Striking a Balance

I have been struggling with the difference between writing a book and writing a blog. I know how to write a book, but I have resisted blogging for a long time for various good reasons. The first is because as a writer, I don't believe in giving away my writing when I could publish it somewhere that will pay me (if we keep giving it away, no one will ever pay us) and that will make my resume longer, thus enticing other publishers to take a chance on me. There are also weird copyright issues I still haven't figured out (like the fine print on Blogger--do they own the rights to anything I post?) There is also the privacy issue. I'm a private person, and blogging seems like a way invite voyeurism. For some reason, I feel fine about publishing the most deeply personal essays in a national magazine or a book, but putting it on the web is altogether different and uncomfortable to me. Perhaps because there is no barrier to entry. In order to read my essay in print, a person has to hold a copy of the magazine or book in their hands, and they are unlikely to come across it while looking for something unrelated, say, porn.

But as I have been finding my way around the blogosphere I can see the appeal of an honest, personal record, with discretion, of course. It is the appeal of personal stories that is the reason that half of my birth book is made up of the personal birth stories of LDS women. It also has some good and researched writing by me, of course, but the reason I have included so many personal stories is because stories have the power to change us. They can lift us up out of apathy or despair. They make us see what is possible and inspire us to be better.

So, friends, be patient with my growth as a blogger as I try to find my balance between my own personal story, and sharing important information which I hope will inspire and change at least one woman's experience.