If you had to do it over again from the beginning, what
would you change?
Hmmm. Not much, actually. I might have tried to craft my entries better, but then this has been a learning process for me, and will continue to be, I'm sure.
Do you have any favorite entries?
"Contemplating Murder"
"Stages of we"
"All the little things"
"You drive me"
What do you look for in an online journal, as a reader?
I look for personality. I look for a sense of humor, a sense of intelligence, someone who can laugh at themselves and who is mature enough to understand that life happens and that whining isn't going to solve it.
I avoid journals that are simply dull recitations of what that person ate that day, what that person did. I also avoid the angst-ridden journals.
Do you use your real name in your diary?
My first name. I don't list my last name.
Do you censor yourself in your diary?
Do you ever use fiction techniques such as imaginary dialogue?
My entry style changes depending on what mood I'm in that day. Sometimes I write in third person, sometimes in second, sometimes in dialogue (mostly with myself or occasionaly with some inanimate object). I try to avoid fiction except to twist an entry slightly - the meat would be true.
Do you ever significantly edit/rewrite past entries?
The only rewriting I've done was to correct grammatical and spelling errors if I see them later. I preview all entries before posting them and I figure once they're up, I have to be comfortable with what they say.
Would you describe your diary as traditional, essay, novel, rant, letter to someone, a theme journal, or something different?
I'd say it was pretty traditional.
What is "one word" that would describe your diary's content?
Me
As an online diarist do you consider yourself a Web celebrity, an exhibitionist, a public figure, a writer, an innovator, or something different?
I'm simply a writer.
How do you tackle the mechanics of Web design and how do you deal with your frustrations when you can't do what you envision.
I do all my html in a text editor, under the opinion that the only way to learn the darn stuff is to force myself to write it from scratch. If I get frustrated, I simply beg my fiance or a friend to help, because I am lucky enough to be surrounded by people far more artisticly creative than I.
Why do you think people are interested in what you have to say?
I think perhaps because some of my experiences mirror some of their own. Because sometimes I'm funny and it makes them laugh. Because sometimes what I write makes them think.
What compels you to design beautiful pages and to write from the heart (beyond just the usual question of "why an online journal")?
I enjoy writing, and the purpose of writing is to have someone read it. I write because it makes me feel good to be able to put it down in a way that I might never be able to do with mere speech. I write an online journal because it's a way for me to share myself with other people - a way for me to open up, bit by bit, to not just strangers, but to family, friends, and also to myself.
