On Writing…It's Hard

On Writing…It's Hard

I have a lot to say and share, and since I am less camera and podcast ready, my primary outlet is the written word. I have literally thousands of catchy phrases and sound bites running through my head at any moment in time. I am quite cool.

The challenge is that I am considerably less cool about writing down these phrases and stringing them together into a single coherent thought, as I may think. Here is how I adapt and overcome.

Step 1. I start with post-it notes, capture random themes and thoughts (1 per post-it), and post them where I do my work. This ensures that I capture the idea in some form of permanence to reflect on it further. I try not to capture in journals or pads because I close them or mix them up with other thoughts and never seem to open them back up.

Step 2. Hours, days, or weeks later, I come back later and write down everything I know or care about that idea. After it sits for an hour or so, I can then edit it down into something that will make sense to others. This ensures that I have given myself ample time to reflect on my writing and the messaging. Specifically, how do I want someone to think, feel, or do after reading what I have produced.

Step 3. The next step is to run it through all the internal checkers in Word, remove all the 50 cent words that I added, and then run it through Grammarly. Readability is vital for me to consider myself successful. I generally shoot for a score of 95 or higher. Grammarly pushes me to think about the intended audience, and it doesn’t make fun of my ideas.

Step 4: I publish and then wait. I read and respond to comments. I open a dialogue with those who have engaged.

Step 5. Rinse and repeat.

Mrs. Langfitt, my 10th grade Journalism teacher at Socastee High School, would be proud to learn that I really can string together an entirely random group of words into semi-intelligible sentences.