Observing the gap between what people wish to write and what they do, I'd argue writing is difficult anywhere. But in this snippet I will share what makes it difficult on this website in particular.

I wrote about three modes of writing I believe precede any successful writing project.

Notebooking with no defined goals to explore ideas, thoughts, and feelings through language. Freewriting to dive deeper into a point of interest that beckons you. Then Constructing.

When thinking of what writing is I think most people's imagination begins at the constructing phase. They think it's about creating sentences and choosing the right words that will be read by their peers and smart strangers on Twitter. But as of today I believe that writing is more the first two phases than the third phase.

Writing is before word choices and punchline ordering. When you write something and share it with others -- even if just one other -- you're making a decision much more intimate and existential than confirming that you have followed the rules learned in your Language Arts class.

What makes writing on Adagia difficult is the lack of support for the first two phases: Notebooking and Freewriting. You're left to do all that work on your own. It's no surprise that when someone shows up to a blank page they don't know what exactly to commit to. What of themselves are they willing to commit to language?

https://maggieappleton.com/garden-history



Some writers like

peterdannock

and

therealbrandonwilson

can show up to the screen and jump into the constructing mode of writing, but most can't. I don't know what separates such writers from the rest. Maybe they are just very well tuned with what they are interested in?