Sunday, September 23, 2007

Blogging meme

ABFH posted this meme at Whose Planet Is It Anyway. Thanks for asking, ABFH.

1. Is there a regular time of day when you compose your posts?

I tend to write early in the morning or late at night. If I’m working on something visual, that could be any time of day, but words are harder to come by in the afternoons.

2. Do you prefer to write a certain number of posts per week (or per month)?

Prefer to, yes. I like to make three or more posts per week, but have failed at that a lot lately.

3. Are you more likely to write a post when you're happy about the topic, or do you mainly blog when you feel like ranting?

It’s more based on what I see, either what others are writing or things in my immediate environment. It’s always great to find positive things, and I do write about these when they happen. Few people seem to take an interest in that. The last post I wrote about something I appreciated got two comments. Angry posts seem to resonate with more readers. None of this affects the balance of positive vs. negative subject matter, though. I write what I see going on, and my reactions to it.

4. Do you write from notes or an outline, or are your posts mostly spontaneous?

My posts are not of the type which require outlines. I enjoy reading blogs of a more scientific bent, full of long quotes, citations and well constructed arguments. That kind of writing is a lot of work and I very much appreciate the writers who take the time to do it. This probably has a lot to do with my still being in school and required to write a number of formal papers. While I enjoy doing that, my blog is for relaxation as well as advocacy. It’s a quick snack as opposed to a meal. Sometimes the snack is candy and sometimes it’s celery.

5. Do you try to maintain a central theme for your blog and avoid random topics that don't fit the theme?

This question is probably the reason I’m responding to this meme. There are a couple of things I’m working on figuring out about this. I started Asperger Square 8 with the intention of writing about autism, autistic advocacy and my particular obsessions (including rectangles and the number eight). I never intended to adhere to a strict interpretation of advocacy. But, I find I have written lately very little about squares, eight and my other obsessions. I don’t post as many of my drawings and photos as I did in the beginning. And I hesitate to include my more stream-of-consciousness or “off topic” writings. “Off topic” by whose definition? To write what I think I’m supposed to write, what kind of advocacy would that be?

Naming the central themes of my blog is easy. The questions I am struggling with as the blog matures are more complex, questions of range and scope and questions of purpose. Can I include some poetry here? What is my relationship to the larger disability community and culture? For whom am I writing this stuff?

6. Are there any interesting rituals associated with your blogging?

Obsessing about things, drinking coffee, sometimes rocking a little. Same as anything else I do. Which I guess means “no”.

6 comments:

  1. Celery can be good. A little no fat cream cheese....some coarse sea salt......

    ~Sarah

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  2. Likewise. I definitely started off in one particular direction, but now I'm not so sure, but definitely for fun.
    Best wishes

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  3. I've also had some evolution in themes and scope since I started writing my blog. My original goal was to motivate autistics to have more self-respect and to get involved in civil rights advocacy. That's still one of my themes, but now I also write about issues of family, community, and disability in general.

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  4. Every week we steal a meme from someone at random. It is for a featuring we call "Stealing". We do credit you, because we are honest thieves. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Bev,

    I don't know how to otherwise contact u. So here: Scientists identify part of the human brain that analyzes speech timing and processing - http://t.co/XXogZt97ee

    I found this to be fascinating.

    ReplyDelete

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