Shopping List

I got nice feedback about my recent writing style. My friend told me that now I have ‘free style’ but I often ‘lost’ in the language. I reflect. Yes, often I wrote a piece (blog-post or email) too quickly. I rechecked but I didn’t spend more time to rephrase or rewrite if necessary. I use blog as my ‘trashbin’. Many people have private journal as theirs and it’s good that no one watch the ‘trash’ unlike in blog.

I remember the same issue was discussed in Ubud Festival. Almost all journalists have blog for their ‘free writing’ style. An IT journalist said that he spent time to check his post and go back to edit if necessary during the day. A blog for him is more for his ‘writing practice’.

For me, writing a post is like writing a shopping list. I list my experience without detail; only one who knows my context knows the rest detail (or many just don't care). For instance I write “coffee”, I know that I point to ‘Nescafe Decaff Black Series’ but not person who reads. Often it's confusing to follow the whole context. MBO raised similar issue when she started reading my blog. I told her that I don’t feel the need to write all the details, say about a friend’s character, because my posts form a continuing story. And it’s “mine”; it’s for me (the blogging spirit).

I realized that I simplify too much. For instance in my yesterday’s post I wrote “Gym looked like a good idea…” What kind of style is that? That’s my ‘shopping list’ style. I should have written something like “Going to gym seemed to be a good idea..” I really should take time to think about the right order and article to make sentence in a good standard grammar of a language.

Like my oral discourse, I often don’t make myself clear. I don’t express things systematically because I like to ‘jump’. I very much rely on my listener’s creativity to get what I want to say. Only few who can laugh before I complete my sentence or at my strange diction (I like to coin word). I remember it took awhile for RAD to laugh instantly at my noti remarks when we first met. Now she has less problem in understanding my discourse, I guess.

Well, all started from my long email about cross-cultural issue to a friend. It’s always difficult to write a sensitive issue in short but elaborative way, or long but clear. Even columnist in JP cannot convey the whole message precisely (because they are limited by a certain number of words?) That’s challenging..

Now I don’t know whether I should keep my blog as my shopping list or my writing-practice ground.