Story behind the Passage
This morning I woke up and I had an idea: What if I continued my blogging challenge beyond my self-set target of 365 days? What if I extended it to 1001 blog posts? Is that crazy? Is it way too early to think about this? Or does this actually sound like a really cool idea for a project that is cool already?
So far, including today, I have made it through 106 days. That is not bad for the start. It feels a bit like running a marathon. Or not even a marathon, just some race. I usually have the same experience, no matter how long the running competition is — whether it is a 10 k run, a half-marathon or a full one (the latter I have not done so far, 2020 was not the best year for big running events…). I usually struggle during the first 1/3 of whatever I do. It is the same when playing tennis or any other match. It takes me 30 to 50% of the time to warm up. And then, the rest feels like a piece of cake. I pick up speed and I outrun many competitors.
The problem is that you have to deal with the feeling of falling behind at the beginning. Or at least, to not get ahead at full speed. Of course, writing in the context of a self-set blogging challenge is not the same as competing in a race. Still, you always run against yourself. That is the same — in life, in literature, and in sports. I know, you can see that very differently and delete all the stuff I am saying about competing above. But I like it. It is fun. As long as your competitive drive does not get out of hands, it is motivating and rewarding.
So, obviously, the 1001 stories idea comes from the famous legacy of Sheherazade. You see the summary of the story in Darraj’s introduction to her edition Sheherazade’s Legacy. I read this book while researching for my PhD on Arab American life writing, I think. Or I already read it for my Master’s. I cannot remember. But of course, the Sheherazade narrative has always impressed me. It is not at all unchallenged, by the way, especially when it comes to gender stereotypes and Orientalism. Darraj also writes about this in the book. She describes how Sheherazade was basically sexualized and co-opted by Western translators, above all, Richard Burton. You find a lot about this online.
Still, despite all this critical discourse, the story itself symbolizes the power of storytelling. This is the tradition in which the women authors in Darraj’s book are writing. And this is also what fascinates me. I am not saying that I am writing in any kind of “tradition” or identifying with any kind of movement. After all, this is a blog and all I am doing is sharing my passion for writing and my personal need — yes, it is a need — to put my thoughts on “paper.” But stories that are written or told like this, from the heart, they do have this power of making a difference. Or at least, they have the potential to convince readers or listeners of whatever they are saying.
Well, that is not even true, though. Of course, the content of a story can make a difference. But it only works if a story is a real story, i.e., one with a dramatic arc. In some way, this is the natural course of life — a dramatic one. Still, the craft of storytelling is what saves Sheherazade’s life. She manages to trigger this deeply human urge for “knowing how the story continues” in the king. This is what stories do. They satisfy our thirst for adventure. Behind this, of course, is the human need for learning. We want to know what happens next.
Just like you do now before reading on — maybe.
My Learnings
“While all the essays are about writing, they naturally encompass other general themes as well: the most prominent of these were identity, politics, inspiration, memory, and language, all of which affect the writer, the writing process, and outcomes of writing in a variety of ways.” When I read this sentence again just now, I started wondering whether all of us, all writers, always write about writing — without even intending to. Darraj in this sentence here is saying that all these “other general themes” also occur “naturally” in the texts of these writers — but what if it is vice versa? What if we writers most of the time try hard to write about “general themes” but all we really end up with is writing itself as our major theme?
Since I write about different book passages every day, I definitely start with a ‘topic’ each day. But as my readers might have noticed already (is anybody reading this?), I end up writing about writing quite often. I think this is a natural side effect of people like us. We are the people who actually never think there are people ‘like us’ because we feel secluded from the communities that others associate with. We are the ones always looking at things and people from this ‘third perspective’ of the observer; without even intending to. But when we write about writing, this gives us a sense of belonging; to those who do not belong, I guess.
So, all the topics that Darraj mentions, e.g., “identity, politics, inspiration” are totally relevant in my blog writing. But I guess, they only make sense or gain real importance when being thought through from the perspective of writing as the major theme and state of being. Hence, it is also true or relevant that Darraj is pointing to the impact these general topics have on the writer. I would even say that they are necessary for writing. As you can see in my blog entries every day, there has to be a topic that grasps my attention in such a way that I am able to really write from the heart, not just mechanically as some writers might do. And I am not judging this. I think, it must be very hard to write technical non-creative articles on a daily basis.
People who do so, who write professionally, certainly write for many more days than 1001. This takes me back to my wild idea from this morning to extend my 365-day blogging challenge. Of course, I am not trying to save my life by blogging as Sheherazade successfully did. Or maybe I am? Whatever it is that drives me — maybe I do not even know it myself — would it not be so cool to end up with a repository of 1001 stories? I would probably change the method after a year or so. Instead of blogging about a book passage, I could set up some other habit.
And what for?
Is this what you are asking yourself now?
I have no clue.
I just think it might be fun. I even googled now if there is some world record of blogging. And indeed, there is. A guy from the U.S. set it up in 2010. Here is what the Guinness World Records page says about this:
“The most prolific professional blogger is Darren Murph (USA) who had composed 17,212 individual contracted blog posts for engadget.com as of 29 July 2010. Darren’s career with engadget began in July 2006, and has averaged 12 blog posts per hour during that time, with an average word count of 266.” (Guinness World Records)
There is no way that I am going to write more than 17 k blog posts. I really do not see the point of this. After all, yes, I know I am writing about challenging myself here. But I am still a fan of quality. These numbers above at least make me suspect that 266 words are not really in line with my idea of writing a story that really is a story. Yes, storytelling is not about length, I agree. A single sentence can form so many images in your mind that it is more powerful than an entire novel. Still, what I am saying is that I am not making any attempt to compete with Darren. He can keep his world record. I prefer Sheherazade — not as my competitor but as my role model.
Let me think more about this idea. Does anybody want to join me? We have 259 days left to make a decision.
Reflection Questions
1) What do you know about “1001 Nights”? Did you learn about the stories in your childhood?
2) Do you believe in the power of stories in everyday life?
3) If you set out to break some Guinness World Record — what could it be?
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