I noticed the other day that I have now written and posted nearly 26,000 words to my blog. That’s a fair few words and certainly enough for a novella. It also takes time to put all those posts together, though that will have to remain a mystery as I never keep track of time spent on these posts. But seeing that word count did cause me to stop and ask why do I write these posts?

That isn’t an insignificant question to ask because each and every minute I spend writing blog posts could, instead, have been spent writing more stories, which is my bread and butter activity and what I love doing most of all.

So, why do it?

Ego? Mine’s not that big. In fact, now I come to think of it, where is it?

One reason I know applies is that it can help me to work through ideas I’ve been playing around with. Sometimes I don’t even need to get any feedback because the simple act of writing down the words is all it takes to reach some sort of conclusion. But having put in all that effort it would be daft not to then share the output.

It can also be a nice way to share thoughts and ideas with my readers, especially those who have somehow or other not yet got round to signing up to my newsletter.

Something else I also realised is true is that writing these posts provides a degree of human contact. The life of an author is mostly a quiet, solitary affair because that’s the way it needs to be, so opportunities for some sort of contact with other people are very welcome.

And there’s one last reason for all these posts. It makes for a change. I love writing stories but I still need a break from time to time and switching things up by focusing my efforts on a different form of writing makes for a welcome change.

So, it seems there are a few good reasons why I spend a chunk of my time each week writing these posts and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon. Of course, whether or not you think that is a good thing is another matter!

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