Writing Out Loud

The other day Ta-Nahisi Coates tweeted about no longer being able to journal online. By journaling, I think he meant working ideas out on the fly, writing to learn, writing out loud.  As a public intellectual, everything he writes is now seen as a definitive statement, a historical utterance. in such a situation, trial and error is seen as faulty reasoning; evolution of opinion becomes hypocrisy. When you are no longer anonymous, you can never write “nothing.”

Thing I miss most about the old blog was the ability to just publicly journal. Basically gone now. Everything is seen as definitive.

— Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisicoates) February 15, 2016

But writing about nothing is exactly what is needed sometimes. It helps clear the mind.  Right now, I’m about to work on a short story in the brief period of time between meetings. I needed to focus. I love that few people will see this. I love that if I change my mind, no one will begrudge me for it.

We all have different freedoms; embrace yours while you have it.