If someone were to tell me, “I’m a writer,” and I were to say, “Cool! What do you write?” and he were to say, “Well, I don’t, really,” I’d have grounds to be suspicious of his claim.
This has been my internal dialogue for years now. I tell myself that I’m a writer—sometimes I even act like one—but I never really finish anything. I just kind of fizzle out like a wet firecracker.
While I do have demands on my time—I have a more-than-full-time job, and two kids—that isn’t the issue. For one thing, lots of writers find the time and energy to write around much tighter time schedules. For another, most of the pressure around my schedule comes from a strange cycle of procrastination and escape: I let work build up until I have to do it, and then I spend my time and energy trying to escape that pressure. The method of escape has been YouTube lately, though the poison may vary. In all such cases, though, I choose to be a consumer, not a producer.
This blog is a step towards changing all that. If I’m going to procrastinate anyway, I might as well do so creatively. At the very least, I’ll gain practice writing, in the sense that writing regularly and intentionally will build both skills and habits. I’ll clarify my thoughts. I’ll develop a relationship with readers. I may even have fun.
For now, I see myself working in four modes:
- Prattle: This would be where I explore ideas through writing. I’ve long told my students that writing is, among other things, a tool for exploration and discovery; that’s what I’ll be aiming for here.
- Projects: This would be where I show my work. For writers, especially now, a blog is often used to support their primary writing, whether through marketing, or connection with audience, or whatever. If I want this blog to fulfill that function, I need some primary writing to support, and showing my work as I develop it—this is my theory, anyway—will provide a level of accountability. (This post is me showing my work about the blog itself.)
- Diversion: This would be where I just have fun—turning that mindless escape I described above into something creative.
- Utility: This would be where I contribute, thinking through the tools or practices I’ve discovered that others might find useful.
There’s an obvious danger here: procrastination, creative or otherwise, is still procrastination, and time spent on this blog is not time spent writing a novel. I get that. But escaping into creativity, having something to show for my time, would be a big improvement over the current state of affairs, characterized by long journeys down the Internet rabbit hole.
The idea is to shift the balance from consumption toward production. And I know—from both experience and the productivity gurus—that building strong habits in one area often spills over into other areas.
If I really do want to be a writer—and I at least want to want to be one—I need to write. So here goes…