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Question for the week
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Posted: 05/26/08 It was four years ago on May 20, 2004 that I wrote my first blog. Called “Gauging Voices,” it was about how I listen to weather reports on the telephone. But I didn’t mean the standard variety. I meant that because my sons live far away from me, much of our communication is by telephone and I’m always trying to gauge how they’re faring in their respective corners of the world. I likened their voices to a barometer. Since then I’ve written 861 more blogs on a myriad of subjects ranging from memories of my own childhood, opinions regarding current events, books I’ve taken a liking to, and anything else that catches my fancy. Often I find inspiration while driving and then return home to put it down on the virtual paper of the Internet. Along the way, I’ve broken the one rule that started it all but made a couple others for guidance. Originally, I intended to write each blog in ten minutes. Sometime I do, but other times I don’t. Author Natalie Goldberg, who subscribes to this writing practice, probably wouldn’t scold me too much, given my output. Rule #2: I made a conscious decision never to write anything I wouldn’t sign my name to or shout from the corner of State and Madison. I’ve kept this one, because one’s words are on the Internet forever and it is too easy to have them misinterpreted. Rule #3: I decided not to air any family grievances or disagreements with friends as I’ve seen other bloggers do. For my rationale, see Rule #2. In the beginning I wrote daily, but as time has passed I write as the spirit moves me. It obviously moves me often as my average over the four years is a blog every day and a half. Adding them all together, I’ve written 249,636 words. This is approximately half the length of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Not that I’m comparing myself with the great Russian author, but his word count is certainly impressive. Including serious revisions, he did it in six years. As for me, at the current rate I’m writing, it will take another four. And Tolstoy’s work isn’t even considered the longest well-known novel in existence; that honor goes to Marcel Proust and In Search of Lost Time. Nobody’s every actually counted his words, but estimates are around three million. I don’t even want to do the math to learn how long I’d have to write to join his company.
Previous entries Due to the volume of entries, Anne's Ten Minutes A Day are now categorized by date and by topics. Some essays are found under more than one topic. Otherwise, select from the categories below.
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