Cary Tennis After Hours

Musings, outtakes and daydreams

Cary Tennis

Cary Tennis
Location
San Francisco, California, USA
Birthday
September 11
Title
Since You Asked advice columnist
Company
Salon.com
Bio
Cary Tennis writes the Since You Asked advice column for Salon.com. He also leads writing workshops and runs a small publishing company. He lives in the Outer Sunset/Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Francisco with his wife Norma, who is a painter and book designer, and their two standard poodles, Lola and Ricky.

MARCH 1, 2010 1:08PM

I had a realization!

Rate: 9 Flag

Big thought just hit me. I kinda have trouble writing for the blog. How come? dunno, dunno, dunno, then it hit: I had no idea who I was writing to. That's it! Also why advice column is such an excellent format for me: I know who I am writing to!

Try it. Writing letters! I was doing it this morning. There were things that had to be said to specific people and so the writing became focused and personal and clear.

So i thought: OK, for the blog, I'll write to somebody. what name? I like the name "Julie." I dunno why. I had the name "Julie" in my head. Like, "Dear Julie." Maybe the name will change. Maybe sometimes it will be "Betty" or "Fred." Any name. Just a name. nobody in my family. important somehow: no family: But for now it's julie. OK. So when I want to write I will just write to julie. I have lots of things I want to write to julie. what is going on with me and why, so forth, no worries. in a nutshell: a posited being that gets it.

oh, i had a couple of other realizations too. i'll just put them in there too.

oh, and this: Jesus holy mother of God the Tuesday night workshops begin tomorrow and I need to make some phone calls!

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Comments

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Can't wait to hear what's happening with you!

Julie
I realized something similar, recently . . . letter "form" - even in my head - focuses what I'm trying to get to . . .
I was hoping you are alright. Hadn't heard from you in awhile.

Blogging to the void; writing to thin air isn't fun for me. I don't have a sense of my audience either. Feels like a room full of empty chairs sometimes.
Please, Cary, do keep blogging. There are many of us silent readers out here who are deeply interested and concerned about what you are going through. Think of us as "Julie" or whoever you choose but understand that your insights and feelings are needed by and valuable to us.
I wonder if this is why MrsRaptor's letter to yourself at 17 Open Call was so successful. We all got to write to someone. - Clark/aka Julie (r)
So glad to hear from you, Cary. Was getting worried. Glad you are OK.
Sounds like you're recovering well. Good luck with the workshops!
Dear Cary,

This works for me.

Julie
:) I write. A lot. I write my "diary" and memoirs in blog format because I too realized I need the audience. I cheat and don't write the things I already know, if I know only I am reading. Writing to strangers forces me to explain clearly and in detail and helps me to fully explore what it is Im writing about.

Sometimes I comment on YOUR column just as a way of exploring my own thoughts. So PLEASE, feel free to write to US, Im sure many of us owe you one.
I started really being able to write when I decided not to show my work to people I know. Its embarrassing but there it is. I was stuck for years, now it flows. It got a little bit boring writing for myself so I joined OS for a while and posted but then I started writing for OS (as in OS was my audience) and that wasn't what I wanted to write at all. I sound like all the comments only longer. So I am back to writing alone, which is OK, I like what I write most of the time. Also I learned that if I accept praise for my work I also have to accept criticism and that is a hard lesson to learn.
K