"Have you thought of getting into writing?"

It has been over 20 years since I have seen him or spoken to him and after just a few e-mails that was his question. I apparently have a "remarkable turn of phrase and a way with words" and he thinks I would be "kick ass at it". Interesting observation on his part considering our e-mail exchanges consisted of some harsh truth and complete honesty. I guess I do have a way of telling it like it is and not sugar coating but does that really translate into any type of meaningful writing?

When I was young I liked to write stories. They were usually of the horror or scary variety, though I doubt they would have scared a kindergärtner, and really weren't all that creative. I'm too analytical to be creative or I would have probably gone into some sort of graphic art or design. I think at some point I realized that and stopped trying to be the next Stephen King. What I did notice was that I could write one hell of an essay on just about any given topic. In college I even had a professor keep a copy of one of my essay's to read to future students as an example of A+ work. I was proud of that essay but no longer have a copy of my own so I don't really remember what I wrote.

So, what does this mean for my future as a writer? Absolutely nothing as I don't believe I have one but it has reminded me why I really started blogging. It was never about being a poker blogger or any kind of blogger really, that was just a perk. For me it was a place to express myself in any way I wanted, about any topic I felt like writing about but somewhere I lost my way. I started trying to hard and the writing suffered. It started to feel forced and I wasn't enjoying it at all. I'd start to think about writing something then get a knot in my stomach because I was afraid it wouldn't sound like me or it would be too boring or not interesting enough. I realized I was no longer blogging for myself and cared too much what others thought. Considering I have a large group of friends who seem to like me for who I am, that line of thinking isn't really all that logical.

With all that said, this blog is going back to what it used to be, a place where I write what I want, when I want and it either gets read or it doesn't. People will like it, or they won't. It makes no difference to me. And who knows, maybe once in a while I'll write something "kick-ass" that has a "remarkable turn of phrase". You never know, it's happened before.