I don't know why, but sometimes I just like to write stuff.
I get the words perfect. Exactly like I want them to be, the story flowing and the words just so.
I re read the post checking for typos and then decide that I don't really want to share that post at all.
Sometimes I know this from the moment I start writing and other times it isn't until the end but either way they are words that I just decide are mine alone.
Sometimes it's because I don't want anyone else's opinion, sometimes it's because I think someone might be all judgey on me for my thoughts or words or actions. Then other times it is because writing can be like a cheap woman's therapy, it can be like talking to someone without paying the bill.
There are posts that I write because I find the topic interesting but I am not sure how interesting they are to everyone else.
Usually a post that gets hit with the 'drafts' button is written among many others that are published. But lately, it's the opposite. The draft posts just keep getting written and the published ones are having to fight a little harder to be seen.
Do you write anywhere? Ever kept a journal or a diary, a public or a private blog?
Oh yes! I understand completely! My drafts box is now over 100! Opinionated posts, half baked ideas without a conclusion, posts that beg to differ. Sometimes I think it's the fear within me which is why I don't post them. Sometimes it's my conflict of interest about what my blog is all about (my happy place), and sometimes i think my blog is my personal journal. I read through them sometimes thinking that perhaps the time is right, but often I come to te same conclusions... Great post Claire!
ReplyDeleteI actually just brought a journal yesterday for this very thing!
ReplyDeleteI have so many journals with just a few pages written on them!
DeleteI write everywhere, I often find random thoughts I've written on post its or envelopes or the back of meeting handouts. Often I find them long after I was planning to use them. But no worries!
ReplyDeleteI am an inveterate journal keeper and wanna-be writer. I've had a series of blogs - the current blog is mostly about reading and cooking. But I have snippets of other bits of writing in emails and in word docs on my computer.
ReplyDeleteOh, and funny - my mum discovered my journals from when I was in Year 12. She read them. And was completely HORRIFIED! Now, I was a standard angsty teenager with a flair for the melodramatic (William Blake, Sylvia Plath - normal stuff), and I am now a fully functioning, reasonably sane adult; so I found her reaction quite amusing. I turned out ok, so hey!
you aren't alone, I have currently 5 posts in my draft folders, I get the idea down and then i perfect them.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one! I only switched to using the draft folder recently to store unfinished articles. It feels they are a step closer to being published there than when they were word documents.
ReplyDeleteWriting is great like that isn't it. Sometimes it is meant to be shared, other times it is meant to be private and other times it just needs time to marinate. Nice to have the option really!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who does this. I have 10+ drafts all in various stages of completion. There are some that I get my husband/sister to read first and ask for their opinion before I publish them. Even if I don't end up publishing these drafts, after writing them, I always feel much better!
ReplyDeleteI write in too many places. I can never find the note/thought/scrawl I'm looking for!
ReplyDeleteI have a number of drafts that I haven't published for one reason or another. One covers something I wasn't sure I wanted on the blog, another is quite negative and doesn't fit the rest of the blog's tone. But it did feel quite freeing to write it! So it might yet make it up.
I generally write by typing on the computer because I am faster at typing than writing. I have a few posts that are drafts too and I may publish them one day. Or not at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same - so many times I sit down and nothing comes out. Or I get on a really good roll and do 5 in a row!
ReplyDeleteI keep the drafts in my head - I know - scary isn't it!!! And then I forget them and can't think of anything to write...at which point, I bemoan on Twitter, that I have no ideas!
ReplyDeleteAnnie
Sometimes I wonder if I should think about sending a post to draft rather than publish but then I wonder why did I bother writing it if I won't share it. I have never been one to write for just me. I write because I want to read
ReplyDelete