A damp squib of a day is perhaps as good as any to wrap up January, given how off script the weather has been. It used to be that loads of snow and travel disruptions were par for the course for this time of the year; neither happened. Even the threat of thunder snow – cold air from Canada invading our own Northern skies – failed to materialise, a few inches of snow and gale force winds being the worst of the lot.
Work, like the weather, has been out of character too. Far from easing into work following an extended break for year end, it has felt like a schedule from hell; meetings, reviews and more meetings being the bane of my life. As week after week has hurtled past, I find myself hoping for 4.30pm on a Friday, leaving and then bingeing on Elementary over the weekend, before suddenly realising it is Sunday night, with a return to work looming.
At the beginning of the year, I was sure that developing a daily consistent practice of writing would be one of the focus areas for the year. So pumped at the prospect of that was I that I bought a URL, set up a publication on medium, and updated my social media profiles to reflect this. As the days have dragged on, what has become obvious is that more thought and planning was required than I had applied. My cringe-worthy musings on there very quickly became more the fevered thrashings of a wondering wanderer than the coherent, collected thoughts of the thinker I persist on believing I am.
The point of all of this- if there is a point – is tactfully beating a retreat from those grandiose plans, back to this place of certainty and reality to begin yet again. To aid my recovery, I have decided to use WordPress Blogging University’s Finding Everyday Inspiration course as a prompt which brings me to the question for today, Why I write.
When I have considered this question in the past, most recently here, I have honed in on the cathartic reasons for writing – the memories and the clarity of thought that comes from relentless massaging whatever is on my mind. Reading through George Orwell’s thoughts on the subject – recommended reading for this prompt – brought a new one to the fore in my mind; sheer egoism.
I suppose everyone who writes publicly as opposed to in a private journal is motivated to some extent by this; which would explain why we crave comments and feedback. For the one or two who still pass through these parts, indulge my curiosity… Why do you write?
A Geek's Life 
I am compelled to write, because words swirl about in my head until I let them flow through my fingers. I began writing because I was far from home and family, and that was the only inexpensive way to communicate. I knew I was hooked when I began crafting a story while events were unfolding. You are spot on about feedback. I got almost none from the long list of people I emailed. Blogging put me in a public place where instant new friends seem happy to interact. Isn’t it amazing that we can connect to other writers all over the world instantly??????
I missed your ramblings and am glad you are intending to be here more often.
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Fascinating story Anne – thanks for stopping by as always 🙂
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It’s a form of meditation, for me. 😉 xoM
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I write because I have to.
I write because I can.
I write because I love to tell my story when and how I like by myself.
I write because I enjoy it.
And I hate the feedback except it’s positive- sheer egosim. Yes
I write because my ego says so. 🙂
Welcome back!
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Now if we could only get some more recent writing to read…. :p
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