A Follow-up to "That Big, Awkward Post"

So, this is going to be another one of those posts where I put myself out there. Certainly not to the degree that I've done recently, but still, following through on things is good. Right?

(Also, in case you don't know, THIS is "that big, awkward post," so far as I'm concerned.)

Today I stumbled across a blog post by thriller novelist Wayne Arthurson, wherein he talks about sharing. You should go read it, it's good. And it sums up a lot of my feelings about blogging and celebrity transparency and public image and stuff like that.

For those of you who are either too lazy or too busy to read his post, I'll summarize: sharing is good in moderation.

The slightly more expanded summary: he's not going to tell you about his family on the internet, but he will tell you about what his interests are.




I'm going to resist the urge to wax poetic (or just overly long) about how "we live in a day and age where privacy is constantly being threatened by the ever-increasingly invasive internet" and blahblahblah.

Instead, I'm just going to talk about the article.

See, I'm one of those who -- to a certain extent -- enjoys hearing anecdotal stories about peoples' children, especially when they're younger. So, when people like Brandon Sanderson or Dan Wells share stories about their kids and families on Twitter alongside their own writerly insights, general chatter, and casual observations, it helps me feel like I know them personally, which makes me appreciate and want to support their work more.

(There's probably also some sort of psychological business having to do with my admiration of their ability to "put themselves out there" so freely in public, because I myself am a naturally sheltered, cloister of a man. Or something.)

Actually, that's not a bad transition. Huh. *shrug*

See, I don't do this. I want to, on the one hand, because I admire it in other people and a part of me really does want to connect with people (friends, family, fans, and all). Unfortunately, on the other hand, I'm a bit of an insecure person and have spent a significant number of the past mrfrmgrphbgm years developing an affinity for NOT opening up to people. Thus, you get the somewhat-carefully constructed cardboard cutout that I want you to see here, instead of a multifaceted and dynamic individual.

(Of course, THEN we get a bit deeper into the whole discussion of my insecurities and my fear that, maybe, I'm NOT a multifaceted, dynamic, or otherwise interesting person. Heh.)

I'm trying to change that, as some of you know. But I still don't think I'm up to the level of "baby-pictures-on-Twitter" category sharing. Maybe I never will be. And I'm okay with that.

The last bit that Wayne Arthurson mentions -- that bit about sharing interests; likes, dislikes, etc? I'm going to start with that. (Or, well, continue...um, shut up.) The least I can do is bring myself to talk about the stuff that interests and excites me, in addition to showing off all the stuff I know.

Okay, I think I'll stop there. Again, probably not the most coherent, and definitely not all I could say. But people think I talk too much already. :)

Sorry this wasn't part 2 of "College and Writing." This is one of those things that I discovered I needed to say. Barring any other interruptions, I'll get that post up tomorrow.

Until then...
-josh k.