Every blue moon, I dust off my blog with fresh thoughts, fueled by a renewed determination to write more. By the time I return, the moon has not only turned blue again but has probably completed a few laps around the galaxy. I’m here (again) to say, “not again”! Classic me, right? This time, I’m determined to break free from the cycle—and as a start, let’s talk about writing and what I have learned about myself.
The Beauty of Uninterrupted Speech
A few days after Christmas, my wife and I wandered into the iconic City Lights Bookstore in Chinatown. The place was buzzing, packed with people browsing endless shelves of books. Despite the crowd, the space felt like home—warm, welcoming, and overflowing with stories. I don’t even read big books that much, but I was captivated by the sheer essence of it all.
As I scanned the titles, I realized what makes books so unique: they offer uninterrupted speech. In everyday life, especially at work, my ideas are often interrupted by questions or comments before I’ve had a chance to fully express them. But books? They let the author lay out their entire thought process without interruption, a gift to both the writer and the reader.
It wasn’t just the books themselves, but the sense of unspoken permission to create that struck me. That space, filled with voices from countless authors, reminded me that every thought deserves its time and place, uninterrupted. That realization hit me hard. I miss writing long-form content—picking a topic of interest, researching it thoroughly, and laying down my thought process bare. Sure, your readers can disagree—and you can even respond to such disagreements—but in that initial act of writing, it’s all yours. That’s the beauty of it.
Why I Stopped Writing
So why did I stop? Back in college, I had blogs and even a physical newsletter where I shared unfiltered thoughts with the world. Somewhere along the way, that stopped. Looking back, here’s what I see as the biggest culprits:
- Procrastination: My Trello board is a graveyard of great ideas I haven’t acted on.
- Perfectionism: I edit as I write, chasing perfection until I abandon the work entirely.
- Political Correctness: In today’s divisive world, fear of potential backlash has often silenced me.
But above all, I stopped writing for myself. I began writing for an imaginary audience, asking, “What do people want to hear?” even before I put pen to paper, hand to keyboard, or Apple Pencil to iPad (choose one). Visiting City Lights reminded me of something vital: writing is about sharing your ideas. It is not your job to take the world’s ideas and repackage them. Writing is about reclaiming that space of uninterrupted thought and expression where you can be unapologetically yourself.
Declaring a New Beginning
Today, I’m declaring an end to my writing hiatus.
From now on, I’ll write for the love of it, for the joy of sharing unfiltered thoughts and experiences. I’ll let go of overthinking and second-guessing. I’ll seek to reclaim that sacred space of uninterrupted speech I’ve missed so much.
If you’re reading this, ask yourself: what’s stopping you from reclaiming the things you love? Feel free to send them to me over email.
Let’s see where this journey takes me—and maybe, where it takes us.
Thanks to Sandra Israel-Ovirih and my Custom GPT for reviewing drafts of this.