Welcome!

What's a "weblog"?

A "weblog" or "blog" is a specific type of website where entries are made journal-style, and presented in reverse chronological order. In other words, it's a journal kept on the Internet or Web. The power of the Internet makes it much more than a journal, however.

Many people keep journals. Journaling is a tradition that is many hundreds of years old. People write in journals as a way to chronicle the things that happen to them in their lives, to preserve their stories, and to leave a legacy for future generations. Writers keep journals to practice the craft of writing and to house ideas for stories. I keep a journal so that I can remember the things I want to remember, so that I can practice writing, and sometimes because it is easier to think on paper. Writing my ideas down helps me to know what I know. Traditionally, journals are a private affair. For the most part, the words written in a journal are seen only by the writer of the journal, unless the writer chooses to share.

Posting an entry on a weblog is different from keeping a journal because it's public. Any member of the blogging community can access, read, and then comment on any entry posted there. As members of the CRC Virtual Classblog community, any of you can read this entry and comment on it, or you can post an entry of your own that I or others may comment on.

This weblog is here for two reasons: (1) It's fun. Writing and commenting on weblogs is just fun - it's a fun way to share your ideas with others and to find out what others think about things, and (2) it's great practice for writing. Just as you get better at football or soccer the more you play it, your writing will improve the more you practice it.

I'll post ideas for writing here, and I'll write on some myself....I encourage you to write about the things you care about here, and comment on pieces that are posted here. Think of it as a form of pen pal letters -0ver the computer!