A blog about something

Is there a baby boomer alive who doesn’t remember Jerry Seinfeld’s and George Costanza’s oddball pitch for a television sitcom, “a show about nothing”?



Well, I'm aiming to write “a blog about something.”

My friend Anne and I -- both of us displaced print journalists -- have been brainstorming blogs over lunch since February. She recently helped her mother, Robin Hathaway, a mystery writer in New York, launch a blog called “Robdoneit.” Before that, Anne and I wrote blogs at the Loudoun Times-Mirror. Anne is convinced that if writers want to stay in the game, they have to blog. They have to be “out there.”

I've been curious but reluctant. How would I set up a blog that wasn't affiliated with an existing newspaper or Web site? Anne deftly directed me to resources. How would I, someone without an art background, design a layout? She suggested I look for blogs I liked and emulate their features.

One of my favorites is David Loeb’s blog, "Musings of a Pediatric Oncologist," at doctordavidsblog.blogspot.com. Dr. Loeb, my son David’s doctor, generously shared with me some of the unexpected pleasures and benefits of blogging. He patiently answered questions about such things as “search engine optimization.”

But content proved to be the bugaboo. I had to write about something! During March I stewed over topics. Should the theme be broad so I’d have lots to say? Should it be narrowly focused to distinguish it from the zillions of blogs out there? I tried several ideas on for size, but none fit.

My friend Megan suggested I look at dooce.com, an enormously popular blog by Heather B. Armstrong, a Web designer and “recovering Mormon.” She blogs about, well, mom stuff. I thought, “I can do that.”

Meanwhile, I resisted launching a public blog because I was quite happy with my private blog on the CarePages Web site. There I could keep writing about our ongoing, but diminishing, cancer challenges as my family tentatively moved forward after a year of upheaval. I could tell my stories from a recovering cancer mom's point of view.

But suddenly David took editorial control of our CarePage, and my role was curtailed. I could almost feel myself gasping for air, my lifeline cut off. The time had come to launch a new blog, whether or not I was ready. It was do or die.

So I’m “out there,” a little duck in an immense puddle. This is a fledgling effort; I don't know how it will evolve. I suspect it will undergo several iterations before I hit on something that works. Or not. It could be a big flop.

For now I'll keep writing the sorts of essays I was writing on the CarePage. I'll write about those things -- the everyday and the monumental -- that happen to most of us as we get older, but I'll try to bring a new perspective. As I try to make sense of the changes in my life, maybe I can help you make sense of yours.

Perhaps this blog will amount to nothing. But for now it's something.