I recently asked myself what I want to accomplish with writing in general and this newsletter in particular. It started with no real purpose or topic. People (mostly friends and family) said I communicated ideas well, but they love me and have to tell me nice things. So I started writing to get ideas out of my brain and indulge what was left of my creative side.
To paraphrase Joan Didion, writing is a pathway to thinking. We all have limitless thoughts running through our heads. Yet stopping to clarify and organize them on the page externalizes them for us.
The writers I admire wrestle with challenges and the status quo. To me, they appear to think deeply about their topic. Not so for me - writing is more physical than cerebral. I literally feel something, then use metaphor or humor to create a bridge to my thoughts.
However, rather than deep, insightful topics, I sense that my writing is like carbs - cheap and tasty with no nutritional value. They make ME feel good for a bit but don’t challenge my readers or me to learn and grow.
I want to add real nutrition to my writing. Like protein and vitamins that help your cells regenerate, I want to introduce readers to new concepts or differenet ways of thinking about a familiar topic.
At the same time, I want to have my nutritional cake and eat it too. I want to have fun and be playful with writing - see where it takes me as the writer and you as the reader.
As fate would have it, the writing school I did in the before-times (pre-Covid) is hosting its 10th cohort! I was in Cohort 1 of Write of Passage, where David Perrell acted as tech support for me to resolve a SquareSpace issue for a course assignment. His hushed tones made me believe he was at a conference or about to attend an important meeting. I'm also a bit embarrassed about that, but here I am, back again to learn, grow, and share.
As a thank you to those who subscribed or stayed on the distribution list, I’d love to hear what you like reading about. In less time than it took you to read this newsletter, you let me know what topics interest you or keep you coming back.
Until next time,
Lindsey