Writing My First Blog

Dear Reader,

It is quite a difficult job, this writing a blog. I’ve been thinking about it for many weeks now, or maybe months, but I just never got down to actually doing it. And even when I did today, one of the foremost problems I faced was “what to write about?”

“Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there.” — Thomas Berger

How do I decide what to write about? I mean I am not a public figure whose opinion is greatly sought after. I am just the guy next door who, like everybody else, is just constantly trying to live and make sense of his life and writing is something that just lets one put thoughts on paper (ahem!!!).

Well, then that raises an important question: WHY do I want to blog? I don’t know but let’s explore. One reason might be that I think I have too many great ideas that are simply waiting to be harnessed. “Intellect of the 21^st century” and “The Bertrand Russell of 2012”. Once I unleash my mind, the world will never be the same again. History will once again be divided into two ages. Just like BC and AD, it will now be BS and AS. (Seriously?? BS??) Of course, Dear Reader, I am just kidding.

Another reason might be that I want to be able to write down my thoughts so it improves my ability to express myself. Add to this the fact that I am a ferocious and voracious reader myself, I know there is a pleasure in composing one’s own piece of original thought and posting it for others to read. Or as F. Scott Fitzgerald famously quoted:

“The reason one writes isn’t the fact he wants to say something. He writes because he has something to say.”

I, for some time, have been quite disappointed with myself over my inability to write anything at all. More than half a decade back, when I was still in college, I found it very easy to write down whatever I was thinking about. I just had to pick up a pen and paper and think about the first thing that came to mind and I would be able to write quite a bit. But as time passed and I completed my engineering and then started with my job, whatever writing I did was all technical. And that has gone on for so many years that I have almost forgotten what it used to be like to write down random thoughts. Now, that needs to change.

Well, well, enough of thinking about why. I am still not certain of WHAT I should actually write about. Should I write about myself, my feelings, my experiences in personal life, what I like and don’t like, what hurt me and what gave me pleasure? Nah.. I think netizens have too much already to browse and read up, who has the time to read about my issues with life?

Maybe, I should write about something happening in the world, maybe my observations of political, social or economic events? Maybe, highlight how I see some social practices and my opinion on what is just and what is unjust. Yes, I do have some opinions of my own.

Or should I write about some scientific literature I have read recently, or my interest in astronomy? Yes, I’ve read quite a few books on science in general and astronomy in particular. Maybe I should write about stuff I’ve read that has awed me and which a layman otherwise never gets to find out in detail? For instance, how many people actually know that the Voyager 1 spacecraft that was launched by NASA is already moving out of the Solar System beyond Pluto and is currently in the Heliosheath? Sounds like a simple technicality but it means a lot for humanity as an achievement. More on that in another blog.

Coming back to the WHAT, I also absolutely love some particular writers like P.G. Wodehouse, Carl Sagan, Christopher Hitchens, Bertrand Russell, Stephen Fry and even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of the Sherlock Holmes fame. And I think that the works of each one of these writers have been revolutionary in their own ways. So maybe I should blog about what I like about their works. Yes, that too sounds like a good idea.

However, my Dear and Patient Reader, I now do feel that it may even just be random thoughts on topics such as this blog itself. But I hope that would not be too boring for you, because I guess it won’t be too boring for me myself in the first place. After all, writing is the best way to talk without being interrupted.

Thanks for listening.