I totally relate to this. Even if you never "publish" what you write it has an effect of clarifying what you think. It also makes it possible to develop and ref

I totally relate to this. Even if you never "publish" what you write it has an effect of clarifying what you think. It also makes it possible to develop and refine your thinking because you have a point of reference. I wrote a post a little while ago where I thought I had a good handle on what I wanted to say. I researched certain elements to make sure what I was saying was backed up. I finished the first draft and thought, "Cool, with a couple of revisions I'll be done". The funny thing was now that I had clarified my thoughts I began to encounter ideas that refined my perspective further and lead me to new and better ways of looking at the whole thing. This was in part because I was researching more and reading more as time went on but I'm pretty sure I would not have been primed for those breakthroughs if I hadn't already put what I thought in writing. As it stands, I don't intend to use that first draft and its ideas will reused in something largely different but writing it was invaluable.