His Hand is on the Door

The Process…

December 11th, 2008

When it comes to writing for this space, it’s interesting to me how much I am engaged in the process of writing more than I actually write.  For those of you who are new to reading my work here, you’ll find that it makes me somewhat of an unconventional “blogger”.  Why? I find that what I do in processing ideas internally is what actually drew people initially to the blog format.  In other words, the original “genius” of blogging was the unconventional manner in which writers would process “out loud” in putting their thoughts and ideas on the page, often before really thinking them through or testing them.  Thus the “comments” and dialogue that followed became more lively and conversational in tone versus the traditional “thumbs-up!” or, “great stuff!”.  

The old-school “blog” felt like the older-school barber shop.  

Of course, I’ve never approached blogging that way.  When I posted my first articles here a couple of years ago, most of the comments that came back were, “Wow, like your stuff - but it’s so long!” and, “Man, you break the blogging rules - try breaking up your posts into shorter nuggets!”  What few anticipated then was that the desire for “short” was knit to the desire for on-the-fly ideas and snippets that could be assimilated quickly - if at all.  Thus the general phase-out of “blogging” as the primary 2.0 format by which people socialize and engage in conversation on the web - hello, Facebook and Twitter!  

Most people crave touch points and relational “handles” by which to grasp and connect, even in small ways, with people they have various amounts of affection for.  The quick “hit” of a tweet or a status update scratches the itch of feeling like you grasp the flow of someone’s life without having to do the work of actually engaging them in dialogue.  It gives us a way to scratch the voyeuristic craving that blogs initially fed at some level.  Blogs were the web version of the reality show - Facebook and Twitter have brought the show to the next phase because of the speed and pace at which both feed the 24/7 desire of the human mind and heart to be engaged in something quasi-informational and relational.

The blogs that still remain as influential, the ones that have stayed relevant, are the ones that were never designed to be a running diary or provide a short-burst of a conversation topic.  The ones that remain are those whose only currency is the provision of ideas and the exploration  of concepts that one could not typically make apart from a collaborative effort.  That’s just a fancy way, of course, to say that the blogs that are still going strong “bring something to the table” that most could not provide on their own: insight, perspective, information, or opinion that helps fuel the trafficking of ideas. 

This is not, however, an apologetic for the blogging medium or is it really meant to offer perspective on the future of blogging in general.  To be honest, I have never cared about the “trend”, nor have I looked to capitalize on anything related to the blogging genre.  It took me a while to warm up to this format - until I discovered what a helpful resource it could be for me to exercise my writing muscles and really write things people cared to read.  Coming off of the publication of End Times Simplified in 2005, it was clear to me that I had to grow as a writer. 

Thus it is with far more confidence that I shape Signs of the Times as I labor for clarity and readability.  I have three years of regular writing under my belt, and the process of engaging with folks on the other side of these articles has really helped me shape and craft my ideas and bursts of inspiration.  I’ve been able to explore ideas that I normally don’t have an avenue to express - particularly in the political realm, though, of course, that part of my life is changing a bit.  Though I have been an infrequent visitor lately, I am reaffirming my love of this medium as a place to craft and express the many things that are churning within me.     

All of this flowed from my own musings on the process of writing, and how much I think about this space - even when the articles and postings are scarce.  Here on this site, if an idea makes it to the proverbial page it is because I’ve really thought it through and felt enough about the concept or idea to get it out there.  Every once in a while I will be informational, but that has always been reluctantly on my part.  Every once in a while I will be humorous, but really I have found that my voice is strongest here when I am being earnest, forthright, and sober in my approach.  Here, I am a watchman - not a satirist.  

This has been my approach - stew on an idea, think it through, and if it has “life” on it then write it down and see what happens; if not, set it aside.  This has led to less frequent posting, longer posts, a less “conventional” web voice - all of which has surely cost me a little bit in terms of readership.  Again, I haven’t really cared for that line of thinking anyways.  I’ve only and always wanted to, in this space, express my longings and observations about God, His word, and the times in which we live (hence the name and the tagline).  I will continue to do so.

I write this mostly for those who are newer who haven’t been following as long as some of you that have been tracking here for a little while.  Hopefully, this will help you get to know me a little better and follow along related to the “why” behind the “what”.  As one who has always been fascinated by “process” and how things work, this was also a mostly personal, self-analytical, and probably too self-important glance at what I’m doing here.  I hope it served its purpose.

Signing up again to write, 

David 

Entry Filed under: life at ihop-kc, writing