No one ever told me writing would be so important. Growing up, writing seemed to be the necessary by product of work -- a vessel to carry you to your destination. This was my lens that continued to influence the way I saw writing even past college. People who did care intensely about writing as a practice itself were the odd and "creative" ones. I didn't know they were on to something.
But writing is a fundamental element of communication. It has power. And in my line of work it is probably the most imporant skill you can have. That is how I eventually came into writing -- by force and to catch up. I realized that even though I was one of the "smart" kids my writing skills were weak. Now that I have been writing for years, I know that I will be writing for many years to come.
So it only makes sense that I should do whatever I can to become a better writer. In particular, I want to reevaluate the context in which I write. I usually write to produce a product, usually in the context of marketing. But it is my observation that many great writers I look up to write in order to think, and this is very different. It is safe to spend days producing and editing the most polished piece of content, but it is hard and risky to express yourself succinctly and press publish quickly.
This is my challenge: write and publish one piece to this blog every day for one month. This starts now with what you are reading. Many props to my colleague Brett for pioneering the Monthly Self Improvement program at TINT, which is the catalyst behind this challenge.
The rules
So it only makes sense that I should do whatever I can to become a better writer. In particular, I want to reevaluate the context in which I write. I usually write to produce a product, usually in the context of marketing. But it is my observation that many great writers I look up to write in order to think, and this is very different. It is safe to spend days producing and editing the most polished piece of content, but it is hard and risky to express yourself succinctly and press publish quickly.
This is my challenge: write and publish one piece to this blog every day for one month. This starts now with what you are reading. Many props to my colleague Brett for pioneering the Monthly Self Improvement program at TINT, which is the catalyst behind this challenge.
The rules
- I must write every day. If I happen to not have internet access I am allowed to publish on the following day. But I must produce a piece every day.
- The posts can be short. Or long. Length does not indicate quality.
- No longer than 30 minutes on each post, including publishing, start to finish. Time does not correlate to quality.
- I can be imperfect. This is the hardest rule, but it is the most important. I need to be okay with writing and publishing something that is not polished or could be better.
- I don't have to be right. I can be wrong.
- I have the permission to write about anything. (This might get interesting.)
