Deciding to Write (and Publish)

I consider myself both a writer and someone who doesn't write much at all.

Over the past few years I've filled notebooks with all kinds of writing. These notebooks are intentionally messy and freeform. In fact, I can typically gauge the state of mind I was in at the time by the neatness of the handwriting (mine is pretty abysmal so if it's neat that means I was focusing and taking my time). My writing has always been a way to extend my thinking process. It's obvious, but when I write something down it stays there. That permanence helps me focus on my thoughts in the moment and reflect on my thoughts from the past.

Despite understanding the immense value of writing I am consistently inconsistent in practicing it.

Around my birthday every year I spend some time reflecting on how my life has been going and what I want to work on over the next year. In 2021, I listed writing as one of the habits I wanted to practice more often. A year later in 2022 I proceeded to complain (to myself) about how I failed to consistently write down my thoughts. Continuing the now time-honored trend, in 2023 I wrote in a piece in one of my journals called "23 Things To Work On At 23". At the very top of the list: Writing.

While I clearly have a thing for writing about my lack of writing, I am even more behind the ball on publishing or sharing any of it. To me, the main benefit of publishing my writing is increasing its permanence and accessibility. Currently I occasionally share my written ideas with friends during small group conversations, but I've never given others the opportunity to reflect on and respond to my ideas asynchronously. I also know that I have benefitted tremendously from other people's writing, and I hope that one day a total stranger will be able to read what I've written and get something of value out of it and ideally even inspire them to take action.

Just as I've written every year for the past four years, I want to change that. Today, I'm publishing my first piece (the one you're reading!) with the goal of establishing a basic feedback loop. I am using writing as a mechanism to focus my ideas, and publishing as a way to force them to be presentable and get feedback from others. From this feedback I hope to further refine my own thoughts and to encounter entirely ideas and people, all of which will hopefully lead to more writing.

In order for this writing and publishing effort to be successful, I'm setting myself a couple of clear goals to complete by the end of September 2024:

1. Publish this site
2. Write and publish at least 3 pieces beyond this one
3. Share and discuss each piece with at least 5 friends

That may not sound like a lot, but for someone who has failed for years to write consistently outside of a school environment it certainly feels daunting--especially the sharing and discussing part. I look forward to reporting back on my progress at the end of September.

I want to credit my friend Dave Kelly for giving me the final nudge that encouraged me to start writing and publishing.