What's this all for?

I'm not sure what this blog is about. I suspect most blogs start out that way. There's a danger that it really will become a place where I will just write drivel. But that's OK by me - at least for now. In fact it seems part of the point and attraction of blogging. My guess is that the secret of a good blog is that you write about something that you really care about. If so, there is a chance that even your drivel might speak to someone somewhere who cares equally about what you care about, and it perhaps means that the occasional self-indulgence will be forgiven.

I started this blog as a result of a vague feeling that it was something I needed to do. But it was the enthusiasm of a friend for blogging and its usefulness in education which gave me the incentive to actually get signed up and to get going. In the Writing Centre, we are fond of a quotation from the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus: "if you want to be a writer, write!" Sometimes, you've got to just do it.

The general idea for the blog is to have a place where I can record my thoughts on writing and teaching writing. I also want to give a flavour of what the London Met Writing Centre is about. It's a bit of a wacky place at times (we inhabit a basement, after all), but the people who work there care about what they are doing, and I hope that that will emerge from the entries on these pages. I'll record ideas in progress and who knows what else? And I'll use the blog to keep track of things I come across in reading - passages and texts which speak to me about what writing is. I'm sure I will be quoting others more than is wise from the point of creating a good blog, but, if I am honest, I am writing this very much for myself. As a writing instructor, I should know that that is dangerous and can lead to self-indulgence. But I have no idea if there is anyone out there in cyberspace who will want to read any of these thoughts, and if there is anyone who is interested in them I have no idea who that person will be. So I'll just write for myself for so long as I enjoy it.

Often when people get excited about writing, they get excited about the surface things, especially punctuation and grammar. Sometimes they get VERY excited about such things - even angry or indignant. How strange that is! My colleagues and students will tell you that I can get as excited about commas as anyone. But in this blog, I want to reflect a bit more deeply about the nature of writing, and that will take us beyond the commas and beneath the surface of writing. In particular, we will be lingering a while in that mysterious moment when writing actually happens. But there's no point spoiling all the surprises right now. Not that I have any idea what they will be!