So … how is it that somebody like me that actually really enjoys writing and has the infrastructure to have that writing instantly available can go for 4 months without writing anything?
The answer is simple, and somewhat concerning. The answer is Facebook! What Facebook does for us is provide a forum where we can let our “friends” know what is happening in our lives with very little effort … and even fewer words. What it doesn’t provide is any encouragement at all to actually WRITE!
Some of you will remember writing … the act of sitting down and planning what it is you have to say and then constructing some sort of sucker line at the start … followed by a reasoned argument …. and concluding with a summary of the key points.
Oldest mate Stewart and I were teaching people to construct lessons around the same principles back in the late 80’s … and yet now most are trying to get their point across in a status update that typically is under 150 or so characters. We are desperate to (cue Texan drawl) “get it out on the tweetter”, rather than sit down and allow ourselves to really layout what it is that we have to say.
Years ago we were concerned that email or fax …. (remember the fax?) would replace the letter … and eventually it did of course. We should be equally concerned now that the tweet, Facebook status update or text message is going to replace the email. Why use more than 160 characters after all … “I love you” or “Buy milk” needs nowhere near that number.
And therein lies the reason for my lack of posts over the last months..Yes I have been busy on other things …. and yes there have been some considerable distractions, but at the end of the day I have spent my time checking Facebook when I would gained a better balance in life by sitting down and writing here. As good mate Drex said many years ago, “writing is a cathartic process” and it seems that we should spurn that mistress at our peril.
So, am I going anywhere with this … well, yes, I am. It’s a place where I’ll actually sit down and write real sentences much more often than I have recently. I’m going to compete the “Cars Project” … after all there is only one to go … and then start looking for something new, goodness only knows our lives are full enough to find something to write about!
I feel better already! Let’s see if I can sleep beyond 2 am.
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