Reluctant blogger
Posted by: Fiona Capp
16 December 2008
I hope this doesn’t sound rude or ungrateful – because it’s not meant to be either – but I have to admit to being a very reluctant blogger. I’m delighted, of course, that Musk & Byrne has been selected as a Summer Read by the State Library and I appreciate that readers are interested in what writers have to say about what they do. But, the older I get, the more uneasy I find myself becoming with the whole business of talking about myself, my writing and the practice of writing in general. When you write a book you say everything you wanted to say in that book. Anything else you might say about it – at a festival, in a newspaper article, at a talk – is inevitably superfluous to what you originally set out to say. But, of course, when the book comes out you want people to know it exists and so you find yourself doing all these things – talking at festivals, writing newspaper articles, giving talks – for fear that it will sink without trace if you don’t get out there and flog it. Not all writers mind doing this, just as not all writers are introverts like me. I know plenty of writers who enjoy it and I can perfectly understand this. It’s just that I’m not one of them.
I love writing because it’s a solitary activity and because I don’t have to be there when other people read my books. I love surfing for similar reasons. You can be sitting out in the water with a bunch of other surfers, everyone quietly waiting for a set, and you can enjoy the company of your fellow surfers without having to say a thing to them. Everybody knows why they’re there. Everybody knows why they love it. Occasionally, I do fall into conversation with other surfers. Once, a surfer told me about the death of his daughter. But most of the time, I’m happy to remain silent. To treat the whole experience as a form of meditation. The thing that puzzles me about Writers’ Festivals and similar events is that writing and reading, like surfing, are silent activities in which one loses oneself, and yet these festivals are all about performing and talking. What I would love to see is a Readers’ Festival where everyone gathers – if they want company – at a particular venue and sits quietly reading, and occasionally talking to people around them about the books they are reading.
February 15, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Hi Fiona,
I believe it takes a particular mindset to enjoy being a blogger and not everybody has it or wants it for that matter. It’s often unfortunate that many of the folks who do enjoy blogging frequently have very little of value to say (and yet say it anyway) whereas talented writers such as yourself prefer not to engage in what is typically referred to as a “social” medium.
Cheers,
Vic
December 18, 2008 at 10:04 am
Christi, It sounds like blogging works well for you. Libraries are great like that, everyone quietly doing their own thing…
Lila: I like your stand-in idea. I want mine to be blonde and tall (the complete opposite to me!).
Katie: I’ve never heard of silent discos but it’s a good analogy.
December 18, 2008 at 9:50 am
I like Lila’s idea of the stand-in author. Perhaps men could stand-in for women writers and vice versa — that would really stir things up! And the real author could hover in the foyer or wait in the book-signing queue to overhear readers’ unguarded opinions of her/his book. I think it could work.
December 17, 2008 at 6:09 pm
That’s why I love blogging. I’m an introvert who craves interaction! (only when I feel like it!)I love that reading is solitary. I don’t surf but I swim and run for the same reasons. I love the way my mind churns and then goes silent after it’s talked itself out. I love reading because I can do it alone, but I never feel lonely when I’m engrossed in a book. In fact I get a bit miffed when interruptions drag me back to reality. Lucky I’ve got 3 kids or I’d be heading for cat lady status. Ah! there’s always time!
I work in a library and I love the fact the people come and sit and read in company without having to socialise with anyone else.
December 16, 2008 at 10:32 am
Hi Fiona,
I’d imagine that a large number of writers would be quite introverted - perhaps publishers should offer the service of a stand in author who would appear at public events and promote your book for you, the real author could provide a script or a briefing for the stand in. You could even watch your stand in at a festival without anyone realising. It would lend an air of mystery to the literary world - you would never quite know who was who.
- Lila
December 16, 2008 at 10:26 am
Your idea of a Readers’ Festival sounds very much like silent discos where everyone wears headphones to listen to a dj - an outsider walking into the room would see a group of people manically dancing but no sound, maybe if you pitched it to the right person you should take the world by storm!