Saturday, May 28, 2005

First Anniversary

I started this blog a year ago, in an attempt to document our once in a lifetime motorcycle trip and tour of Europe.

Much to my amazement I've kept it up. I've tried keeping journals and diaries all my life (all the best book characters kept journals) but never been able to sustain the effort. Didn't matter if I used a battered spiral or crisp, leatherbound journal. Perhaps it was because journaling is a such a solitary activity. One writes, but there is never any feedback, and if one's handwriting is as indecipherable as mine is, reading past entries is impossible.

Writing, if you think about it, really is a 2 way process. You write for yourself, but human nature being what it is, you also crave an audience, you crave comments, you want to know that you connected with another human being.

Thanks to some Blog Explosion and some of the other blog traffic sites it's possible to add a little human interaction to the journal keeping. Knowing that someone else might be reading my prose keeps me on my toes. I try to watch my spelling and grammar and give thought to judicious word choice. I read other blogs and just as on my Betsy Tacy List Serv, there are now people whose blogs I read frequently whom I count as friends.

So, here's to the first year and looking forward to the next.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just started a few months ago. I agree about keeping on your toes when you know others are reading you. I basically keep a very formal creative journal on my blog. And I hope to continue.

Best wishes for many years of happy blogging!!

KarbonKountyMoos said...

Happy Blogiversary!

Gel said...

Happy 1 yr Blogaversary! :)
I shamelessly admit to keeping diaries,journals, and most of the pieces I've written since I could hold a pencil (in my mouth lol). I still have most of them.

There are stories where and how I hid them from family members before marriage.... Their contents will not appear on my blog, though!
I do not have time to edit my blog particularly because I write for work, so my blog gives me freedom from having to edit, although I wish I had the time to perfect it. Nothing would ever be posted in that case.

I'm lucky to be a very fast typist and have a good sense of humor at my typos.

I,too, like you and many bloggers love the comments and two-way interaction. That feedback rocks!
I'm glad I found your blog through Julie's through mrsd's, through ... :)

Julie said...

Congrats, Guusje!

I too have made many attempts to keep a journal but was never able to sustain it. I think the problem was that I didn't know who my audience was. My future self? My kids? My biographer?

Blogging is so much more fun!

Zhoen said...

You have put your finger on it. Journals are only good for future memoirs. Started my essays as a way to keep contact with a friend across the country. Wanted to be read, if only by a few people, so I got on a real blog site. Wanted to check in with other readers and see if I was making any sense. Wanted to feel heard amidst the din of modern life.

Happy Anniversary. You done good.

The Library Lady said...

I too, always wanted to keep a diary (like Betsy, of course, and Anne Frank for that matter) and never managed to do it. But I started my blog in August 2003, and today I am more into it than ever.

Knowing that people are reading it and reading their comments really does have an encouraging effect on your urge to blog, doesn't it?

Mazel Tov!

Mamacita (The REAL one) said...

Happy Blogiversary! I'm so glad I met you!

musingwoman said...

A little late--but wanted to say Happy Blogiversary (I like that term)! :-)

Anonymous said...

happy blogday to your blog!