Do You Feel Lucky?

(and feel free to comment! My older posts are certainly no less relevant to the burning concerns of the day.)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

The "Dang Disclaimer," AKA, "A Note on Content and Tone"

[ed.: The Damn Disclaimer was simply too long. Here's the long version: the long version]

"Autobiography may interest those with exciting lives, but it doesn't interest me."

- me



Here's the short version: this blog is writing practice. I try my best on each post. Each post is doing its own thing, there's no attempt to preserve a common viewpoint or consistent tone.

Every post should be viewed first and foremost as fiction. Some posts do reflect what I believe, some posts do contain the odd personal tidbit. But most posts don't. I'm not being coy, it's just that I'm not particularly interested in that aspect. I don't blog to reveal myself, I'm more or less a private person. I don't blog to get to know myself, I already know that. I blog as an outlet for ideas, an opportunity to write in unusual voices, and from odd points of view (including occasionally, my own).

I blog as a creative outlet. The goal of creation, of art, is not self-expression. The obligation of the artist is not to the self. It is first, to the individual work: to make it its best. Second, to one's own ability, one's own creative process: to explore, improve upon, and perfect it.

I blog the same way you might write a song, or a short story. You start with whatever kernel of inspiration, and then you take it whatever direction it needs to go, to best express whatever point the song or story seems to be trying to make.

Comments are welcome. If a given post raises questions, by all means ask! I am a private person, as I said, but I will never take offense at a respectful question as long as the asker doesn't take offense, should I respectfully decline to answer. I usually don't decline to answer, albeit I may not lay whole realms bare.

You are welcome!

3 comments:

dogimo said...

Ahhhhhh maybe I'm overstating the case - I'm as interested in the self as I am in anything else, and off-line, probably even a little more interested. But in terms of blogging, I'm just not interested in expressing the self to the exclusion of other things. There's nothing I can learn about me by blogging.

dogimo said...

But if on the other hand, anybody sincerely has a legitimate question about a given post, well in the comment queue I'm pretty much Johnny-on-the-spot with the straight goods.

'Long as it's not, you know, none of anybody's d. business. As I always say: "I won't take offense at a polite question, as long as you don't take offense at me politely declining to answer." That's just good manners all around.

I mean, I'm pretty forthcoming in most cases. But some stuff's kind of personal. Which kind of explains why I left it out.

Still: feel free to ask, feel free to ask. That's the bottom line.

dogimo said...

Note for context: the above too comments refer more to the old version than to the slimmer, trimmer new dang disclaimer!