Blog writing = bad academia

Of course, this isn’t strictly true. Any blog really just reflects the writing style of whoever it is typing away on the internet, but for me, keeping a blog has done horrible things to my academic writing.

For one thing, I’m naturally an informal writer. I get by because my grammar’s usually correct and people mistake “bad humor” for “voice.” However you slice it, keeping a blog lets me write, edit, and publish whatever the hell I please, whenever I please, and at whatever length I choose to write. The only requirement is that I’m happy enough with what I’ve written down for other people to read it.

In academic terms, this is a nightmare. My sources are usually other blogs, and a bibliography is one of those things other people do. But most importantly, writing a good blog (even one that very few people read) is about clarity and entertainment. Good academic writing should involve their antonyms.

Such is the state of things as I’m attempting to write a three thousand word essay on film noir. But all I can come up with is fifteen different ways to pack the big punches into a three hundred word blog post. Incidentally, everyone and their dogs would probably rather read the blog post, especially if I managed to put all the important thought into it, or at least imply important thought. But that wouldn’t be academic writing, would it?