This is a new reset for this blog, and an attempt to do something a bit less curated than the blog I write under my own name, but who knows, this one might be better for the anonymity.
I have started a new attempt at focused writing - old hardware, distraction free editor, just getting the words down. I’m using Focuswriter, hopefully the clue is in the name. It has a few things that, at the moment, I don’t really like. For one, I don’t think it can do hyperlinks. Maybe that will be a good thing, just to cram out a load of words without having to look for sources, links, images.
That’s an interesting thought - what happens when I remove all of the journalistic bullshit and just write the words. Maybe that’s an interesting experiment.
I remember having an argument with a friend of mine when we were nothing more than idiot students. He kept quoting Bible verses at me for some reason. I don’t think he was trying to wind me up, he just thought that ending an utterance with “Ezekiel 25:17” made it a more worthy argument. Looking back, I was a bit of an asshole to him, but I still stand by my point - if your argument is strong enough, it will stand on its own. Bringing in additional sources to strengthen your point doesn’t do anything except make your argument unoriginal and parroted. Thinking is the hardest thing to do, but thinking is public is even harder.
So now I write, no distractions, no web browser, no IM, no music, etc. What do I risk, being seen as a plagiarist, unable to acknowledge that my thoughts and words aren’t 100% truly my own. If that’s the level of originality that I’m striving for then I’d probably be better off writing nothing. However, if an attempt at a daily practice of a few hundred words helps me organise my thoughts a bit better, then why not do it?