Why Blog About Woodworking?

This post departs from woodworking and considers the act of blogging. I originally started posting about woodworking using HTML, creating static Web pages without the benefit of an editor. I wrote the pages in the Notepad text editor and used a Web browser to view the result. It took a lot of time and effort to create a page, and my posts were mostly about learning to write HTML and post it on the Web. The woodworking was just an excuse. You can find those early posts at http://www.robertkarl.org/pages/Workshop.htm

When I started the blog, I had some hope of being widely read, but I've since learned that for all but a select few bloggers, readership amounts to family and friends. The process has to contain value outside fame or fortune to justify the time and effort spent on it.

So why do I post about woodworking if I'm not an expert and I'm not widely read? I'm obviously getting something from the activity, and today I read a blog entry about Blogging as Reflective Practice (well outside the Woodworking blogosphere) that clarified what that is.

It turns out I'm not really looking for fame and fortune. In fact, as stated in my profile, "A Woodworking Odyssey is my way of thinking about and sharing the experience I gain." I think my real intent as it has developed is to use blogging as a regular reflection that also propels me to greater knowledge and productivity. It works to develop me as a woodworker.

Three years after starting regular posts, my writing experience informs every aspect of my woodworking experience and helps me learn more quickly about new techniques and deepen my knowledge of familiar ones. It makes me more considered and systematic in approaching a project:

• If I'm having difficulty, I write and think about it (and sometimes receive a comment from much more experienced woodworkers, like Chuck Bender and Tim McReady).
• When I work on a project I stop to take pictures of each stage—a habit that prevents me from making as many mistakes. That short photo break makes me look at what I'm doing, identify what steps are distinct and important, and try to find the best angle and focus for capturing the action. In the process, my thoughts shift from doing the work to observing it and I often learn about something before regretting it.
• Afterwards, when I write about a process, I'm engaged in the reflective activity that Gina Minks wrote about in Blogging as Reflective Practice. I process the actions and thoughts I've had, refine them, and become expert in the process itself and in my approach to a project.

Awareness of this process may move my focus toward the learning process on each project. I think that will be a good thing for you and me—the only two people reading this blog ;)