There are a lot of good reasons for blogging and probably even more bad ones.

One reason I blog -- and I'm not sure whether it is good or bad -- is that it allows me to enjoy myself. When I write here I don't have to answer to an editor.

Whenever I compose anything intended for publication, no matter that I've had some recent success, the mountains of rejection slips that piled up over the years cast their chilly shadow across my efforts. The act of forming a sentence intended for a market has been irrevocably welded in my mind to the disappointment that inevitably followed.

I am forever looking over my shoulder. Adjusting my words to fend off the rejection I fear. No doubt this makes for better writing in the end. But it isn't as much fun as it could be.

While blogging, I can allow myself to be slipshod, to wallow in bad habits and make pretentious statements. Enjoy myself, free from trepidation. When I click on the JournalScape "enter" button there is no chance of getting a message: Sorry. This does not meet our present needs."

[And watch your comments!!]