Why I Don't Hate Blogs Anymore

Dear (insert your name here),

I don't know if you've had this experience, but when I am about to write something (such as this blog post), I am often overcome with a kind of mental paralysis. It's not that I don't know what to write about - actually, the problem is quite the opposite. A million thoughts are going through my head at once, and not in some kind of chaotic jumble either. I see all the connections so that I'm sure, once I start writing, everything will come out clearly and precisely.

The only snag is the whole starting to write thing...

I hate first sentences. I don't even like that one. But anyway, before I start qualifying my qualifications, I'm going to get to the point.

I love to write and I want to get into the habit of writing more often. In fact, I'd like to write at least one blog post a day.

And that's why I'm writing to you, my hypothetial reader. I'll confess that I've never really liked the idea of a blog mostly because I think it requires that the author be arrogant enough to think his or her views matter so much that they need to be preserved on the Internet. But the more I started thinking about my irrational bias against them, the more I realized what I didn't like wasn't the format itself but the way some people go about writing them.

I have no interest in being didactic or showing off whatever talents or obscure knowledge I might possess or think I possess. Instead, I'd like this to be (and at the risk of being David Foster Wallace-y with all these parenthetical remarks, I'll say that I hope this doesn't come off as corny), more of a conversation, or endless Q and A session.

That reminds me - I recently realized that a lot of my interests revolve around pursuits with no end point. For instance, I'm mildly addicted to chess, am trying to read everything ever written, love learning to play new instruments, etc. etc. - all of which can't ever be finished since I'm limited both by time and what I can actually mentally and physically accomplish. Rather than change, I'm going to add to this list (I also really enjoy lists) blogging.

Before I officially begin, I'll mention a few last things. First, my name is Matt, I'm currently an adjunct instructor at a community college teaching a writing course, and I'm interested in too many things.

Now I'd like to know about you. Really. As I said, I don't want this blog to be just about me, so I'm going to work to make each of these posts more of a question or launching point for a discussion in addition to ending them with direct questions to you.

Should any of the topics I address interest you, I'd love to hear your opinions and hopefully we can get a conversation (or more preferably a debate), going. Naturally, I don't want talks to devolve into mean-spirited arguments...but I digress.

Oh - actually, I'm at the end. So there it is. I hope you enjoy what you find and that I get to hear from you soon.

Thanks for reading,

-Matt