I've heard it said that good news travels fast but bad news travels faster. While I've always thought that might be the case, I didn't have definitive proof. Now that I've been writing more blogs lately, I still don't have the proof I was looking for.
My blog had over 160 views on it yesterday, and while it was talking about a disastrous ending to a tumultuous relationship, it also spoke of my return home to Los Angeles. I suppose that bit of writing would be both the good and the bad.
I've written several funny stories that have been big hits, like "Childhood Pranks" where I put liquid soap in my brothers tooth brush, and I've written complete horrors, like the time I was locked in a room for nearly 24 hours by someone I didn't know. (Some would call that being kidnapped. I call it a lucky escape. ) All in all, the kidnapped story gained much more attention than putting soap in a tooth brush. People always want to know how I got out of the situation, not what my brothers reaction was when he went to brush his teeth. One question is ALWAYS asked without fail, while the other has NEVER been asked. But which way does the pendulum swing on that one, good or bad?
It was bad to put soap in the tooth brush, certainly. But it was funny, and most people laugh at the mere thought. It was good that I escaped the predicament of being locked into a small room without windows, and most people allow their eyes to grow to the size of saucers when I'm telling the story. So which wins out, good or bad? Are the people more interested in the bad news or the good news? Does negativity really spread like a disease, while the positive things in life wither like a trodden rose? I'd prefer not to think so, but I'm still not certain.
I know I've asked my readers to comment before on my blogs, but few have unless they know me in person. This is an open invitation to everyone out there to comment. I'm going to ask a question and I want YOU to answer it completely honestly. Yeah, you. The person sitting there at their computer, reading this blog and wondering what you're going to eat for dinner tonight. You, the Social Media guru. You, the adventurer, the traveler. You, the free spirit, who only goes on line when they're stuck in the house with a cold or fever. You, the reader. You can even remain anonymous.
Should I share a happy memory of Robert, or a little more detail about the break up?
I think people like to think they want the good but I think some have a deep (and some not so deep) desire for the bad. If an old woman falls on the ice, many have the 1st reaction to laugh. Misery loves company and so on and so forth.
ReplyDeleteAs for you question... I will answer after others.....
Write whatever feels cathartic. Who cares what we want to read. Everyone wants a little gossip, a little insight, more of the mystery revealed.
ReplyDeleteBUT!
This is one reason why I don't talk about my relationships on my blog (much). It's nobody's business but yours. How much you choose to share is YOUR choice.
Glad to have you back in L.A. I should come to the tweetup just to give you a hug!
You should write a blog about how you could ever get a friend like that patric arnold. I mean whats his deal? He's whacked.
ReplyDeleteYou should share what it does you the most good to share. In the end, I suspect your readers are most interested in the stories that are most interesting to you.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's human nature to be interested in the bad: the car crash in the other lane; the "plucked from the headlines" story on Law and Order or CSI or NCIS; the plane crash; the shark attack. Perhaps it's a "there but for the grace of God go I" thing. Perhaps it's just that disaster is unusual and interesting; happiness can be boring by comparison.
Personally I'm an aberration. I'm rather infatuated by fun and happiness. My stories are (or at least I hope they are) usually about the interesting, the fun, the happy. Sometimes the near disaster with a happy ending. But that's just me.
But this is YOUR blog. It should tell the story you want to tell. Tell the story that brings you closure.
In all seriousness very well spoken PW. Couldn't agree more.
ReplyDelete