Getting Better

So I wrote my last post while I was sick and upset? So I thought maybe I should post something new so my feverish ramblings weren't at the top of the page now that I'm better? Except I'm still not actually sure I have a topic? So I've decided to write about something I've realized lately: never write for anyone else.

Sure, it's good to involve other people after the writing, and I still think the point of writing things down is so that other people can read them. But I now know that when I'm in the writing stage, I can only write for me. I can't think about how it needs to be good because I'm going to publish it. I can't think about what someone else will think of it. When I do that I freeze and I panic and I can't write a word.

I've been getting away from all the writing I feel obligated to do this past week, and it's reminded me of how much fun writing is. Somehow I think I forgot that for a little while. I let myself get bogged down in worries and fuss and I forgot to go harring off after an idiot idea just because I want to.

It's ridiculous how long it took me to figure out how writing and publishing obviously need to be separated in my brain. Write for me. Publish for everyone else. Duh.

So that's my no-longer-deliriously-ill bit of optimism for the day. If you're having trouble getting words on the page, forget everyone else. Write something terrible. Write something so abysmal it would demons weep. Write something that's utterly yours and don't worry about giving it away until it's finished.

Go write. I've got a horse to teach how to tap dance.