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Why I write

My blogging hit a milestone - 13,000 views to date - I know I will be the first to say its another meaningless number but I am the one doing the writing so I am allowed to make exceptions.

So then why I write is not because there are readers as much as it helps to get feedback from the blogosphere on how they perceive the commentaries, but to satisfy an innate need to vent, pontificate without repercussions, or simply to ensure that my brain is still coherent enough to articulate thoughts.

As I write this blog, coincidentally I finished reading one of Andy Rooney's last books titled 'Out of My Mind'.  Master of puns and astute observer of the human condition he ranks amongst one of my favorite writers.  In the preface he wrote -

"How much do I have to say that anyone cares about reading?   If you write for a living you have to put modesty out of your mind.  One thing I know is, that you can make an essay out  of anything.   There are times when I have written on subjects I know very little about.  A writer can do that.

He has the advantage of looking things up or ask questions of people more knowledgeable than he.  He can sit back and think before putting words on paper.  This puts the writer one up on the reader and often makes him sound smarter than he is.  I try to do that.  It does not seem dishonest.  I comb my hair  and try to wear decent clothes so I'll look better than I would naked, so why shouldn't I try to write in a style that makes me sound smarter than I really am?

I am not a great writer but I don't write badly often so this passes for good writing."

While it is foolish to draw any parallels between me and the great Andy Rooney I do see some similarities in the approach.  While I don't have as much hair as he did at 90 I can do away with that cosmetic arrangement and use the tool called Google to substitute for hours of research that he might have had to contend with, I agree with being able to craft any thought that comes to mind in the form of a modern day essay - aka blog.

So here's to another 13k.   That would almost make it a marathon?
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Comments

  1. RajendraJune 7, 2015 at 6:10 PM

    13k is a good number. Keep walking, with or without the aid of Johnny.

    ReplyDelete

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