Trying to Be a Magician vs. Doing the Magic
On the noble and ignoble intentions for publishing one’s writing, and the world of difference between the two
After writing and publishing online for the better part of a decade, I haven’t done so for about a year. And I feel okay about that. I never promised anything with my writing. There was never any obligation.
But for the longest time, I felt that I had to write and publish regularly. Over the course of the last year, I’ve realized just how destructive and selfish that feeling was.
So what changed?
I used to think about writing all the time. And I believed that doing so was noble. I believed that I was dedicating myself to a craft — a noble craft. After all, writing is one of those things that distinguishes us from the other life forms. We communicate in this unique and lasting way that even the most advanced species can’t. We’re able to convey our message not just directly to interlocutors in the present. We’re able to punch a deep impression into physical reality that outlasts each of us — without losing its power. In fact, the passing of time has often increased how powerful those impressions are. Words written hundreds — even thousands — of years ago still affect the people who read them today in ways that the…
