A Ramble Devolves Into a Rant

The problem with having a blog (if that's what this even is) is that I not only feel an obligation to add to it constantly (and guilt at not doing so) but I also feel like any post I add has to be stellar and Pulitzer Prize worthy to count.  So, I have a passing thought, think I should write about it, and then pass on doing so because I put too much pressure on myself to get it right.

But what is right?  I'm not on here to convince anyone of anything.  I'm not leading a charge or rallying troops.  I'm not waving a banner or shouting a battle cry from the mountaintops.  I'm just this guy who occasionally writes things and wants people to read them.

On that subject, can I just say that I think it's unfair that publications consider someone posting a story on their personal page tantamount to that story being "previously published"?  There's no scrutiny here.  No one is judging my words (as is clearly evident in the ones I'm choosing).  I think I should be able to put a story up on here so that the few friends who actually come to this page can see and read and comment without it bearing the taint of previous publication.  Maybe the version I put up here is just a rough draft while the one I submit is a polished masterpiece.

Photo by Conscious Design on Unsplash

As a result I have stories sitting in storage collecting dust that only a few people have seen because they have to remain pristine for whatever publication finally sees sense and publishes them.  

Ah, but this rant falls on deaf ears, since no one is really reading this.  I suppose I could put a story up here then pull it down if it got picked up, but that feels dishonest and wrong.  So, cross your fingers, imaginary people, that one day all of my stories will be nabbed by someone out there and you'll be able to see them out there in the wild, hiding between the pages of some obscure journal.

Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash