I recently discovered the writing site Medium from a Twitter conversation with a friend. Although our world is ever more varied and connected, the fact is that with so much content a personal recommendation is worth a lot. I have been thinking about this post by Nicole Tavares.
I have read a lot on craft recently, the skills and tools needed to write well. I am not fond of this kind of reading, but it is necessary and wholesome, like broccoli. I quite enjoy broccoli, but too much is tiresome. I am itching for a change of diet.
Nicole’s post poses a different take. She urges us to write. Write everything, write all the words, all the feelings, all the experiences. Sift through our life and discard nothing. Write without an end in mind, with ourself the only audience. The written page offers no judgement. We can lay ourself bare and choose from those fragments the perfect jewel to decorate our work, and the most suitable brick with which to build a story.
After the New Year resolutions are made and abandoned, this is an idea which can stick in the heart, where word count goals and marketing strategies do not reach.
Just write.
