(Day 10, Paragraph 11)

Is it the forum or is it me? I feel so self-conscious about what I write about here. And I feel like I am writing about writing quite a bit even though this is not a place dedicated to writing about writing but rather just a place to write. What one chooses to write about on the web is almost as important as how well one writes about it. For instance, a blog I was introduced to by a friend has essentially had one subject (a chronicle of the writer's experiences) but has not, in my opinion, managed to remain something I am interested in reading. The blog started because of a personal tragedy in the writer's life and went on to record the ups and downs of what transpired after that zero date. The writing is good. The tragedy was compelling. The joy, however, is not so interesting. The quality of the writing has not changed but the joy is mundane - I could read any one of hundreds of blogs that journal the same events. So even though I am not that concerned about having readers, I think (in the ego maniacal portions of my brain), that I have an obligation to be compelling - or at least somewhat interesting - in case there ever is a readership here. And then I begin to wonder, am I writing for the sake of writing or am I writing for the reader. I am not up enough on my rhetoric study to really have a discussion about this but it is an interesting topic. Speaking of topics, I need to think of some before the universe of photos of writing implements on flickr is depleted!

Photo credit: Paul Worthington on Flickr