Dear blog readers, you are being used!

Confession of the day—I’m a vampire. If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ve probably figured out I write many of my posts ad hoc—in essence they’re Tweets with no character limit. Often, not always, I write these posts because I need your help. I need you to help me sort out what I think.

We’ve all heard the purported Flannery O’Connor quote: “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” I’ll paraphrase that to say, “I post because I’m not sure what I think until I read what you say.” That’s why your comments are so important to me.

Whether you agree or disagree with what I’ve written, you help me refine my thinking. Sometimes you give me affirmation. Sometimes you point out that I apparently have a screw loose. Sometimes you take my thoughts in an unexpected direction, inspiring and challenging me.

I’m not a teacher. I’m not an essayist. I don’t blog to give you something. I’m selfish. Oh sure, occasionally I share something I’ve learned by writing, or reading … or gardening, shopping, or cooking. Often I point you to another blogger who writes the lovely posts I wish I could write. But mostly I just blather on some topic or another and hope you’ll help me make some sense of it.

My husband doesn’t understand the point of social networking. He converses only face to face or by telephone. Then again, he’s not a writer. What comes out of my mouth is rarely what I spend most of my time thinking. My written words run far deeper than my spoken ones—blog posts excluded. I even find it hard to voice record notes to myself—my mind tends to go blank when I open my mouth. I express myself much easier in written word. Blogging is a natural for me.

Unfortunately, I mostly blog my half-formed thoughts, my questions, my theories, and expect your comments to complete the equation. Sometimes, even when I felt I’d formed a complete thought, your comments reveal another aspect I hadn’t considered.

So, yes, my friends, you’re being used … but I hope you don’t mind.

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