As a person who has always made her living with some form of writing, I have a lot of ambivalence about blogging, vlogging, and various forms of Internet publishing. Yes, it provides a platform to express oneself; but it usually involves giving away content for free.  I worry about devaluing the very thing we are showcasing, inadvertently creating a world where people think all forms of content should be free – music, films, writing. Maybe stories and information are a human right. But they have value, and so do creators. Still…many of the projects I embark on take years and I wanted a more immediate outlet. I have convinced myself that blogging is a gateway, a creative tool, a writer’s sketchpad.

Next, I had to overcome my paralysis over what kind of blog to start. What is my “brand”? Anyone who knows me (and I assume that is anyone reading this) knows that I have a range of interests and have done a lot of things in my career. Writing books, articles, press releases, web series, screenplays, stage plays and soap operas. Acting in indie films, off-off-broadway, web series. Should my blog be about theater? Film? TV? Writing? Acting? Journalism? Do I need to just settle down and do one thing already?

I finally decided that’s not going to happen. The reason I’ve done so many things is that there are so many ways to tell stories. So many ways to be inspired. The neighborhood of Gowanus, where I live, is a daily inspiration. A hodgepodge of history and change. Beauty and ugliness. And so I have taken it as the name, theme, and sometimes-topic of my blog. I don’t know exactly what this will be. But we’ll see where it goes.

Thanks for reading.  – Marin Gazzaniga