Blogging is weird

As August nears, something I’ll have to get used to is blogging every day. Yet it always feels like I have this massive block when it comes to blogs.

Blogs are perfect for writers. They’re easy to use. Subject matter is up for grabs. And block or not, I must admit that they’re pretty damn fun.
From correspondence to newsletters to poems, I write every day. When I cut myself shaving there’s a distinct black tinge due to the ink in my blood. I always carry a notebook, for “in case of inspiration take out of pocket” moments. I’m used to bolting up at 3am with a must-scribble idea. I’m giving serious thought to keeping a waterproof notebook in the shower. For some reason I come up with a lot of ideas in the shower.
Shame I can’t take a computer in with me. (Now that’s an idea…)
The guys and I started blogging a few months back, with our BootBlog. Sean, Chris and Nick have always been regular posters, but I haven’t. It’s been much more elusive and difficult for me.
Why? Blogs by their nature allow you to be as thought-out or as spontaneous as you want. I’m not as used to just spouting and posting. I can be too fond of polishing and perfecting. In Europe often I’m just going to have to type it, publish it, and head to the pub.
Pretty cool really.
Talking about myself in writing, and often pretty directly, is also new. I don’t really write about myself; I write about subjects, from Eurail passes to stuff for BootsnAll newsletters. Even when I might be writing about myself, the way I structure my ramblings provides a more universal do-up. It’s the writing, not the writer.
This Eurail Blog doesn’t really leave me that option. Granted it isn’t about me – thank goodness – it’s about a railing trip around Europe, and a traveler (who, yeah, happens to be me), and all the people I’ll encounter and experiences I’ll have. It’s as much – more so really – about those people and experiences, than it is about me. But I do have to write about myself, and my thoughts and what I get up to, and there’s a wee block in my naturally private mind that I guess I just need to bust down.
Ah, what the hell. It’s about time I did.
By the time I head for Europe, I’ll be posting pretty much every day. There’ll be tips and links, crazy stuff crossing my mind, conversations with people I talk with, etc. Hopefully it’ll be readable. Hopefully it’ll be enjoyable, informative, something – gasp – that people will want to come back to, even. And hopefully I’ll have gotten over myself, and my hangup about blogging. Nah – that’s definitely going to happen. There’s just too much fun to be had, you know?
Now if I can just figure out this whole computer in the shower thing, all will be fine…