You are absolutely right--all (or at least most) of those elements are required. But I've been doing a lot of those other things, and not enough of the actual writing, and I'm realizing how damaging that's actually been to my spirit. So, it's time to readjust--and strike that balance.

I had a long conversation with my former academic advisor yesterday about my need for not just writing, but for writing and audience, and how I've been using blogging effectively as a salve--or an instant gratification version of that. It was a pretty powerful conversation, and it made me really reconsider the way I've been treating my priorities in the writing sphere. Hopefully, I'll stay inspired. But I figured I'd just blog the short version of the results. I may actually send you an e-mail about the whole thing, because I think you'd probably understand better than most the paths the conversation trod--if you're interested!

And finally, I've been reading Contra longer than it's been on lj, so of *course* I'm keeping you on my list. It's been delightful being in touch with you more regularly since you mirrored over here. I always appreciate your words of advice--they've helped me back on the path more times than you probably realize. So... thanks for that!