We naturally favor that those activities in which we excel, or in which our failure to excel is less evident than it is in other activities. In school I always got better marks on term papers than on exams. So I have returned to writing term papers; this time, however, I get to choose my topics. And for sheer fun nothing beats ranging over books, magazine articles, stories, whatever, looking for the topic that will become my next post.
There are two kinds of difficulties: rewarding and unrewarding. Changing a flat tire, for example, is an unrewarding difficulty. The best you can hope for from overcoming it is to be back where you were before your tire blew. Fixing a clumsy sentence is a rewarding difficulty. To create a sentence that has economy, clarity, and snap — there’s nothing like it. To remove word after unneeded word from a puffy sentence, watching it become shriveled and crisp like bacon in a skillet — what could be better?
And writing posts is an ideal activity for someone like me who is mostly housebound and hoping to hear from friends whose comments assure me that my attempts at communication have not been abortive, unintelligible or chaotic — that is reassurance of the most precious kind.
I have a couple of ideas for posts — good ones, maybe. Don’t go away.
Books Matter 