Solving Life's Problems with Creative Typing

Thanks to the exodus this summer of the group of readers I picked up during my heady Blogs of Note days I've been contemplating my blog, The Splintered Mind, and wondering what I'll do with it. You see, my goal was never to become rich and famous through my blog. I just wanted to learn how to talk about my disabilities with a cheeky sense of humor, hone my writing skills, and connect with people. I've accomplished all those goals but the blog feels lacking of late. The problem I'm having is that my disabilities are getting in the way of a regular publishing schedule. Since my readers are an absentminded bunch of loons (unlike me, of course), they've gotten out of the habit of visiting me. That's my theory anyway.

What's that you say? Maybe they just don't like reading me anymore? Well, I am an annoying little git. "You can do it!" "Don't let your lame brain get you down!" "AD/HD is a positive thing! Just tell yourself that the next time you get fired for making a stupid mistake!" "Depression is simply a state of mind." "Don't worry! It's all in your head!" "Why is the milk in the cupboard?"

Truth is, maybe I'm missing something vital in my writing that used to connect with people. Maybe I'm too serious. Maybe my works don't inspire comments anymore. You see, I gauge how successful a column is by how many comments it attracts. The Splintered Mind still garners comments, albeit in reduced numbers, but my other blogs don't. Like this one. And my LiveJournal blog.

So it's time for a change. I don't even like LiveJournal. If I'm going to blather on and on about my writing goals, I might as well do it here on my own website. Nobody's reading what I'm writing over there anyway. I lack the desire to run around commenting on people's LJ pages hoping to gather friends that will post vacuous but supportive comments on my dribblings. Besides, I am NOT distracted is a distraction and I have goals to meet.
So from now on The Absentminded Bookshelf will become my writer's and artist's journal. I can express things here that I wouldn't put on The Splintered Mind. Things like: This has been a hard week. The ticking has been terrible. I'm stuttering like Max Headroom. My hands are doing a great curly fries imitation. My sleep is upside down again. I'm depressed. I'm feeling urgency to home school my children but riddled with self-doubt. And I want to buy a new Mac. Steve, why do you tempt me so?

I'll still do the odd book review or two, but I'll also post my art here and wax eloquent about my lofty writing goals. And just maybe, while I'm commenting on my journey towards success, I will find that missing element that made my other blog so interesting and put it back in again.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Since I've only just found your blogs, it's hard to say what might have changed. I haven't made time to go back to read all the archives! I can say that the pieces I've found and shared with friends show a gifted writer who reminds me a lot of my husband.

Even though he doesn't have the tics or curly fry fingers, everything else fits (including the hankering for a new Mac). I know the most profound entries for me are the ones where you DO share your struggles, and how you've overcome them. It gives me hope that my family can somehow get out of the pit we've fallen into this year. I have two job interviews next week, and I'm desperately hoping to have a full time income so we won't lose our house.

It gives me hope that since you have overcome some of your disabilities, my husband can too. My 6 year old son is now headed down the same road, and I want to prevent the self-esteem crash in him that I have witnessed in my husband.

Thanks for promising to write about your perspective on what a spouse can/should do. I trust that I'll get the column on the day I need to hear it the mose (God does those things for me regularly).

Originally posted August 26, 2006 8:47 PM
March 04, 2007 5:07 AM
D.R. Cootey said…
Thank you so much for your comments, Claire. I am really going to reply to that question of yours, but I have been pondering it. I want to do it justice. It's a two edged column because the original poster wanted tips on how to help a husband understand her disability, whereas you want to help your husband's disability. You both are coming at the problem from different angles.

I hope you won't mind today's post. It's about frustration and impatience. I'm afraid I've not overcome those aspects of AD/HD. But maybe my entry will help you understand your husband a bit better. I'm anxious for my wife to come home from her trip to read what I wrote. I hope it helps her understand me better. I really do.

Take care, and I'll probably have that column you're expecting in two weeks. (I've already written next week's column).

Hey, maybe you could email me and I could give you a sneak peak of that column when I write it next week. Might even be helpful for me...

Originally posted on September 16, 2006 2:19 AM
March 04, 2007 5:08 AM
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