Why Write?

I was reading a friend's blog. She asked the question, "Why do you write?" After nearly four fairly steady years of blogging, I figured it was time to revisit that question.

I know why I write. I write because I can't not write. Written words are what underline and shape my world. Both my own words and those of others.

The question I needed to answer again wasn't specifically why I write, rather why I blog. The "I don'ts" of blogging came to mind fairly quickly.

I don't blog to make money or advertise products.

I don't blog because I am an expert on anything. I read other people's blogs if I need recipes or homeschool ideas.

I don't blog as a jumping-off point for my book. If you're reading my blog, you're reading my book. Years ago as I recognized that written words were my medium, I dreamed a dream. I wanted to write a book. I can still picture the room, the obnoxious hotel conference room carpet, the speaker challenging us to dream a dream. I started a few books. My computer files are littered with ideas, books started and abandoned. Fiction. Non-fiction. Then it hit me. Other people are sharing better and more eloquently. I don't want to be a mediocre voice in the glut of written words out there. I don't want to fight to get people to like my words. I just want to write. Copiously. And I want to read. Voraciously.

(Side note: In another lifetime, I played music. I was scholarship material, in fact. Music filled my days. Then somewhere in the practice rooms and convocation requirements and constant gigs to fill church and community orchestras and the loneliness of outshining older, more experienced musicians and the pressure of expectations to be some kind of rising star and the financial pressures, I stopped loving music. The end. I don't want to lose writing. I don't want what I love to become what I can't stand. So as far as writing a book? As far as I know, I won't be. I'll leave it up to the amazing writers out there whose books I relish and devour.)

My blogging journey began when a friend of mine started a blog to share her life. Not as an expert. Not to make money. Just to share life. I reconnected with a precious friend this way.

So, blogging is still a place where I get to share some of what's on my mind, using my favorite way to express and share. And, as from the beginning, I share for the people I know and love.