Why write?

I’ve been wondering for the past couple of weeks whether I should start writing more regularly; or establish a personal blog of some sort. And I noticed questions starting with ‘why’ constantly popped up in my head.

First question – ‘why write at all’? Finding some sort of answers to this is important, as I know it’ll help me endure through some stiff learning curves and lots of trials and errors laying ahead. So here I am, writing about why I should write at all.

To write well is to think well

I remember watching a quote from Dr Jordan Peterson which says, ‘to write clearly you have to be able to think clearly’. And the ability to think clearly is imperative to making good decisions. Thus I see the practice of writing as the practice of thinking. Not being able to write about a topic means you probably don’t understand the topic as well as you think. 

“Everyone communicates, few connect”

–John C. Maxwell

I’ve read some good writing and I’ve read plenty of bad writing. More specifically, I’ve read writing that connects and ones that don’t. Reading writing that connects is like looking at a beautiful artwork – you know it when you see/read it. 

I’ve written plenty of social media and email copy, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that producing writing that can connect is hard. It’s an art that takes lots of practice to get good at – and that’s exciting!

Making a start…

Consistency is the key to good practice; and I know, for me, consistency comes from how well I manage my own psychology. 

Be kind to myself

I’ve read good writing, and I know how good they are. Good writers produce good writing. But good writers also produce bad writing. In fact, even the best writers produce bad writing – so who I am to not be allowed to make mistakes?

Setting a low bar

Half a page of crapping writing a day, that’s my goal. And if I can do that – job done. At this stage, motion is more important than perfection.

I honestly don’t know what to expect from this, maybe I’m off to an exciting start; or maybe it’s just another project abandoned mid-way. Regardless, I’ll make sure to enjoy every moment of it.