I’ve read many books that authors wrote on the subject of blogging, though I have to admit that I don’t know as much about keeping readers’ interest through a blog as I would like. I intend to learn. I face challenges because I do not have access to a computer or the internet, so I cannot browse around in the blogosphere to experience effective blogging strategies. That limitation comes as a consequence of my predicament, like so many other restrictions.
I may compare my challenge to someone who wants to learn how to fly an airplane. That student may read many aviation manuals. He may familizarize himself with all the gauges, switches, levers, and cockpit mechanisms. Until he sits in the pilot’s seat and practices, however, the student will not fully grasp the complexity of flying.
I write my blog entries by hand. When I begin I create an index that identifies the number, the category, the title, and what I perceive should be the tags. As soon as I finish one blog article, I fold the page and insert it in an envelope to send to my wife. From that moment, the blog is lost to me as she coordinates the typing and publishing and I move to the next article or writing project. The writing itself is therapeutic for me, though I’d like to become a more effective blogger on the prison experience.
Carole and I have been very fortunate to have guidance and support from Bean, a former classmate of ours. Bean has sent books, lesson plans, and lengthy, instructive letters to help my understanding of effective blogging techniques. My slowness in picking up all the intricacies of blogging may come from an incorrect belief that I’m always writing for a new reader, for someone who does not have any familiarity with my work. I’m always striving to build my network of support, or advance the call for prison reform. My thoughts were that by writing frequently, more people would find my work through search queries.
During a brief conversation I had with Carole today, I learned that Bean advised me to write fewer entires. My continuously mentioning the length of my prison term, or how long I had been confined, could be overkill. I won’t know the full message until Carole sends it to me through the mail. I’ll follow the guidance Bean gives, however, as she has taken more time to help me through this learning process than anyone else. I feel grateful for her patience and her instruction.
If I am to limit my blogging to fewer daily posts, I will focus more time writing on other subjects. I can always profile other prisoners; I can write more articles for PrisonTalk.com; and I can write for change.org. I also can devote more time to this book proposal I’ve begun. Writing helps me through each day, helps me feel productive. I still need to create this meaning in my life.
I ran 10 miles today, lifting my tally to 1,182 miles over the past 134 consecutive days.
Saturday, 25 April 2009
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