Cory Doctorow on Blogging

I loved everything about this post from Cory Doctorow on blogging. He's been doing it for over twenty years and has a lovely way of capturing everything that's good about it. I liked the way he describes how the genius of it comes from the act of publishing:

'These repeated acts of public description adds each idea to a supersaturated, subconscious solution of fragmentary elements that have the potential to become something bigger. Every now and again, a few of these fragments will stick to each other and nucleate, crystallizing a substantial, synthetic analysis out of all of those bits and pieces I’ve salted into that solution of potential sources of inspiration. That’s how blogging is complimentary to other forms of more serious work: when you’ve done enough of it, you can get entire essays, speeches, stories, novels, spontaneously appearing in a state of near-completeness, ready to be written.'

I can relate to how the act of blogging help helps you to think aloud but also how linked strands of thought emerge over time from disparate short pieces. For me it not only synthesised thoughts but improved my writing to the point where it has become an important part of how I make a living. I've not written anywhere near as many posts as I would have like to over the past year. Work has been all consuming somehow and I miss it. I shall redouble my efforts. It's a wonderful habit to have and getting out of that habit feels like stagnation.