Blog From A Hermit Dot Com

I have a world-class-professional-blogger-friend who sincerely believes all “writers” with an ounce-and-a-half of intelligence should be blogging.  He’s VP and New Media Specialist for a fairly large communications corporation so he speaks with some authority – and a reasonable bias. His personal blog, smays.com, is well-organized, clearly presented, and easy to navigate; with balanced, entertaining, makes-you-wanna-come-back content. Of course, he is my friend, so I could be biased, too.

Hermits Probably Shouldn’t Blog…

But I’m a hermit - by temperament and lifestyle. I’m an introvert, reclusive – an orientation not considered quite “normal” in our society.  I value privacy and solitude – A LOT.  I don’t dislike people and I don’t intentionally hide from social interaction, but I don’t invite it either. I find the quiet of “aloneness” restorative. I lead a contemplative life. You won’t often find me at “the party.”  I live in the woods. And as much as I enjoy my life, I find it difficult to imagine anyone else being particularly interested in it.

It could be said that I don’t technically qualify as a hermit because I have a life-partner of long standing.  But he is also a hermit. We were lucky to have found each other. (Without the compensatory hormones of youth, hermits would have gone extinct long ago.) My partner and I have a profound mutual respect for each other’s alone time. We lived on a 37’ sailboat together for many years and discovered ways of maintaining that respect even in such a confined space. You learn to sense when the “walls” are up and you don’t intrude. It’s part of our unspoken contract – the hermit’s code.

And doesn’t blogging invite the WHOLE WORLD into dialog? I have an introvert’s resistance to that invitation. You can’t expect the WHOLE WORLD to know the code.  In cyberspace, once the “walls” are down – can they be re-erected?

…But Writers Probably Should Blog.

But I do consider myself a writer even though writing has been an avocation so far. I have one unpublished book taking up storage space and two books underway (one to perfect, one just for fun). I write poetry and lyrics every once in awhile just because the words arrive and need further play. “Getting published” is, of course, a goal; but I am wise enough (and know myself well enough) to value the writing for its own sake, not necessarily for the financial outcome.  I often write to achieve clarity – more self-dialogue than public statement.

Ernest Hemingway said “Writing, at its best, is a lonely life” and ultimately committed suicide, possibly as a result. But the “lonely life” holds great appeal to us hermits. My ideal scenario would be to write a book, select a pseudonym, hand the project off to an agent or publisher and be done – back to the woods.

But no post-print involvement by an author – particularly a new author – is a thing of the past. Blogging is a tool I need in my arsenal – a utility in support of traditional publishing; a back-up plan if traditional publishing doesn’t work out; or a way to balance that pursuit of clarity with the satisfaction of being heard.

Blogging Hermit  – an Oxymoron?

I’ve played with micro-blogging on Twitter for several months. I enjoy the exercise even though I’m following and followed by very few (and I like it that way). Twitter seems a fine venue for musings with no place in “the big projects.”  But 140 characters per post feels just right, as does keeping the followers/followings to a quiet simmer.  More than 140 characters may exceed my comfort zone. My contentment with few followers contradicts the whole blogging culture, doesn’t it? Who checks their stats and then celebrates low numbers?

But I’ll ease into blogging – slowly,  while I finish up book project no. 1 – perhaps a post or a photo a week, categorize the endeavor as a fun experiment – a variety of play. By the time anyone finds my blog, it will probably be time to close down the experiment or relax into it. I have an open mind. I may discover that blogging is the perfect venue for a hermit. After all, it can be done while hiding in the woods.

I expect fewer than 20 people to read this post. But to the 10 of you who have made it this far, I promise all future posts will be much shorter. This is just the set-up. I’ll be saving words for the book projects. I hope to avoid blogging about writing – or writing about blogging. Both are well done by others. But I will report on my evolution as a blogging hermit – or hermit blogger. That is, afterall, the gist of the experiment.

And if I’m lucky, by the time I need to know what I’m doing – I’ll know what I’m doing. (All widget, plug-in and better-blogging advice is welcome.)

Is there such a thing as a tentative “GERONIMO?” Another hermit would, at least, understand the question.

Forward all blame or credit to smays.com.