Sometimes blogging reminds me of....

...the running scenes in Forrest Gump.



Maybe if Forrest had a blog, he wouldn't have run after Jenny died. I don't know.

My first blog ended suddenly, just like Forrest's running. I woke up one day and decided it was time to start a new one.

I wasn't sure what Wheelie Catholic was going to be about. Content wasn't ever an issue, however- what became an issue was which content to put in. There was - and continues to be- a wealth of topics to discuss. I found that Catholics were receptive to the idea of a blog where parents, people with disabilities, and other members of the church could find information or discuss topics. I began receiving emails from readers with disabilities on disability topics (much like those running after Forrest) asking for information on topics and/or relating to what I was writing.

I've found that there's a lot to be said for Forrest's technique, where you just keep running, no matter what's going on around you. Even on days when you're tired, things around you seem to be falling apart, or other distractions jump up in your face, there's merit to acknowledging that - hey, that's life. Keep blogging.

I think people ran after Forrest because he kept running. He kept moving. That was the thing that attracted them. They wanted to see where he was going. But it wasn't about the destination. It was about the journey.

I saw the film August Rush last night. It had more plot holes in it than a piece of Swiss cheese. But when it was over, the movie still sent its message. In fact, the more implausible it became, the less I began to care. There was no point in trying to make it plausible, I thought. Why begin now? Tying up the loose ends would have added to the implausibility.

I read that when writing fiction the best thing to do is choose what's least likely to happen next. I understand that approach in certain genres, but if you're writing character-driven scenes, there's that urge to give a favorite character what she wants. As Hemingway said, if you're a good enough writer, you can get your reader to buy into what you create, accept your story as truth. I think that has more to do with good fiction than anything else. If the reader cares what happens to the characters, then implausible events might be excused - even a character running without having a destination.

Blogging through implausible events is important.