I’m writing this because I feel like I have to. Like, my brain requires me. Not necessarily because I feel obligated per se (perhaps a distinction without a difference but we’re already meta enough as is, so I digress). Perhaps all of this goes without saying, but that has seldom stopped me in the past. And it’s my blog after all.

Something I’ve struggled with for a long time is whether or not my creative expressions are worthwhile. One of the less important reasons I’ve felt this way is that I struggled to even classify them as “creative”. I’ve mostly felt comfortable sharing focused critique on specific works, since that feels well within the realm of the layperson. I.e. I’m just giving reccs to my friends! And while I do like that aspect of my critiques (as well as talking about that with friends) I’ve come to the realization that even if I knew no one read them I’d probably write them anyway.

However, a bigger gulf is the stuff that I’ve thought about writing but didn’t. The main reason I haven’t is because I’m afraid of repeating someone smarter or more articulate than me. Which I’m still honestly afraid of. But I realized at some point that sometimes even old ideas expressed differently can make a difference to someone down the line. And similarly to my compulsion to write critiques even with no audience, the compulsion to write other things with no audience is at least as strong. If nothing else, seeing my reified thoughts years later can be quite fun.

All of this is to say that I’m gonna try and branch out a bit in this blog going forward. I’ll probably stick to non-fiction; I don’t really have any ideas or compulsions in the fiction direction, but never say never. I think politics is the most likely avenue but I’ve had some ideas for a more philosophical direction. We’ll see where it goes.

Stay safe out there, folks.