Subjective Objectivity
I just learned that an essay is a “to put to a test” or to test an idea. To write an essay is to test something. I find this interesting. In part because I have a tendency to create long entries that I’ve called blog essays.
This is interesting to me, and helps define a standard I’ve been developing since those first weeks in New Hampshire. I want to explore my ideas and, to an extent, I want other people to connect with.
However, the essay is, literally, putting an idea to the test. I have an idea and I am testing it against my own beliefs and testing it against other people’s reactions when I present the word-spew on my blog. The same thing is done at In Order to Write – except, there, I am more likely to write a shorter entry and on something specific to writing fiction. I’ve even decided to turn In In Order to Write in to a class project.
The exploration of thoughts is something that happens regardless of whether or not I do it on my blog. I think about a lot of things a lot of the time.
The point of the blog is actually to connect with family members, first; and then to share my thoughts on what is happening in the world, what I am working on, other projects, and as a clearinghouse to other websites that I have or other people, pretty closely connected to me, are also working on. The most, personally, prominent one of these is In Order to Write; academically, I also have Cassandra West; Alicia Grey; The Clockwork Princess; and (possibly sticking its head up again, soon) Mary and Kierk.
I am sure all of this oh so very important, but, the start was about essays and why I write them as well as how learning what an essay is meant to be an exploration of an idea. So, I explore ideas. I try to be very objective about it, try to remove my opinions about a lot of things; but the truth of the matter is that I am very opinionated about a lot of things. Take Al Sharpton. I started writing an entry on him the other day and then didn’t, not because I didn’t want to rant about the man and his crusades, but more because I didn’t feel like talking about it once I started.
A lot of blog entries die by way of me starting to write about them and then stopping because I get tired of the topic or realize that my feelings, emotions, whatever, that prompted me to start writing about it died away. And, truth told, I don’t feel the need (one I hit that point) to force myself to continue writing about it.
Sharpton was one of those topics that I thought I cared and then realized that I didn’t, really. And didn’t want to mentally or emotionally deal with his antics and so spent time writing about it until I realized I didn’t care and then I stopped. It was nice. The stopping.
However I get to different points in writing, I do get there. Starting an entry about the essay that turns in to an essay is something that I do. I am exploring how I feel and whether or not it will change how I act or react to the topics I follow.
I mean, well… maybe I don’t know what I mean. In theory, when I start an entry for this webpage or some other page, I go through the process of writing it out and posting it and sometimes that process seems to fail on me. I am okay enough with that to walk away from something that, right now, isn’t work for me… so… you know… it’s all good. Not everything I do needs to be done, and not everything I write needs to be written. I admit that readily.
What I do write, though, at least here, for the most part, I want to be an exploration – of sorts.
John Hattaway | smokingpen | Alicia Grey | Clockwork Princess | Cassandra West