i have the power

I received a 'fan' email:

"I don't remember how I discovered your blog, but I'm glad I did. I like to search for amusing blogs, and yours is a great one. You really know how to be funny in print, which is not an easy thing to do. Keep up the good work."

Gary

I’m sooooooo awesome. Even Gary thinks so and he would know. So much pressure tho. I have my off days, in blog and in life, where I just can’t crack a joke to save my life. Where my witty remarks are stilted and awkward and my blog is bland and questionable at best. I’m glad that the general idea is getting across. I’m great.

It’s funny tho, if you asked me two years ago what my strengths in writing were I would NEVER have said comedy. I’ve always been a writer. Ever since grade 2 when we had to make a poster of what we wanted to be when we grew up and I did a picture of myself at a typewriter (with long hair – if you’ve noticed from all my childhood pictures I had short hair forever and was repeatedly mistaken for a boy. Bastards.) and NOVELIST written boldly at the bottom. I still have the poster, I’ll have to show it to you sometime. It’s a crayon masterpiece.

Anyway my writing journey began in grade 2 with short stories. Mostly grisly tales or fantastic yarns. Maybe I threw a little humour in now and then. To this day short stories are my favourite things to write. There was a time, however, when it seemed like my whole life was consumed and fuelled by poetry. This was, you guessed it, high school. Oh teen angst you are a worthy muse. You just get a little tiresome after a few years. To be perfectly honest the muse of angst stayed with me past university, I just drowned her out for periods with the fun things you run into while away at school.

Moving on.

So you see my history with emotion laden prose sometimes held me back, I think, from trying new things. I started this blog while in a bad situation and originally intended for it to follow that pattern. I think. Check out my first entry and you’ll see what I mean. Writing almost every day has exercised muscles previously used only in burst and flurries. I also owe a thank you to Maria, who got me into this wonderful mess and kept me here with a fun back and forth banter online. Also when people started reading, and commenting, I knew someone was out there so I was writing for more than myself. I have no problem letting myself down, but others, that really sticks in my craw. What’s a craw? Is it a human body part or some sort of pond crustacean? Well either applies in this case. Jer also made a difference in my gradual emergence into fun writing. Just by being around. I was having more fun in the world wide world and that translated onto the page. Virtual and otherwise.

Now this, this is what I really love about writing. You have no control. You can intend to write about something entirely different, or want a character to go one way and once you start you just have to hang on see where you end up. I really just wanted to do a funny quip about how fabulous Gary and I are and how great appreciative emails are.

Well there’s always ms paint for that. Behold my power! In all it's sepia-toned glory!