Writing is uncomfortable. It’s all about figuring out what you think, feel, and then how to say it without sounding like a jackass. You have to construct a theme, something to unify the piece. For example, this post is about the craft of writing, and more specifically, how hard it can be and my process. There are so many points to juggle– does it sound trite? will readers catch a reference made with some form of figurative language? does each paragraph ultimately contribute to the meaning of the whole?
Here’s my writing process.
- Stew.
- Ruminate.
- Stare at something, surf the internet, close my eyes, rock back and forth, drink lots of coffee, sing, stare, got down notes
- Pick a topic (based on a catchy phrase or title)
- Write several disjointed sentences.
- Write several more disjointed sentences.
- Edit some and delete some. rearrange order of sentences.
- Decide I’m tired and give up.
- read, re-read, edit
- Fresh burst of inspiration–write more
- re-edit
- Post.
- read posted content and find typos–correct typos and think of other things to change and/or add
- Re-read
- Wait for comments.
So why is it so uncomfortable and labored? Because to me writing is a portrait of me that I paint with words and one wrong stroke can ruin the entire interpretation.
