I used to write here regularly, and at some point I stopped. Maybe it was the pandemic, maybe it was the pressure of writing up my PhD, maybe it was a lack of inspiration. Recently I have been posting a #SilentSunday image here every weekend, but somewhere along the way I stopped using this as a place to write. I don’t know why, but I know that lately I’ve been realising how much I miss it. So the session ‘Blog or Die’ at the DS106RadioSummerCamp was just what I needed to get my motivation back. I won’t summarise it here – you can listen to it yourself or read the transcript, but it got me thinking about why I blog – and how difficult I was finding it to get back into the habit after a while away. And when I thought about why I blogged, I remembered about discovering Lauren Richardson, and writing about it in my thesis:
As I struggled to find my voice and articulate my thoughts, a friend from my community suggested that I look at Laurel Richardson’s writings, and sent me some suggestions. I had no time to read, no time to change my methodology, no time to reframe this research – I felt under pressure to have this thesis submitted so that I could take back my evenings and weekends and relax. Yet, as I read her words, I knew that I had found the approach that I needed. Richardson suggests that writing can itself be a method of enquiry: that as well as telling you what I think, I can write to find out for myself what I think:
“Writing is also a way of “knowing” – a method of discovery and analysis. By writing in different ways, we discover new aspects of our topic and our relationship to it. Form and content are inseparable”(Richardson, 2000, p.923).
So, that’s it in a nutshell — that’s why I blog, and why I have missed the practice of regular blogging. I write not to tell others what I think, but to find out for myself what I think. And if others read what I write and respond, then that’s a bonus.
Richardson, L. (2000) ‘Writing: A method of inquiry’, in Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (eds) Handbook of qualitative research. 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Over the past 30 years my writing, on websites, newsletters, visual essays and blogs has helped me understand more about what we need to do to help kids in areas of concentrated poverty.
I hope you will find new meaning and purpose.
Thanks Dan, and I hope your writing continues to be successful.
I think many of us are in the same situation, for a variety of reasons, and I keep reminding myself that my blog space is my home space, the center of the satellites of other places where I write, play, make art, connect. I’m also happy that my RSS feed sits quiet, until someone I once followed, posts, and then I can come and read and respond. That’s what happened today.
Kevin
Thank you Kevin.
You inspire me with your prolific blogging. And thank you for the link to one of your posts – I’ll copy it here https://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2009/12/20/why-i-blog/
This really resonates with me as well. My blogging is how I think through complex issues sometimes, or clarify my own thoughts for myself. If others read it and get something out of it, that’s a bonus! I hadn’t heard of Richardson’s work before, so thank you for pointing to that.
Thank you for your post as well. Enjoy reading Richardson 🙂
That a blog is not a single thing, even to the same person, says much about its character. And our habits of writing evolve. The blog is patient too, it judges not the passage of time. The best writing for me is what evolves from what I initially thought I was saying.
No die at all
Yes, and it’s really helped me to find my writing style. No die, just long snoozes from time to time!
Ah Sarah! You really hit it on the head today. I also struggle with consistency with my blog and writing. I tend to be all or nothing when it comes to blogging. Thanks for sharing your challenges and the words of Laurel Richardson. We write to understand our own thinking, and that is powerful.
Thank you Kim. Yes, understanding ourselves is powerful 🙂