Today I’m going to take a break from the relatively more
serious posts I’ve been doing lately.
The last month or so I’ve seen a huge spike in blog traffic which has
generated some feedback. This makes this
whole blogging adventure very
exciting for me because I honestly didn’t think the blog was going to go
anywhere. I mean, I’ve tried blogging
before—even using my real name and sharing it with family and friends and
colleagues. But to be honest? I’ve had more readers and support and reaction
from you, dear reader, using my pseudonym, than I did when I used my real name
and shared with people who actually know me.
Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it?
So, I thought I would pause today and share a few things you
might like to know about me and my blog.
·
Just to be clear, Troy Comets is a fictitious
name. If you haven’t had a chance to do
it yet, you might want to quick go and read my
first blog post here. It gives you
some important background on why I chose to write with a pseudonym (fake
name). The cliff notes version is
this: Because of my life situation,
coming out has been next to impossible and became more complicated with each
passing year. Obviously that wasn’t my
intention; even telling lies for what seem like very good reasons results in
chaos that doesn’t just affect your life but the lives of people around
you. Adopting the name “Troy Comets” has
allowed me to not only publish the kind of stories I would have wanted to read
as a teenager/young adult if the world had been different but it’s given me the
chance to start this blog and try to make a difference.
·
Because of my need for anonymity and my appeal
to you, the reader, to respect that, I try very hard not to share too many
details about my non-Troy Comets life. I
think I’ve let a few things slip between Twitter (@TroyComets) and a few
remarks in some blog entries. I do live in Minnesota and I have traveled a bit. I have quite a bit of education behind
me. I’m not saying that to brag and I’m
not going to go into detail. I think,
dear reader, if you stick around long enough you’ll probably be able to figure
out what my areas of study were in graduate school. I just want to remind you of our
agreement: I’ll be here for you, sharing
my knowledge and experience and even being that hole in the virtual wall
through which you can scream and yell and cry (which I’ve been for a few of you
already and you don’t know what an honor it is to have that experience)—all I
ask in return is that you don’t go peaking around the curtain. I’m not naïve. I know if someone wanted to know who Troy
Comets really is they could find out in no time. But I believe in the inherent good of people
and know that my readers aren’t the kind of people to out someone who has
explained why coming out isn’t an option right now.
·
Blogging is an interesting thing for me. I sometimes find that I blog the way I
speak. The way I speak is considerably
different from the way I write. Here’s the
difference. A couple of weeks ago I
wrote this blog
post on “Community,” having been inspired by a YouTuber by the name of
Travis Bryant (@TravisBryantNYC on Twitter).
This is what a lot of my non-fiction writing looks like. It’s research and cohesive argument driving to
an ultimate point. When I speak publicly
as part of my non-Troy Comets life I intentionally leave loopholes and gaps in
my thoughts and arguments. I’ve noticed
this approach in my blogging now, too.
The reason for this is that when I speak and when I blog I’m trying very
hard to engage people in conversation. I’m
not here to impress you, dear reader, with my knowledge and my experience and
beat you over the head with sound, air tight arguments every time I post a blog
entry. There’s a place for that kind of
written communication and, as a rule, it’s not here. I prefer to think of my blog as a kitchen
table at which we can gather. I’ll bring
my stories and my experiences and you bring yours and let’s just…talk. So I leave gaps in my blog writing. I don’t always flesh out concepts or drive
home arguments as hard as I could because I don’t want to control what you
think. I’ll share a thought or an idea
or an experience, talk a little about it, and leave it alone for YOU to turn
over and interact with. One of the
critiques I give myself is “You should develop this idea more” or “Talk more
about this.” For example, my post Soundtrack could
have had more detail, more meat to it.
But that wasn’t my goal. I didn’t
want to talk about myself, I wanted to use myself as an example to encourage
you to think about yourself. I hope that
makes sense. I also hope that it doesn’t
come off as condescending. I just want
to have a conversation and that’s just not going to happen if I’m dominating my
blog with fine-tuned rhetorical arguments and research discourses.
·
My goal with the blog since the beginning was to
put out two posts each week: Wednesday and Sundays. The problem is that inspiration is a fickle
partner in this adventure. Though I don’t
think I’ve dropped below two posts in any week, I know that I’ve gone beyond
that. Just know that my goal has been
two posts each week. The other factor
that complicates things is I’m currently working on my second book. I’m really pleased with its premise and
progress. It seems like the story is so
desperate to be told that it’s writing itself.
But it is a time consuming process and, unlike These
Are The Days, I’ve had to do a lot more research for the new book. I’m still writing what I know and what I
would have liked to read but fortunately I always need to know more.
So know that if I’m late on a post or I miss my quota, I’m probably
consumed with the new book. My goal is
to get it out early summer.
·
If you haven’t done it yet, you really need to
follow me on Twitter (@TroyComets). That
way I can follow you, too. Like I said,
the whole point of much of this blog is to have conversations. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you
taking time to read my thoughts but I also want to hear your thoughts. I want to
hear your story. Following me on Twitter also gives you a
chance to help me out with the blog.
Sometimes I throw ideas out there or request ideas/stories from my
Twitter followers. If everyone who reads
my blog were to follow me on Twitter and engage in some way….I just got
goosebumps over just thinking about the great conversations we can have and
what we could learn from each other. Since
starting the blog at the end of January it’s had just over 800 views from all
over the world. That’s a HUGE kitchen
table! Let’s make use of it!
That’s it! I want to
close, though, by expressing my sincere gratitude for your support. It means so much to me, dear reader, that of
all the choices you could make and all the things you could do and all of the
other blogs you could be reading, you are taking the time to read this
one. Thank you. I hope I make it worth your while.
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