Essay

I've always liked the writing format of the essay, especially given the original meaning of the word "essay":

to make an often tentative or experimental effort to perform: try

When I write, it is an attempt to say something interesting, or worthwhile, or just in a different way than it has been expressed before. But the expectation that when I'm done, it's perfect? That's not part of the form. There will be failure, as there should be with any form of experimentation. And this should be ok.

Blogging doesn't lend itself to multiple drafts, to revising what was deemed imperfect or ineffective. Publishing on the internet lives forever, it seems, and the rapid nature of the format does not love the time delay inherent in the sort of editing that might seek to perfect an argument before it finds the public.

So: I write because I want to create something new. And maybe next time, I'll have learned a few new things, and I'll try a little better.