My sixth or seventh blog post talked about my suspicions surrounding blogging, particularly as it pertains to specialization.
To summarize, blogs confuse me because I struggle to imagine an internet where people succeed without scissor-cutting their creative selves to fit niches in the algorithm. I worry I came across as pessimistic. (Because at that time I think I was pessimistic.)
Now, since I’m basically an expert blogger — 29 days into the year means 29 posts as of this one — I think I’ve shifted my perspective. Austin Kleon wrote,
“Don’t throw any of yourself away.”
I go back and forth all the time, should I go into writing or should I go into game design? When I picked writing, I had to decide whether I should write for audio or print? Short form or long form? Maybe a YouTube channel?
To view your creative life in those terms is pretty much begging to carry regret. If you decide to lug around the weight of everything you “could” have been working on, then of what use was the decision?
Today I feel really good about the direction of my creative life, and hopefully tomorrow I feel this way, too. I work in print, but maybe tomorrow I’ll start a big project in game design, or make a video. Even in print, I’ve learned that I love the format of the essay — something compact, 2-10k words, that makes an argument. I have ideas of the things I want to be working on.
And the best part is, I can start right now.