"I want to start a blog. And write once a week." I told my fiance.
"Why?"
A pause. "I dunno."
"About what?"
"I dunno."
--
Why
is it that we write? And more than that, from where comes the urge to
publish online, in public, opening ourselves up to the harsh unfiltered
criticism of the internet?
Writing
down history has been the practice of many cultures for millennia.
Written word takes our fleeting, changing, and imperfect memories and
creates a layer of permanence. Still, what drives our urge to take our
innermost thoughts and philosophies and put them out in front of the
world? Perhaps we all have a streak of narcissism running through us.
--
It's
not quite true that I don't know why I want to write. A large part of
my job is writing - a stiff, scientific style that I chafe against and
yet can't break away from - a style established and maintained by the
constant stream of publishing by scientists around the world. I want to
write in a different style, find a different voice, practice &
improve my writing aimed for a different forum. As my life rapidly
changes, I am finding a need to write down these fleeting thoughts
before they are gone for good.
So
here I am. Indulging, perhaps, in this need to write in a forum where
others may read. I can't exactly say yet what the overarching topic of
this blog will actually be. In the long run, it probably doesn't matter.
Ultimately, these words are more for my benefit than yours.
