The Scarlet Pimpernel Of Bloggers
"Smiling in their faces, while filling up the hole. So many dirty little places in your filthy little worn out, broken down, see-through soul."
I'm done with the archives now. All the major posts since June 2004 are back up. I've ditched the fluff and done some editing, and I'll definitely need to go back at some point to tidy up links and things, but the main job is done. I'm sure that almost nobody will ever go digging through two years of my gibberish except me, but I like having it there. Two years is a decent lifespan for a blog, and it always seemed a bit of a shame to me that any new folks coming along for the ride would be denied a chance at reading some of my my earlier stuff. Honestly, I think the best posts are all in late 2004/early 2005.
I closed the first incarnation of this blog on my birthday last year, feeling at the time that the story NFADR was created to tell was done, and that I'd become too friendly with my small but perfectly formed (mostly) readership. I'm much happier writing at strangers than people I know. I think familiarity dulls my edge a little bit.
So I quit NFADR, took a break, and returned with an all-new blog, The Souljacker Diaries, writing as (surprise!) Souljacker. It didn't take me long to get bored. Having closed out the tale of my quarter-life crisis, I found I didn't have much to say. Also, no-one was reading the fucking thing. Anonymity is only fun if there are people to wonder who that masked man is.
So being the Scarlet Pimpernel of bloggers didn't quite work out, and it was only a few short months before I decided to resurrect the far more inspiring NFADR you see before you.
I bring this up now because I'm thinking very seriously about a new direction for this page o' mine. The daily diary stuff is all well and good, but reading through the archives has made me pine for the days of righteous anger, dirty stories, and hideously egocentric proclamations. There's nothing inherently wrong with personal blogs, but there isn't very much you can do with one when you spend most of your days doing the same things. I'd like to do politics, but I'm right and you're wrong and that only ever ends in bitterness and recrimination. I'd like to do more fiction, but most of my efforts are going into the novel at the moment, and I'm considering retiring from erotica because I'm getting slightly tired of seeing my name pop up alongside some really shitty writers at places like Clean Sheets. Don't get me wrong, they've been great to me and there is plenty there to recommend, it's just that the bar in this particular genre gets disturbingly close to the ground at times, and - yes - I don't like feeling I'm competing with writers I was better than ten years ago, never mind now. But I'm certainly not in the business of choosing a genre to write in. I'm sure there's an erotic novel in me somewhere, just as I'm sure I'd like to write something sci-fi someday. For now, though, I think I'll just ignore genre.
So...I don't know, and that's where you come in. What do you think? I'm not just talking to the usual suspects, either. I know there's a bunch of people that come here and never comment, so why not break the silence and have an opinion for once? I want to make the blog feel a little fresher, give it the direction and purpose it had back in the day. Any suggestions?
I'm done with the archives now. All the major posts since June 2004 are back up. I've ditched the fluff and done some editing, and I'll definitely need to go back at some point to tidy up links and things, but the main job is done. I'm sure that almost nobody will ever go digging through two years of my gibberish except me, but I like having it there. Two years is a decent lifespan for a blog, and it always seemed a bit of a shame to me that any new folks coming along for the ride would be denied a chance at reading some of my my earlier stuff. Honestly, I think the best posts are all in late 2004/early 2005.
I closed the first incarnation of this blog on my birthday last year, feeling at the time that the story NFADR was created to tell was done, and that I'd become too friendly with my small but perfectly formed (mostly) readership. I'm much happier writing at strangers than people I know. I think familiarity dulls my edge a little bit.
So I quit NFADR, took a break, and returned with an all-new blog, The Souljacker Diaries, writing as (surprise!) Souljacker. It didn't take me long to get bored. Having closed out the tale of my quarter-life crisis, I found I didn't have much to say. Also, no-one was reading the fucking thing. Anonymity is only fun if there are people to wonder who that masked man is.
So being the Scarlet Pimpernel of bloggers didn't quite work out, and it was only a few short months before I decided to resurrect the far more inspiring NFADR you see before you.
I bring this up now because I'm thinking very seriously about a new direction for this page o' mine. The daily diary stuff is all well and good, but reading through the archives has made me pine for the days of righteous anger, dirty stories, and hideously egocentric proclamations. There's nothing inherently wrong with personal blogs, but there isn't very much you can do with one when you spend most of your days doing the same things. I'd like to do politics, but I'm right and you're wrong and that only ever ends in bitterness and recrimination. I'd like to do more fiction, but most of my efforts are going into the novel at the moment, and I'm considering retiring from erotica because I'm getting slightly tired of seeing my name pop up alongside some really shitty writers at places like Clean Sheets. Don't get me wrong, they've been great to me and there is plenty there to recommend, it's just that the bar in this particular genre gets disturbingly close to the ground at times, and - yes - I don't like feeling I'm competing with writers I was better than ten years ago, never mind now. But I'm certainly not in the business of choosing a genre to write in. I'm sure there's an erotic novel in me somewhere, just as I'm sure I'd like to write something sci-fi someday. For now, though, I think I'll just ignore genre.
So...I don't know, and that's where you come in. What do you think? I'm not just talking to the usual suspects, either. I know there's a bunch of people that come here and never comment, so why not break the silence and have an opinion for once? I want to make the blog feel a little fresher, give it the direction and purpose it had back in the day. Any suggestions?
posted by Michael at 2:47 PM
5 Comments:
Michael, I think the simplest answer to that question is just be yourself. Speaking for myself, the most interesting thing about reading your blog, which as you know I've done for quite some time, is that you have strong opinions, are an intellectual conversant and debater of the issues at hand, and most of all, are one of the most creative and gifted writers I'v read. Just be you - that's my vote.
I set up a several rules for myself. One was that a post had to have (mostly) some connection to Alaska. The next was that they should be as funny as I can make them. It seems to be broad enough for the moment for me. Besides, I mainly write it for me, not for others.
So, what then? I'm with Chris. If you want to define it more with some (sufficiently large) bounds, well, that works, too.
Free welcome drinks and an open bar would be good.
Either that or change the background to a nice picture of puppies and rainbows.
Thinks about it...
Free welcome drinks and an open bar would be good.
Either that or change the background to a nice picture of puppies and rainbows.
Think about it...
I vote for more reviews, as I often find myself referring to them when in need of movie/book guidance.
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