Documenting our journey

“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing”

Benny Franks

My friend asked me why I wanted to blog and what it means to me.  Well surely, its because I love to write, but it got me thinking about when was the last time I actually wrote something besides an email to my boss.  Has it been that long?  

After pondering a bit I googled, “Why write a blog”, and the following questions came up, so I decided to answer them for myself to really define this journey.

Q1: “The best posts and stories make the audience’s benefit amazingly clear. What is the real benefit of your writing?”

A1: One of the benefits to me is pure enjoyment.  I would also love to document our journey as a family in Tokyo.  If my writings are as goofy as I am, then some posts will appeal to family and friends. On the other hand, some posts will have little appeal to anyone except myself in the writing of them.  I don’t want to say it’s a diary, but a sort of record of my thoughts and our life, kind of like photos. Maybe my daughter or grandchildren will one day read through my old posts the same as they would view a box of old photos, and it will give them a new insight and understanding into who I am, or who I once was.

Q2: How does your story fit into the world? Is your blog helpful to someone?

A2: My writing fits into my world, and I’m sure it will fit into the world of some expats and new moms.   I don’t know if my writing is helpful to others yet, but I do know that I see things in a lens that many others don’t.  I probably won’t have a consistent theme, but that’s me, a bit of a ‘box of chocolates’, and you’ll never know what you’re going to get until you open each new post. I guess some posts may resonate with some people and therefore will be helpful, or thought provoking. 

Q3: Do your blog posts walk readers through a learning curve of information and share how issues discussed might impact them?

A3: I’m sure some of my posts will play Devil’s Advocate, I will try to get people to think outside of their usual spontaneous re-action to a world event.  I’d be happy if I knew that information I’ve shared may give someone inspiration for things to do or places to go. And of course I will try to post regularly about places to see or places to go in Tokyo.

Q4: Beyond education, the best stories forge a bond between the story-teller and her audience. Whether through vulnerability, candor or shared experience, stories where the audience walks away with heightened emotional intimacy are the stories that win. How do you foster emotional connection with your readers?

A4: Wow, this question is so deep. I can only hope the tone of my posts are personal and conversational. I try to write as if I’m talking to my audience (a.k.a. friends and family). I’m sure sometimes I’ll connect with my readers, and sometimes I won’t. I see a lot of other bloggers who have developed a huge following in a relatively short amount of time, and I guess they really have fostered an emotional connection with their readers. My dedicated followers (mainly friends and family) by comparison are very few, perhaps a result of not having any truly dedicated theme. Or perhaps, I just don’t connect with people, lol. Either way I guess I’ll find out sooner or later.

Q5: Is your blog about the past or where you are headed? Does your writing examine the past whilst reflecting the future, in terms of dreams, hopes and the future?

A5: My blog will document our time in Tokyo.  I don’t really want to be restricted by any particular theme, I just want to write on whatever prompted me to get tapping on the keyboard in the first place. 

Would love to hear how you document your families journey?