Writing is paying attention

Writing-is-a-way-of-externalising-our-thoughts of course, but more than that it’s about paying attention to what is going on, whether that is in your head or in the world. It is a way to make-the-implicit-explicit in the same way you can explain-your-process-to-a-rubber-duck. By writing you chose what you pay attention to and try to articulate it in words.

This is why you should [[ Re-read old diaries to pay attention and know yourself ]]

When we write, we redirect our attention. But it doesn’t stop there: precisely because we write, we redirect our attention before the act of writing, and even after it.