Because Writing For Myself Is Hard

Writer's block can take some interesting forms. For example, I haven't written in this blog since 2014, mainly because I haven't been able to think about what I wanted to say or even what this blog should be about. It has had kind of a social justice slant, but I've also used it to bitch about Facebook and write movie reviews, so it's really been all over the map. I know I'm supposed to find a niche and stick to it, but I cut my blogging teeth on LiveJournal before it was owned by homophobic Russians, and that was as much of a personal journal as a blog. I guess old habits die hard.

And yet, even though I intended this to be a general blog about my thoughts with a slight social justice bent, I still couldn't think of anything that I wanted to put out there. It's not that I couldn't write; I have a second job ghostwriting blog posts for other sites, so I clearly have been writing. I just couldn't put my own thoughts to paper or a computer screen.

So basically, I've had writer's block, but it was a very specific kind of writer's block, one where droning on about selling things online and finding actionable solutions for leveraging one's influence as a thought leader* has basically killed any desire to write for myself. Yes, I know that kind of writing is important for businesses everywhere, and I can't get upset with anyone who needs that kind of work to be done, but it turned something that used to be fun into a grind. It got to the point where I couldn't bring myself to do it unless I had to.

Despite coming to associate writing with a depressing grind, I've missed being able to write here. I know this blog never got a lot of traffic, and I know it doesn't cover any one niche, but it's mine. It's a place where I can voice my opinions and thoughts about the world, something that I've found to be deeply satisfying. And if I can point to this blog as proof that I am capable of writing something worthwhile, that's even better.

So I guess you can call this a revival of sorts. I will do my best to post here at least once a week. As for what I’m going to write about, I guess that will still be all over the map. I’ll probably stick mostly to social justice topics just because they interest me, but I’ll also be making general observations about society and life in general as long as I find them interesting. I’ll probably write about movies, books and music here too just for the hell of it**. More than anything, I just want to write for myself. I’m not trying to be an influencer or a thought leader, and I’m not trying to sell a product, but because I have things I want to say.

Hopefully that’s still allowed on the Internet.

* Yes, clients expect me to use that kind of language when I write for them. It hurts me every time.
** I'm still a hardcore geek, so expect me to gush about superheroes and all things Marvel in between rants about things that infuriate me.