Let’s get meta.

Ever since I first really became aware of the concept of being a writer, it’s something I’ve been drawn to. But as I’ve gotten older, I have found that I censor myself more and more before I even get any words on the page or screen.

That’s too cliche. That’s too sappy. That’s too naive. That’s not interesting enough. That doesn’t matter enough. That’s too big an idea. That’s too small an idea. These are the things that run through my head with every idea, every sentence.

I suppose I felt like I had to wait until I had something worthwhile to say, and the result has been a pile of empty Word docs and abandoned blog posts.

Then I watched this video which features a short clip of an interview with Austin Kleon, one of my favorite bloggers. He said something that hit me really hard, speaking about writing consistently:

“It’s not that you have something to say, it’s that you find out what you have to say…I have more to say because I sit down and write every day and I figure out what I’m thinking.”

It reminded me of a quote from Austin Kleon’s book Show Your Work:

Now I realize that the only way to find your voice is to use it.

That’s what I’d like to try and do. I will be spending more time here on my little corner of the internet (or at least, that’s the idea), but I’m going to stop trying to find something to say.

Instead, I’ll practice finding out what I have to say.