In Some Ways, I Hate Writing

Dustin B Flanary
Aug 31, 2018 · 1 min read
“notebook opened” by Dana Marin on Unsplash

You know what I hate about writing?

I hate that it’s a one-way dialogue.

Unlike a conversation, you can’t look for visual or audio feedback from the listener to see if she understands or is following along.

Maybe she’s bored or uninterested in the topic.

Maybe she loves it!

When you write you don’t know either way until after the fact. And that’s only if someone comments and tells you the truth!

(They may just provide a vague nicety like: “I liked it.”)

It’s tough to improve without feedback.

It’s tough to know what resonates and what doesn’t without feedback or visual cues.


Nonetheless, there are some things I love about writing.

I love that I can think about something as I write.

I like that I can edit or correct something written.

I like that others can ponder what I read or read when it’s convenient for them.

I like that I can articulate and reword until I write something to convey what I want to convey in the way I want to convey it.

For those and more reasons I will keep writing.

Because I both love and hate it.