One for the Century

As all people with literary pretensions, I too belong to the earthly lot of people who yearn to exhibit their latest works of art, ramblings, logs to all and sundry and feel a queer thrill at just having shown to the world what they can (or cannot) do! ...

Those lines -- the lines that raised the curtains and opened my blog to the world -- are now one year old (I realised yesterday). I suspect I shall not echo the same thoughts today. For, one year and ninety-nine posts later, I harbour no more literary pretensions; I would not, in any exaggerated imagination, call this a work of art; and I am reasonably content now after having shown to the world my stunted capabilities. That I have managed to eke out approximately two posts a week for one year should tell you the amount of joblessness I preoccupy myself with. I am certainly wiser these days!

Let me proceed to quickly make a few jots that I, during the past year of blogging, had mentally made:

I gather that this blog does receive some readership. I really appreciate it, and I do admit writing to the gallery on quite a few occasions. I should tell you that I was glad to receive quite some feedback via the Comments section, emails, Messenger alerts (!), and, at times, even through the telephone or the person from known people. Some were motivating and a handful few, not quite so motivating. Anyway, I am, for my own sake, glad to receive feedback.

Over time, based on some feedback, I have put in conscious effort to make my blog more readable. More specifically, I have tried to simplify structure and avoid bombast. Regarding this issue, before I point all my fingers at myself, I will also tell myself once that earlier, when this blog had few or no readers, it was merely a rostrum for my experiments with wordplay. Things are a little different now, with a few more people stopping by for a little longer. For me, now the whole purpose of this endeavour has taken a less flippant turn. You might find the more recent articles more readable (I hope!) than the earlier ones.

The past year, I found that were quite a few writers and books that periodically influenced my attempts at writing. While the samples I churned out in those periods are not egregious by themselves, I was not completely happy when I re-read them. In fact, I avoid re-reading my articles these days; they leave me discontented. Anyway, not digressing, those were periods when I was reading a lot. I do not read much these days. In fact, it has been some time since I touched a book. But, I find it easier to blog these days when I am not influenced by another's style or content. On the other hand, I find that I have developed two or three styles of my own -- styles for different moods and genres. I am finding it increasingly tough to break the stereotype that I have subconsciously set for myself. Anyway, I hope I continue to believe that style is but a floating characteristic; a function of space and time.

I find that quite a few people subscribe to my blog now and then. While this motivates me to write more, there is also the self-imposed pressure of having to fulfil myriad expectations that just might exist. So these days, I try and write only when I have something substantial; else I try not to write at all. I think I have been reasonably consistent with this policy that I have adopted.

I also find that more of my friends, and more people all over, have taken to blogging in recent times. So, these days, blogging (and reading other blogs) has been all the more enjoyable. A lot of my friends maintain blogs on a wide spectrum of issues -- political blogs, daily journals, technical blogs etc. I think my blog will continue to remain what it is -- trivial!

I think there is still some time left before I will be done with blogging for good. So till then, I shall hope that all of you continue to stop by for those three minutes of hyperbolic balderdash!

- posted by Dileepan @ 9:03:00 am

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