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Write For The Sake Of Writing

02 February 2013

Hi there web, it has been quite some time since I’ve published anything on the web in terms of writing.

The reason isn’t due to a lack of content. The past 2 months have been an incredible time of learning. As a design student at StarterLeague there has been no shortage of things to write about when learning with Mig, mentors, fellow students and the Chicago community.

Houston, We Have A Problem

The problem is I find myself making the typical mental notes that any blog writer makes once crossing paths with a deep thought: “Oh, I should totally post a blog entry about this” or “Is it worth posting about?”. These mental notes usually end up discouraging my desire to write anything at all. It also hinders my entire creative process as a writer.

How?

Now, I am no longer freely writing about a topic that has intrigued me enough to sit down and write/type about. My thoughts are constantly bouncing back and forth between two connections. The connection between my mind and the paper/screen, and the connection between the screen and the reader. I’m perpetually rechecking grammar, making sure thoughts are clear, etc etc.

Writing Is Good

Writing is an art, a gift. It’s not meant to be robotic or planned out. One of my favorite writing sessions I’ve ever experienced was with a pencil and a journal, I wrote to never look back at it again. Write to just for the sake of writing. It rewarding to the soul, trust me.

This writing was ironically never meant to reach the web but thoughts are meant to be shared. Not all are meant to end up in your 8th grade journal in the closet of your parents house.

Be Vulnerable

The interesting lesson this writing taught me was the same way I was obstructing my creative writing by thinking about how others may judge it, the same way about my design. What if I had an illustrative idea about a design and immediately thought.. “Ooh, I should make it 800 pixels wide and 600 pixels high pixels in Photoshop then post it on dribbble”. See where I’m getting at?

There’s a sacred part about writing, designing or coding that’s called the (creative) process. That process should never be hindered by pressure, cynical judgement or expectations. The process is meant to be a vulnerable time to express any ideas.

Therefore, write to just simply have a relationship with a pen and paper. Design to just simply make something beautifully structured. Code to just simply make cool ideas come to life on the web. Embrace and explore the process, (maybe) let the rest of the world in later, focus on the connection between your mind and the art. Also, don’t follow me if you’re expecting more writings, sorry.