Blogging versus Professional Writing

For a large part of my life, I have earned my income from writing, editing and/or proofreading. Sometimes I worked on a free lance basis; other times, I was on staff and received a regular paycheck. Still other times found me working as a contractor. I've done this since 1976.

Blogging, however, is much different from what I did professionally. Anyone who knew me in my income-earning capacity will probably criticize quite a few of my blog posts. That doesn't bother me.

Blogging, you see, is casual. Many of my posts are written at the end of a day and are written quickly. I do not usually have time to proofread or edit carefully. And, to be truthful, I'd rather my posts be casual. They are meant to be a way for me to sort out my thoughts at the end of the day. I like to reflect on what I learned or did not learn. I like to review what went right and what went wrong.

Blogging tends to be, for many of us, an online diary.

However, we have to be very careful about this tendency. The internet being as public as it is, posts should stop at the edge of being too public with private matters. I'm sure most bloggers have already learned their lessons and have some interesting but sad anecdotes to share on this issue.

So, anyone expecting high-falutin' and pompous prose will probably be disappointed.

For the rest of you, I'm happy to have you reading these posts. Maybe some of my thoughts will help you sort out your own.