Maybe I'm reading too much into this. Perhaps the boredom of routine is being reflected in seeing patterns where they don't exist. But thus lies the fact. The moment I add someone to my Google Reader list or add their name to the homepage list on my blog, their output drops alarmingly. Some previously prolific bloggers do write on and off; however the names of those still hitting that 'publish post' button is dropping by the day. And, it isn't limited to those who write. Even the sites of some of the photographers whose works I look out for stay stubbornly silent.
Thankfully, not having reached that stage of loony where I think I'm somehow responsible for it, I do wonder what is going on. Have the writers reached an existential plateau, not allowing themselves to draw on daily experiences and write about them? Have the photographers stilled their mind's eye, forbidding themselves to distinguish the inconspicuous ? Is there something wrong with my Google Reader subscription ?
Speaking for myself, when I started writing this blog, it was a refreshing release from a chaotic life in foreign parts. I guess I didn't realise that the hullabaloo was fuelling the posts. Living a single guy's life in Mumbai should, technically, have provided a new surge to the writing. But, apart from a very brief window last year when I thought my social life had changed for the better (it hadn't), I can't recall a time when I was truly inspired to write. This reflects accurately in the number of posts written for the year, which has declined as surely as eggs are eggs.
Yes, the odd post inspired by pub talk, nostalgia and cricket made some sort of splash. On the whole though, the tone of the writing has stayed static. Routine can only be blamed for so much.
In a recent post, a friend wrote a rant, if that's possible. Changing environments doesn't necessarily translate into changes in oneself. Experiences across the spectrum - love lives and professional lives (and lack of success thereof) - stay pretty much the same. Recognising that we don't, won't or can't change, may make things easier. Patching up the ragged heart, quietening that dull roar in the mind... yea, all of that steadily requires less effort.
When you boil it down, writing a post and/or taking a photograph is, for me, still a creative effort. It needs imagination. It should not be forced. But it feels like the more time passes, the harder it is for us to be inspired.
I wonder how long before every blog post feels forcefully contrived.
Song for the moment: We never change - Coldplay
Thankfully, not having reached that stage of loony where I think I'm somehow responsible for it, I do wonder what is going on. Have the writers reached an existential plateau, not allowing themselves to draw on daily experiences and write about them? Have the photographers stilled their mind's eye, forbidding themselves to distinguish the inconspicuous ? Is there something wrong with my Google Reader subscription ?
Speaking for myself, when I started writing this blog, it was a refreshing release from a chaotic life in foreign parts. I guess I didn't realise that the hullabaloo was fuelling the posts. Living a single guy's life in Mumbai should, technically, have provided a new surge to the writing. But, apart from a very brief window last year when I thought my social life had changed for the better (it hadn't), I can't recall a time when I was truly inspired to write. This reflects accurately in the number of posts written for the year, which has declined as surely as eggs are eggs.
Yes, the odd post inspired by pub talk, nostalgia and cricket made some sort of splash. On the whole though, the tone of the writing has stayed static. Routine can only be blamed for so much.
In a recent post, a friend wrote a rant, if that's possible. Changing environments doesn't necessarily translate into changes in oneself. Experiences across the spectrum - love lives and professional lives (and lack of success thereof) - stay pretty much the same. Recognising that we don't, won't or can't change, may make things easier. Patching up the ragged heart, quietening that dull roar in the mind... yea, all of that steadily requires less effort.
When you boil it down, writing a post and/or taking a photograph is, for me, still a creative effort. It needs imagination. It should not be forced. But it feels like the more time passes, the harder it is for us to be inspired.
I wonder how long before every blog post feels forcefully contrived.
Song for the moment: We never change - Coldplay
Comments
And I get your point of a post feeling contrived. Thats mostly what made me stop.
@ Dionysus - Non sober time sparked ideas for some interesting stuff on this blog, so its ironic that we don't have enough space in sober time to take that further.
Also, your posts, while scandalously far and few, when published, don't feel contrived at all to me. I suppose, for every 1 that gets through, a 100 have died in drafts :)
BTW, loved your Song for the moment links idea.
Welcome to the blog & thanks for the comment. Keep visiting.