Why should I share my writing online?
You want to share your writing online, but you keep asking yourself: What's the point? Why should I share my work on the internet?
There are so many platforms. Twitter, Substack, Medium, Bearblog, WordPress, Quora, Newsletters... And most of the writing goes largely unread and unnoticed. So why share it?
It's important to understand why you are writing.
Write to understand. Not write what you understand. When I think I understand something and then start writing it down, it often turns out that I don't really understand it that well. But in the process of working through the sentences I'm able to create a better understanding for myself.
If writing is only about understanding and thinking better, then why share it? Making your work public adds skin in the game. You will be forced to make your writing more rigorous. Regardless of the audience size.
The audience doesn't matter in the end. In the end the value is found from you being lost in the writing. From the depth and focus that's required to express yourself clearly. When you are writing a private diary, you are not forced to be rigorous. You are free to ramble on and lament.
And if you're writing in order to quickly build a large following or make money, you should understand that's extremely rare and probably not worth the payoff.
What matters most is whether the act of writing and sharing serves your own goals and gives you personal satisfaction. External validation is a bonus, not a reliable foundation.