So this is really happening

It’s kind of crazy to me, this blog thing. That the words I put down here will actually be read by someone. It got me into this state where I was looking for the perfect introductory article. The thing where people would read it and “get me”. Or they would read it and tell someone else, this guy has something about him.

And that idea derailed me for a bit. Trying to come up with the perfect first post. If I was trying to write a letter, I’d have gone through thousands of sheets of paper. A whole rainforest’s worth.

Lucky for me, and the rain forest, digital documents just get deleted.

I ended up wondering why I wanted a blog. The easy answer was most of the other writers have one. But I’ve never been someone to do something because someone else is doing it, so I dug deeper. My first real thought is that it’s important to me – as a writer – to connect with the people who read my stories. I don’t know how to do it, otherwise. I just can’t imagine Homer reciting the Iliad to a crowd and then walking away.

I don’t know that I need to know how people who’ve read something I’ve written liked it, or didn’t like it, but I want to know more about them. Their lives. Why they read my stories. What they get out of them. And part of the experience of being a storyteller is to take in how your story is received. Good or bad, I want people to feel something when they read my stories. I want them to learn something from them. And through this all I want to learn more, not just about my stories, but also about myself.

Ah-ha!

That’s when the lightbulb clicked on for me. Important Thought Number Two. As important is it is for me to get to know the people who read what I’ve written, it’s also important for me to understand more about myself. There’s some self-understanding I constantly seek, some way to measure myself, what I’ve learned, what I need to learn, that I believe this blog will help me with. Unfortunately for those of you who read it (unless you’re into this kind of thing), you all are along for the ride. But ultimately, I think as we get a chance to learn more about each other, that kind of growth will only improve what I understand, and in turn will improve my stories.