This is a meme I can get behind.

1. I blog because I can’t imagine not writing. I’ve spent a whole life trying out various jobs that didn’t involve my own writing, and I’ve hated all of them. Every time, I come back to writing. Blogging lets me write how I want, when I want.

2. I blog because I want to see what other writers are doing. Their success is my success. Their failure is my failure. And mine is theirs.

3. I blog because it’s the freest public form of writing. I want to be public with my writing. I want an audience. But I don’t want someone telling me what to write. Blogging gives me that.

4. I don’t blog because it’s like a front porch, or a cocktail party. I don’t like sitting out on the front porch (I’m a back deck kinda guy), and I hate most cocktail parties. The only kind of party I really like is an intimate dinner party with my closest friends. Blogging isn’t usually like that — with blogging, uninivited guests are always crashing in through the window when you least expect it. That’s fine, for a virtual party, but I also don’t like repairing broken glass.

5. I blog because it forces discipline on me. There’s always that calendar staring at me, coaxing me to create something every single day, whether I think I want to or not. Not wanting to is only an illusion. I always want to.

6. Blogging is the only “work” I’ve ever wanted to do when I was on vacation. If that isn’t a reason to do it, I don’t know what is.