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A promise to myself

The year is half-over. It is 10:40 PM on June 30. I'm fighting against the clock.

Every month since last September, I've posted an essay to liquidbrain.net. Now, my streak is in doubt.

This blog has lost steam. I'm a journalist (in training) now; every word I write here is a word I could have written for work. We'll see how I manage the transition; it's been rough so far.

Yet whether I'm prolific here, and whether anyone reads this, I want to keep a promise to myself that I never made.

I want to keep writing this blog.


I've been reflecting recently on whether I enjoy writing. I think I do, but only in those final moments before the deadline, where all I can focus is on the page. Before I start, I'm a wreck of constipated expectation.

The only way I write is by forcing myself to take out a notebook. I dread that moment; I hate the first few hours; and then ... it's okay.

Every first sentence I make is a promise to myself.


It's 11:00 PM now. I have to go.