Over the past 5-7 years, it seems like writing has become such a chore. I used to write all the time, and now it feels like pulling teeth just to get a sentence or two out. I can think of a few key reasons.
- Thoughts don’t really feel original anymore, and the internet is so overloaded with content that it makes it far easier to consume than to create.
- My jobs haven’t really required me to do much writing. I’ve written reports and proposals, but not real, thoughtful writing of the kind that I used to do regularly.
- I don’t practice much at all on my own. When I ran Keystone Politics and wrote for other outlets on the side, I had to practice an awful lot.
- We’ve all got this fear of exposing ourselves to the world, no matter how small the audience.
I’d like to break that cycle for myself, or at least change the ratio of my consumption vs. creation. So I’m going to start practicing more often, not with an eye toward quality necessarily, but instead toward consistency.
Greg Palmer 