If you've been following this blog long enough, you know that this used to be a very serious blog filled with long book reviews, anguish over society's injustices, family woes and, well, serious stuff.
About a year ago, I decided to shift its tone to happy and shallow: shoes! fashion! parties! food! I figured that since I'm such a moody person, leaving a record of my anger and hate is not helping me or anyone else! Instead, I will be positive and focus on every little thing that makes me happy so that I will see that I'm, in fact, very blessed.
I deleted all the bad and sad and mad posts. I changed my tone to giddy and excited. I posted pictures of stuff I bought and the frivolous things I like. And the effect was a huge surprise--people started flocking to this blog! This convinced me that people don't want to read about sad, angry and serious things. They want to be distracted. They want to be entertained. And I was willing to entertain, finding it funny that my life is filled with enough stuff to entertain a few thousand people.
The only thing negative about this whole exercise is people now think I'm a shallow ditz.
I just got a huge chuckle over that. However, it's not funny especially to the people who know me. Some of them think this blog is not really me. I don't want to explain that. I just want to say to my loved ones that this blog may make me appear like a ditz but my grammar and spelling are always correct and the writing is done quite well. So, since I'm a writer, my true essence--good writing--is still here in this blog. It doesn't matter what I write as long as I write it well.
Unfortunately, now that I've established silliness, my readers don't want me to write about anything else! When I wrote about a few serious things that were really on my mind and true in my life (abusive relationships, death, the difficulty of expectations, etc), some readers simply did not like it and attacked me for tackling things I guess I now have no right to talk about.
Okay. I brought this upon myself so I won't complain. I'm a bit annoyed of course. But I can be agreeable. So even if I want to write about the death and legacy of our late President Cory Aquino, whose funeral cortege is on its way to Manila Memorial Park as I type, I won't. I'll just say that her ultimate legacy is our country's democracy and it will be a great disrespect to her if we do not vote next May--so go out and register, go out and vote, and vote for the leader who really loves Filipinos and has a profound faith in God.
Meanwhile, I'll continue writing about silly stuff because I want my Topaz Horizon readers to be happy because you do make me happy with your kind comments and the friendship you've extended me. Thank you.
P.S. But please allow me to write about a few serious things sometimes. I promise to keep them few and far between, and to write them in such a way that you'll still be entertained!
Aw seriously? There was negative feedback? i personally don't mind it. You do write very well - naiinggit nga 'ko eh. hehe :) - and that's why I'll read your post be it ditzy or nerdy or shallow or deep.
ReplyDeleteI love the variety in your blog posts..I read everything from the silly to the serious ones. :)
ReplyDeleteMy aim is not to promote my blog but let me just say what I've written last night as part of a meme:
ReplyDelete7b. Ok! Philippines' editor Frances Amper-Sales' Topaz Horizon. Aside from the fact that we share the same birth stone, I find her site a writer's/reader's haven. She discusses books she had read and enjoyed, her blog is reflective of her tremendous writing ability and she shares a lot of things I would enjoy reading: restaurants, travel posts, her and her husband's home finds. Her blog oozes with so much positivity that I always end up smiling after reading a post.
Hope you continue writing, everything you feel like writing because I, just like a lot out there are inspired by you.
More power, Mrs. Sales.
Happy to read all types of posts. I enjoy your more serious posts too!
ReplyDeletei love reading blogs because they allow me to breathe a less political air. :) parehas tayo, I used to mope around and rant about the bad things around me c/o my blog, pero I eventually realized that I'm filling myself (and my journals) with a lot of negativity. Hence, a kikay blog. nyahaha.
ReplyDeletei love your posts, ate France. Yep, even the rants. perhaps because we share the same sentiments. i dunno. it's like i'm talking right in front of you lang eh. or maybe, i just love the way you write.
I would still love to read both silly and serious stuffs from you, as reading such makes a blogger or writer a "TRUE PERSON". Write whatever you're comfortable with! Again, this is your space and we are coming your space to read, not to attack! :)
ReplyDeleteStay happy my dear!
