The Why of the Blog

I took an official break from blogging for a while, but truth be told, I'd fallen off from it for ages before making it "official". I believed that I didn't have anything new, fun, or interesting to write about, and if I don't think I can be interesting, I sure wouldn't expect someone else to come here and read.

So why am I returning to the blog on a more regular basis? I don't think it's a coincidence that after taking a welcome hiatus from fiction writing, I am choosing to restart that area of my life, too. I'm currently in the "discovery" phase of a new story. Lots of mulling, musing, and playing with soundtracks, placeholders, other images to uncover the story and the people who live in it.

The best part of blogging for me is that I look at the world around me with a different kind of focus. I'm telling stories here. Sometimes they're about my own experiences. Sometimes, I tell you about something or somebody I observed. Other times, it's my take on a current event. In every case, I'm no longer cruising through life as only a participant. I'm also an observer. I discover different things going on and come here to tell the stories. This is so similar to my process as a novelist.

The practice of blogging sparks a different part of the creative area of my brain. Apparently, that't the same brain area that I use to develop characters and then tell stories about them or, even better, the characters tell their own stories.

That's the why and the way of the blog. I'm glad I discovered this. It explains a lot.