The Blogging Wars: My Hope

A long time ago, in a city far, far away, the Internet was born.  While Christ spoke of an individual being “born again,” the Internet exists in a constant state of rebirth.  Like George Lucas’ gargantuan Walkers, human invention and innovation march relentlessly onward.  It used to be that only the most technically savvy operated their own blogs and websites.  Suddenly, everyone was doing it.  In last month’s Locus magazine, award-winning author James Patrick Kelly cites somber statistics compiled by the Pew Research Center: in 2006, 28% of teens and young people were bloggers. Then Twitter and Facebook emerged as super-power, and captured whole swathes of internet users.  By 2009, those earlier percentages had fallen by half, suggesting that blogging is a dying art.  Given this bleak outlook, perceptive individuals blessed with Hercule Poirot’s gray cells might ask: Why are you starting a blog now?

The above-mentioned issue of Locus featured a section celebrating “Science Fiction in the Digital Age,” with interviews and commentary from noted authors (and active bloggers) such as John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman, and Charles Stross.  Publishers and editors such as Toni Weisskopf and Lou Anders spoke of how their respective publishing houses have waded into the digital waters with their various non-print offerings, while Patrick Nielsen Hayden of Tor spoke of the continuing role Tor.com and Making Light (a blog he and his wife created) play in keeping the conversation going between fans of the genre.  Other publishers and authors astonished me with how many online magazines offered new fiction every month, as well as the surging popularity of podcasting.  But who are you to dive into this ocean teeming with so many established stars and deserving personalities? you may ask.  What will you offer that we cannot get from established, more creditable sources?

A logical question, a certain Vulcan might observe.

All the writing texts offer this little gem: Write what you know.  A question asked of writing students by their teachers is this: What do you care about?  Or: What are you most passionate about?  It has been said that the popularity of science fiction and fantasy rests less in books than in the power of ideas, and that the purpose of great storytelling is to propel that conversation of ideas forward.  If there’s one thing I love, if there is one thing that I crave, it is to emerge from reading or watching a great story, and come away changed: to see the world in a different way.  Therefore, this blog will be dedicated to celebrating the work of those gifted souls who devote their time, talents, and perseverance to creating such memorable stories.  I hope you will join me on this quest, and enrich this blog with your participation.

Dragon Dave