Ultimately, I write in order to connect with people. I wouldn’t have said that a few years ago – I would have said that I write for myself or because I have to get the words out. But that’s not true. It’s not the driving force (well sometimes it is). The main driving force is the need to interact with other people.
When I first began blogging, I joined a WordPress Blogging University Photography Challenge (photo101) and there I met 4 other photographically-minded individuals (Andy, Justine, Lucile & Mara) and we all hit it off so very well. We talked to each other and supported each other’s adventure through the blogosphere. I loved that little community. I even met up with Justine & Lucile in London when I visited (from Australia) for work.
One of the crew (Andy) started a writing challenge called Dark Side Thursday and that was exactly what I’d been waiting for. And I didn’t even realize I’d been waiting for it!
You see, I’d been traveling for work, all over the place, all of the time. And it was exhausting. But I had inadvertently taken up writing, almost without noticing. I would board the plane, take my seat, put my headphones on and open the Notes app on my phone. And I would just write. And write. And write. My thumbs would fly across the little keyboard and type out a short story.
Most often, the stories were a little dark. I’m a fan of horror and thriller movies. And I’ve always had a bit of a dark side. Some people may find this difficult to believe if they’ve only seen my pink, flowery, sugary photos 😁
But yes. Dark stories. And so I welcomed Andy’s Dark Side Thursday posts. I would wait up until midnight on Thursday nights because that was the time when Andy’s posts went live. And I would post my dark story and then wait for the reaction. Would people like it? Would it be too dark? What would I find in the comments?
It worked. It satisfied something in me. It gave me something to pass the time on planes. And it gave me that interaction that I didn’t even know I’d been craving.
The last time I wrote a Dark Side Thursday post was in December 2015. I had been writing a serial – a series of short stories as part of a larger, complete story – and I finished it in December 2015.
I wrote a few things after that, but then I moved from Brisbane to Melbourne and had no more time available to write. I kind of lost the motivation. I still write. I write for work and I wrote short blog posts to accompany my photos but I don’t write stories anymore.
I think that’s what has motivated me to join this course – Writing: Finding Everyday Inspiration. I want to write again.
It’s looking promising!
x desleyjane
Musings of a Frequent Flying Scientist 
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