Nick Norelli done tagged me! The latest meme is quite a fun one. Here are the rules:
Rule 1) List three reasons for your blogging.
Rule 2) List these rules.
Rule 3) Tag three others with the thread.
Reason 1:
Originally I just had things to say that didn’t really fit in the context of group discussion boards or mailing lists or comments on other blogs. Topics that would draw out lengthier essay-like musings simply need a home of their own. And since blogs are so easy to set up these days, it was an easy thing to do. My first substantial post, Sun, Moon, and Storms, shortly and sweetly suggests a solution to a problem that many don’t recognize exists. I’m still quite happy with my suggestion.
Reason 2:
I remember way back when, when weblogs were a new thing, looking at various different ones (long before there were any biblical studies blogs) and thinking, “God, the ego of these people! Who on earth cares to read this stuff?” Yikes. What a meany. But blogging really is a way to make connections with many different people. I’ve had a really enjoyable time “meeting” all the various people I have through our blogging and mailing list connections, all of which seem to have taken off into a new level lately, particularly with the very recent launch of The Biblicalist. There are a number of very well-known scholars I’ve met through my blog, some still only electronically, but a number in person, and I’m even working on a book with one of them now (and I mean right now, as in a “the books are on the desk around the computer and I need to finish this post and get back to it!” kind of now), which is exciting, and for another I’ll be proofreading his next book later this year or early the next. I’m also having fantastic conversations via email with scholars I’ve learned much from, who’ve written in response to something I’ve written on my blog. These things certainly would not have happened had I not been blogging. I’d not still be learning at such a satisfying level, either.
Reason 3:
I’m enjoying writing much more than I used to because of the blog, and that makes me want to write even more, just for the act of writing. I’m enjoying not just the wordplay that people have sometimes mentioned they enjoy in my writing, but the very act of constructing essays, which blog posts really are. The essay is not a form that’s well-used anymore. I’ve heard, though, that it’s coming back into appreciation precisely because of the widespread interest in blogging. Short, tightly constructed, and pointed writings are difficult to successfully achieve, which is what the essay is meant to be. Blogging is a kind of writers’ workshop, really. The more the better. The goal is to be able to toss off an essay on any given topic, which may sound like a party trick, but will be very helpful if not necessary for something that’s coming up for me (more on that later!).
So, I tag my Orthodox brother, well-crowned in words, Esteban; my recuperating friend and fellow moderator Iyov; and another friend and fellow moderator, John “Big Daddy” Hobbins. Have at it, gents!
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