Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Flash Blogging make me Nervous
I’m climbing up the stairs of Reed Hall and I’m dreading it already. Soon I’ll be sitting behind that computer, you know the one; it stares back at you, taunting, teasing, with its malevolent cursor flashing-- daring you to write. Then the announcement comes. Today’s topic is wamwamwamp. Begin. Ah, the flash-blog, that name-stay of Styles and Ways of Blogging, which makes my heart race and causes my palms to get clammy. The very idea of having to produce some piece of myself in three to five minutes makes my stomach churn. I am a perfectionist. I am indecisive. These facts make it difficult for me to commit to a course of discussion, and not re-read every sentence seventy-two times to make sure that there isn’t a misplaced modifier. Not to mention the anxiety produced by trying to craft a masterpiece, yes a masterpiece, in the miniscule time allotted. There is this inescapable- almost dire need to put forth something unique and astounding in 150 words or less, and it gives me the willies. Stop. Time is up. I feel myself exhaling; I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath. Yet the perfectionist in me surfaces again and I find myself trying to tear my eyes from the screen and pry my fingers from the keyboard as Dr. Harrison moves on to the topic of the day.
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5 comments:
It's adorable that you are so concerned about your writing and your thoughts. I don't know if I could ever define a 150-words essay a masterpiece, but I think this post of yours is very original. Yes, maybe you are right: a little masterpiece!
Cheers! You've nailed it!
I know that feeling too: staring straight into the terrible gullet that is the flash blog and wondering what exactly you are going to find to write about.
At the end of the whole thing, I usually look down at my screen and see a big, stinking pile of word vomit.
Good to know that I'm not the only one who has a small freak-out at the beginning of every class.
This is awesome! I grimace at the thought of flash blogging. However, your post made me giggle because I, like Katie, am glad I'm not the only one.
i did these type of on the spot writing assignments in a couple of writing classes a few years back. you never get used to them but they do function to wake up that creative side of your thinking cap. funny how after you are told to stop typing is when you think of all the really good things you could have written.
I get nervous to the point of pure abandonment, and that’s where the crazy off the wall thoughts and ideas come form. Perhaps that is the idea. But personally I never could classify any of my flash blogs as a masterpiece.
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