Writing-free time

So I haven’t been writing in the blog as much as I should. This sentence is usually where I would apologize for that, but I’m not going to do so.

One of my journalism professors sophomore year said that he originally got into journalism because he thought he wanted to be a novelist. I, too, am in this field because I like to write and it is the only practical way to make writing a career. Someday, I would like to write books (fiction or non-fiction). But that professor said he no longer sees himself writing novels. He never exactly said why, but now that I am actually working as a full-time journalist, I think I know what was holding him back.

Writing is a painstaking process. So when you write for a living, you don’t really want to be writing in your free time. It’s unfortunate, but it’s just the way it works. I’m still keeping a notebook of ideas and I am always thinking about what will someday make a good book, but I haven’t actually started working on anything.

And, as you can tell, I also haven’t been diligently posting to this site. It just becomes a bit of burden after sitting at the computer and composing pieces for the paper. In London, I was craving the chance to write. I loved working at the Observer, but as you may remember, I was excited just to get one crummy byline. I don’t have that void here, which I think is a good thing. All types of writing are good practice.

The other thing about being here is that I am not meeting people in the same way that I was in London. There, a big theme was familiarizing myself with the Brits. Here, my only real interactions are the ones that occur while reporting. I don’t see the need to comment on them on this site.

Anyway, I just wanted to offer a bit of an explanation. I still enjoy keeping this blog and I am always looking for material to put in here, but it’s a quiet life in Montana. Not much to sound off about. A lot of times I would just rather enjoy the scenery. I’m actually about to go body float down the Clark Fork River for a little bit. It’s a hot, sunny day here already. And I have two stories that need to be covered this evening.

Comments welcome,
Andrew