Writing for the Sake of Writing: How Writing Can Save You

The desire to be a writer—or more accurately, my desire to write—began many years ago. Even before I stumbled upon a book in a bookstore when I was in my early twenties. The title was Hoe Schrijf Ik Een Boek: Het Schrijven van Non-Fictie (How to Write a Book: Non-Fiction Writing) by Roy Martina and Willem Jan van Wetering. That book became fuel for an already burning desire to write.

As you may have noticed, the book is in Dutch. And Dutch is not my mother tongue. In fact, if we’re being precise, it’s not even my second language. That’s one of the main reasons I felt such elation and satisfaction when I finished reading it. I still remember that feeling vividly.

Finishing a book—and truly understanding it—brings a profound sense of accomplishment. So I often wonder: how would it feel to write a book and see it published? Will I ever experience that moment?

Whether I do or not, nothing can stop me from writing every day. Writing feels like an unrequited love. I love it deeply, even if it doesn’t always love me back. And I ask for nothing in return. How’s that for a metaphor?

Writing 10 Minutes a Day: Building A Writing Habit

 

One of the many reasons I started this blog is so that I can write every day. The goal is to build a daily writing habit, because for someone who claims to have an affinity with writing, I’m not actually writing enough.

And if I have hours to waste mindlessly scrolling through social media, I certainly can spare ten minutes to write thoughtfully. Therefore, having no time to write is not an excuse.

I completely agree with what Wendy Laura Belcher wrote in her book Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success:

“You are not too busy to write; you are busy because you do not write. Busy-ness is what you do to explain your not writing.”

It’s from this book that I learned it only takes ten minutes of daily writing to become a prolific writer — or in my case, a prolific blogger. In this blog, I’d like to put Belcher’s principle into practice.

Free Time Management — and Why It Can Be Quite Challenging

Time management is one thing, but managing your own time — the time when you’re not working — is quite another. For me, managing my free time is often more challenging than managing my working hours.

Structure is very important to me, and I think that applies to many of us. Without it, I tend to feel bored — and sometimes even anxious about trivial things. Work provides that structure.

That’s why I see my job as a crucial part of my life. It’s not only a source of income or achievement, but also a source of daily rhythm and purpose.

I work 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday — the standard 9-to-5 lifestyle. On paper, that sounds busy. But in reality, I still find myself with plenty of time to get bored. And boredom, to me, feels painful — a massive waste of precious time.

Hello, world! The Ray Explorer is here

You can call me Ray — and as you might guess, I love exploring. When we explore, we discover and learn new things, which in turn broadens our horizons.

In this blog, I’ll document the thoughts, ideas, and events that capture my imagination. Along the way, I hope to meet others who share similar interests.

My greatest passion is history — especially the Middle Ages. I’m endlessly fascinated by the historical contexts from which ideas, artifacts, and events emerge. I love visiting museums not just for the art, but for the zeitgeist each piece represents.

I’m also a language enthusiast. At the moment, I’m learning Spanish, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the journey — every new word feels like another step into a different culture.

In many ways, what I am planning to do here is to take notes. This blog will serve as my notebook. 

Writing is another joy of mine. Maintaining a blog feels like the closest thing to being a writer — and I’ve started quite a few blogs in the past. Sadly, many of them faded away over time. But I hope The Ray Explorer will endure longer than the rest and continue to grow as I do.