Please, Mister Postman

Recently I added a new section to the blog margin (see right) called, "Postmodern Sass Appreciates." It's a list of people who have commented on my stories, either through their own blogs or via email.

I wanted you to know that I appreciate you, Gentle Reader.

I've been asked now and again, and more frequently since I began the story of Jack and Diane, why I don't have the comments feature turned on. Please know, Gentle Reader, that it is most definitely not because I don't want to hear from you. I very much do want to hear from you, and I truly appreciate those of you who have taken the time to write to me.

I choose not to use the comments feature because I don't view this blog as a forum for discussion. If that sounds... unbloggerly, I'm very sorry. Those of you who have been my readers know that this blog isn't like most other blogs. It's not a political rant, it doesn't pretend to be journalism, and it doesn't have its finger on the pulse of technology thought leaders. Readers who are looking for a forum in which to discuss politics (or whatever) know where those exist. It's not my objective to provide another one. Neither is it my desire to bore you with what I had for breakfast this morning.

I started writing this blog because I hit a writer's block while working on a novel about two characters named Alistair and Hope. (Any resemblance they may have to Jack and Diane is purely coincidental.) The novel's organizational structure, rather than the typical chapters, was dated entries written by an unamed omniscent narrator. A diary as it might be written by a fly on the wall, if you will.

One day it occured to me that my novel's format was blog-like, and so I began this blog so that I could "see" my stories published. It makes them more real — to me. It makes me keep writing. I haven't had writer's block since. If anything, I have the opposite problem. There's so much I want to put in writing before I die.

How would I categorize this blog, you ask?

Fiction. With a gimmick.

As the margin disclaimer disclaims, the stories are true, except where they've been completely fabricated. All writers of fiction base their characters and their stories on real people and real experiences, but unlike, say, most directors named Oliver Stone, they don't present their fiction as "truth."

And what is truth, anyway?

I am neither philosopher, journalist, nor political wonk. I'm just a storyteller.

I hope you like my stories.

And if you do — or even if you don't — I'd like to hear from you. You can reach me at PostmodernSass-at-Gmail-dot-com.

In the next story, the saga of Jack and Diane is continued. A year and a half later, Postmodern Sass has changed her stance on comments, and thanks her First Commenter, seen below.