I was reading a blog post by Ryan Fortney, titled Provoking Thought in which he asks his reading audience a couple of thought provoking questions.

What gets you to write? What inspires you? (if you’re a writer that is!)

He takes the time to share his methods of getting inspiration for his writing. In addition he explains that the reason he is interested in how people answer is that he is constantly looking for new sources of inspiration and he thought he could get some ideas from what people answered

I must not have been the only person for whom Ryan Fortney’s post proved to be a source of inspiration, Dan Keller wrote a post about why he blogs.

Of Ryan Fortney’s two questions, I am going to answer the second one first. In his second question he asks “What inspires you? (if you’re a writer that is!)”. I wonder if my answer will surprise anyone who reads this post? I do not consider myself a writer. I am a blogger. The only place I have ever written and enjoyed it has been on my blog. However, for me to write on my blog, especially as frequently as I do, I have to have inspiration.

My source for inspiration seems odd to me, but I wonder if there are not more people than I think who get their inspiration from a similar place? My blog posts are like conversations, at least in my opinion they are. I am having conversations with anyone who chooses to read and/or comment on any post in my blog. What does that have to do with where I get my inspiration from? I have conversations with myself (in my head). If what ever I am having a conversation with myself about seems amusing or interesting to me, I usually end up blogging about it.

Even I have to admit how strange that sounds, but it is the truth. Very often conversations with myself inspire me to write something in my blog.

The first question that Ryan Fortney posed is one that has been rattling around in my own head for a while now. I have often wondered what got other bloggers to start blogging in the first place and what gets them to write up a post every day or every other day or so.

I have two answers for the question “What gets you to write”. I am convinced though that my first answer will make me sound more than a little nutty. My blog has played such a huge part in my clinical depression recovery process, that I have fallen in love with it. I view it as something that needs daily care. The best way I can take care of my blog is to write in it every day. Even if it is to do a simple meme for the day.

My second answer to that question is that I have come to depend on and enjoy my conversations with the others in my online community. In real life I am not a very talkative person, unless I have something to say. However, the conversations I have with people who visit my blog, or whose blogs I visit are something I enjoy a great deal. So even if it is a day where all I write is a simple meme, I still have many opportunities to interact with the others I have become used to talking to.

So now that I have taken the time to answer those questions, and exposed myself for the nut that I really am, I was wondering if any of you would mind taking the time to answer them along with a third one.

What gets you to write? Do you consider yourself a writer? What inspires you?

Just a little food for thought, Neighbors!