The first anniversary of posted essays

by Richard L. Weaver II

This week is the first anniversary of the blog essays. This essay represents the completion of 52 posted essays. For me, it is both a celebration and a surprise. It is wonderful to know that that many essays have been written and posted. The surprise comes because the time went by so quickly. When I first began posting essays, I asked my son (my webmaster) two questions: Will it be possible to write one essay per week? And, if I find the burden too great, can we stop it at any time? The quick response to both questions was, “Yes.”

What was the initial reason for establishing the blog? Just over one year ago The (Toledo) Blade, because of the retirement of Tom Walton, the editor, discontinued the “Saturday Essay” feature that he had created to celebrate local writers, politicians, administrators, and anyone else who had ideas to share with the community. If you want to return and read the early correspondence I had with David Shutt, the new editorial director, go back to the blog dated September 15, 2007. For me, with 14 published essays, the “Saturday Essay” feature had become both an outlet and a source of entertainment and information, but it was no longer available.

The www.andthensomeworks.com blog was begun to continue the outlet for my writing. It was the idea of ANT, my son and webmaster, who has his own website at www.antworkstudio.com.

What happened as a result of the commitment and responsibility to write a weekly 1,000-word essay turned out to be a motivational element in my life. I have always harbored a clandestine desire to write a weekly newspaper column; however, I never really believed I could live up to the responsibility (nor did I really want to do so). But, during this period of time, I have kept track of the essays I have written. From August to December, 2007, I wrote about 29 essays. From January through July, 2008, I completed another 37 for a total of 66. Most of these have not been posted. Clearly, writing enough essays to fill the weekly blog spots was not a problem. Most of those posted were written prior to this period of time.

Because I have been involved in a number of other writing projects during this time — the ninth edition of my college textbook, Communicating Effectively, the first edition of my book, Public Speaking Rules!, and the first edition of the new essay book, You Rules! — I had to put aside a number of topics that I would have liked to write essays about but didn’t have the time.
In addition to these writing projects, I assembled another book entitled, Self-motivation, optimism, encouragement rules: Daily reminders for outstanding living. The title abbreviated spells out SMOERs, and it will be published in spring, 2009 — smokin’ hot!

There are several explanations for and results of my current writing situation. First, until I completed my teaching career, I never thought of myself as a writer, but, instead, a teacher with an additional interest in writing — maybe even a writing hobby. Things have changed, and I can now properly describe myself as a professional writer. But, the change was slow in coming, and to this day I am not totally comfortable with the title “writer.”

Second, I like what F. Scott Fitzgerald said about writing: “You don’t write because you want to say something; you write because you’ve got something to say.” For close to 30 years of teaching, I have been talking and writing about what I thought were consequential ideas. I have never claimed total originality, and I have always tried to give credit where credit was due, but retirement from teaching has opened an opportunity to concretize years and years of instruction.

Third, writing evokes writing. It cannot be denied. It is like an ongoing emotional release, and that catharsis frees me just as a shower cleanses and purifies. Ideas rebound unceasingly until I find time to refine, polish, perfect, and record them. Once recorded — even at times in unfinished form — I am released from their interminable persistence, their unrelenting nagging. This essay is a good example. I began writing it one day before Memorial Day (05-25-08) during a church service, and when I began writing it I had no clear subject nor direction, but the process of creation took over, and the writing became almost automatic.

Fourth, as Laurence Sterne, an author, wrote in 1760, “Writing, when properly managed, (as you may be sure I think mine is) is but a different name for conversation.” One of the persistent comments I have received over the years from students reading my textbooks is, “It sounds like you are carrying on a conversation with me.” The point here is simply that I enjoy conversing with readers, and if they believe there is a connection between author and reader — even if they do not agree with the ideas — I feel I have been successful.

Fifth, and this may be the most important point of all, when your focus is on writing, your mind becomes attuned and focused — engaged in selective attention. When you hear a new idea, read a unique thought, or generate a special view, opinion, or feeling, you tend to bounce it off the interior walls of your brain, look at it from a variety of angles, examine it over time, allow it to percolate, and determine if it merits a full-blown essay. It is the evolutionary nature of that idea that is finally transcribed and preserved, and even that idea changes over time. It is the sheer joy of generating ideas and having an opportunity to produce and share them in written form.

Sixth, any and all ideas are grist for the thoughtful mind. When you realize that ideas come from anywhere and everywhere, you never know when or from where the evocation will occur. Life takes on greater excitement, and circumstances sometimes tease and provoke the thoughtful mind. So many times, I come up with thoughts that need greater clarification or stronger support. In many cases, they end up lying dormant and unused like leftover food from a hearty, satisfying meal. More often, however, they provoke and stimulate other unthought about ideas which begin the process all over again.

The first anniversary — and this essay — has caused me to reflect. So many ideas, so little time! It is as if a habit has been formed, the roots of which dig deeply into the soil of my teaching and writing of the past — rich soil that simply needs sunlight, water, ample fertilization, and time to grow and ripen.

The answer to the opening question, “Can I even do it?” has been clarified, and the results are displayed for all to see and judge. I hope you have received some pleasure from these essays; I can tell you for certain, I have. As long as that pleasure continues, there will be more essays.

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“Meaning of your anniversary” can be found at the website, The Gleeze!, http://gleez.com/articles/did-you-know/meaning-of-your-anniversary, and here not only is the symbolic representation for each year of marriage noted, but the author also discusses appropriate gifts. I thought the suggestion for the first anniversary (paper) of pouring your heart out in a love letter is an appropriate suggestion. I may write a love letter to my blog readers; it’s a nice thought.

Speaking of writing a love letter to my blog readers (which my essay may be considered! — well, maybe not!) there is a website, Romanceforeveryone, http://www.romanceforeveryone.com/love-letters/ where there are samples of 24 different “romantic love letters to my sweetheart” written by Timothy Mahar. Now, you don’t have to even be creative in constructing your own! These are incredibly romantic, nicely constructed, sweet, and endearing.

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Contact Richard L. Weaver II