HC: Shut up, already!

First of all, thanks to SS and AV for starting/continuing such an interesting thread. I did write to SS personally to thank her for being willing to talk about something personal and painful out here for the world to see. I was thinking that if SS has "the committee" and I have my "internal editor" other people have 'em too. 

And it's time to tell them all to shut up.

One of the reasons I'm enjoying this blog is it gets me to write. It gets me to write, for me. I don't know how many readers, if any, we have. I don't know if all of us thewritebunchers always read what's up here. It matters, but it doesn't matter. I like to write my blog entries, and feel part of a group of smart people who have a blog. Even if my internal editor is a pain in the neck, I've managed to put words on virtual paper, and sorta, kinda, publish them. Are they brilliant? No. Do they need to be brilliant. No. Am I having a good time writing them? YES, and I'm starting to realize that's the most important thing.

My father is/was a writer. My sister is a writer. My husband is a writer. My neighbors are writers. My great friend Suzy is a writer. They've earned their livings writing, been published, praised, etc. So where did that leave little me? How can I be a writer when all the writing slots are filled? Also, what does it mean to be a writer? How many hours a day do you need to spend writing to be "a writer"? I'll never live up to Stephen King or Neil Simon's output, will I? My prose is weak and my adjective list limited. How much money do you have to earn to be considered "a real writer"? 

I don't know any more and I don't care.

I've cared far too much about what outside people think, but finally in middle age I'm learning that, if I'm enjoying myself, who cares what outside people think. It's/Life's all about getting enjoyment and satisfaction where/when you can, isn't it? RS's latest post was great, wasn't it, but--assuming he enjoyed writing it--would he have enjoyed it more if 100 people read it than if 10 people read it? Maybe only RS can answer that.

We have the comments area for replies to our posts. I do check to see if anyone has had anything to say about the main posts, because that's interesting to me. The whole controversy about the porno daughter was highly entertaining, and it was informative to see how other people viewed the situation. I like reading people's varying viewpoints. I love to see a movie, feel whatever I feel about it, and then run to rottentomatoes.com, to read reviewers who agree and disagree with me. Maybe I missed something in the film? Interesting!

I like the immediacy of the blog because I type faster than my internal editor can say "That stinks" or "Nobody cares, Holly." The beauty is, I'm starting to disagree with my internal editor. I don't care if this stinks or if nobody cares to read it. I've enjoyed the process of sitting and typing and letting my thoughts fall on the paper. It's cathartic, it's fun, it's our baby blog.