I think, no matter how serious your post is, or even if its made up of shoes, cosmetics, photoshoots and other hip things, they're all still a pleasure to read.
ReplyDeleteWell, I myself love an anything-goes blog anyway! Don't restrict yourself on your own little space :)
Frances, I like anything that you write on your blog. May it be silly or serious. At least, you let people see and know what you want to say.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, this blog, is your personal space--for you to put your say of what's worth--may it be just cents or a million. As for those who attack you for what you write, inggit lang sila for they don't probably have the gift--and the proper grammar.
Cheer up!
Aww, you can write anything you like! I don't mind! :)
ReplyDeleteYou certainly don't come off like a ditz. Has anyone said that here? If it's people who know you personally, keep in mind that some of them may have ulterior motives of "keeping you in your place" especially if it's a negative place that they're comfortable with. Write about whatever the fuck you want, is all I have to say.
ReplyDeleteoh, i love all your entries -- your rants, your raves, your sentiments and your opinions! of course, this is your blog and i think you can write all that you want to write about. we don't mind reading some nega thoughts every now and then. it's something that makes me, personally, realize that despite your status and all, you are human like the rest of us, your ardent readers. hehehe.
ReplyDeleteNeighbor, write about what you want to write about—after all, it's your blog. Also, I don't think you, or this space, is 'ditzy' at all :) If you read the lines and in between them, you'll find a smart, grammatically-correct, witty person who happens to love lots of glossy and glitzy (not ditzy) things in life!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy EVERYTHING you write. In fact, I love the occasional serious stuff because it gives me a look at another side of Frances. It's your blog, so whether you want to be silly or moody or gloomy or happy, feel free, as long as you continue writing it well. The readers who appreciate you best (such as myself) will appreciate you more for being yourself.
ReplyDeletePS. You're the editor of a fantastic magazine, and you write like a dream. I say you are anything but a ditz! (Besides, being ditzy sometimes is fun!)
I've been reading along for quite some time now, and yes, I've noticed the shift :)
ReplyDeleteHowever, I truly enjoy your posts, whether frivolous or serious. I guess I like your writing style!
Keep up the good work :)
Hi Frances,
ReplyDeleteI'm a UK-based reader who discovered and got hooked on your blog even when it still had 'all the bad and sad and mad posts'. I am a big fan of sincerely honest writers because I've actually learned a lot of things from the glimpses that I get of other people's real and inner lives.
I myself have been blogging for years. A couple of years ago, I decided to delete and purge my oldest blog because it contained some very personal things and I felt that now that I have a family, I should protect them from the things I blurted out in that journal. So now I write about my life as a mother and wife, mainly because I know my sisters back in the Philippines read my blog and I don't want them to get worried about me if I start talking about the unglamourous, frustrating, saddening things that I go through on a fairly regular basis. (Not because my life is particularly unhappy, it's just real life with everyday struggles.)
Funnily though, a few weeks ago, I decided to start another blog, this time, just for my own perusal and enjoyment, which means it's more stream-of-consciousness, very blunt and consequently, liberating.
Um, I think I've forgotten the point I was trying to make with this comment. My apologies, it's almost ten p.m. here and I've been working at my desk nonstop for a few hours now. :) I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's your blog and you should be able to write whatever you want to write in there without having to worry about how some readers will react. I know that this isn't what happens in reality because I have seen some famous bloggers who were criticised for either talking too much about their personal lives or for presenting a near-perfect picture of their lives, thus causing frustration among readers. It's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation, and I think the best way to deal with it is just to keep writing about whatever you want to write about. People can choose to read your blog or not, and you have no obligation to censor your thoughts in your own writing space.
I hope that makes sense!
I love your blog the way it is, whatever entry you write. In my years of blogging and blog-hopping, I've learned to respect that what a blogger writes is his choice and we are merely guests in his cyber house.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, the first thing I noticed when I started reading your blog was how well-written it is, no matter the topic. That's why I got inspired to make my entries more conducive to my readers as well. :)
I've learned a lot from bloggers like you, so keep it up! :)