A very interesting discussion is occurring on the Australian Association of Writing Program's postgraduate website the Writingnetwork.edu.au.
As part of many PhDs in Creative Writing the scholars must keep a writer's journal which is reflective of the process of scholarship and creative production of the Artefact. From this personal journey material emerges a record of research practice which is interrelated to the actual creative writing component. Each is expected to feed off each other thus generating an intellectual conversation between art and craft.
On the website the current Editor of the Month, a friend and co-scholar, Di, has posed the question; what is the difference between a journal and a blog?
I thought that addressing this question belonged in my Blog. I am using this blog as my writer's reflective journal.
Why?
Because an electronically archived series of entries and prinatble documents are able to be searched by tagged keywords and themes.
This allows me to also search in my bibliographic software program, Endnote for similar keywords and themes that I have listed in my fields. I am expecting that I will be able to draw together my own thoughts on the writing process with those of academics and professional writers on each key theme as it emerges.
I foresee that my exegesis will contain many styles of written text and voice, the academic voice; formal and refined, the colloquial (mine and authors from podcasts and audio files or interview transcripts), and my informal reflections from my blogs.
There is however, one very BIG difference between a blog and a journal.
The writer's journal is for all intents and purposes a private series of written entries. It is conceived of as a private space. Only certain things will be shared with the examiners, supervisors and fellow academic scholars. Thus anything can be written about without fear of self-disclosure.
The blog on the other hand is for the public domain. The author consciously decides what is posted to the blogosphere. The reason for this restraint and self-censorship was very well described by Mia Freeman in her weekend column of the Age weekend glossy magazine last weekend.
She speaks of how as an employer she was able to eliminate three candidates from her shortlist of potential employees just by checking their FB and Twitter accounts. In the same way we are judged by our appearance, voice, clothes etc, we are also judged by our cyberspace persona.
She describes de-selecting these job applicants because one thought her best public persona was that of a binge drinker getting 'wasted' each weekend. Another was very indiscreet and bitchy about her current employer... not a good sign for a prospective employer to read.
Why on earth did these women think their cyberspace persona (with or without avatar) is disconnected from their real selves?
In my blog I am always aware of moral and ethical perspectives on what I write. How will/does my entries impact on those who have experienced what I am blogging about? How do the people I blog about feel about 'their story' and their 'selves' being placed on display for public consumption? Am I being respectful and not mining their emotions for material?
Of course how I perceive someone or something is not the definitive truth, it is my 'take' on things on this given day at this particular moment at the keyboard. The guiding rule is how does this text show me in the public domain?
Okay, so why have I chosen a public domain for my writer's journal? Many reasons.
- I want it electronic.
- I want it tagged and searchable.
- I want it public.
- I want readers to gain an insight into Bipolarity.
- Bipolarity and madness is the theme of my novel and a key theme in the exegesis.
- Madness and creativity is another key theme in my exegesis.
- Gender and stereotyping is a further key theme in my exehesis.
- These key themes are being explored for academic and public consumption.
- I aim to raise awareness of Creative Writing doctorates and practice.
- My exegesis is conceived as publishable in academic texts and public forums thus my blog needs to be public for readers to find their own way into my story as writer and woman.
Don't even ask me how I integrate my 'inspiration wall', my post-it notes, clippings, photos and general source material for my writing. Perhaps this is my archive?
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