I’m on my way to Melbourne on the train as I write this week's blog. As predicted, school holidays have thrown whatever order we had out the window and it felt irresponsible not to take advantage of the free hour fifteen each way. So here I am. On my way to the monthly DBC design yak brekkie to reconnect with my design pals and meet some new ones. As I mentioned last week, I’ll also be presenting about this very blog which is why I’m writing this on the way to Melbourne, and not the way home. This is my presentation prep work.
You see, in reflecting upon this blog for this presentation, it’s become blatantly clear that this is a processing tool more than anything else. It is an opportunity for me to reflect upon certain things in my life and help frame them in a way that makes them useful. I’ve come to understand that doing it for nearly five years has made me quite good at seeing the wisdom in the chaotic cloud that is my life. You could almost say it has become one of my superpowers.
I blame this clarity on the process of writing itself. While I might not alway hit the mark every time, a good story needs a beginning, middle and end. Without this simple structure it can be hard to bring people along with you. We all like to know the ending, conclusion or takeaway. The act of taking an event like ‘living in a shitty rental’ and breaking it down into the beginning, middle and end forces me to take a step back and look at the situation more objectively. This ‘outside’ perspective helps to show me what parts of the story are necessary if I was to retell it to my Mum for example.
Once loosely deconstructed and mined for parts I’m able to rebuild the story using words. I know that sounds silly but working with physical words, the actual act of writing, has transformed from being a chore (just getting a 500 word count) to being quite a decadent creative activity. As my dear copywriting friends will tell you, the words we use matter and word choice can elevate a simple sentence into something that becomes meaningful and delicious for the reader to digest. Anna Lamott, one of my favourite authors, does this exceptionally well.
In saying that, my writing is very DIY and I’ve never been too concerned about the ‘quality’ of it. That’s how I’ve managed to get something out every week for nearly 250 weeks. I’m sure there are literally 100 changes I could make to every blog that would make it a far more coherent and enjoyable to read but I fear that any more investment (at this stage) in the quality of the blogs would artificially raise expectations of my skill level and in turn require more than the 2 hours every friday morning I currently dedicate to writing them.
If I didn’t have to make money to survive I’d love to invest more time into becoming a better writer. Maybe some kind of creative writing course. Maybe I can have a late stage career pivot and become a journalist. Or maybe I can combine all the things and become an author. Good friend, client and life advisor Steph Clarke just announced that she is (finally) going to write her first book and it made me jealous (in the best possible way Steph). Maybe I want to write a book… I love writing and I’m a book designer for fuck sake! Surely the twain shall meet?
Coincidentally on our lake walk last week, Matt started listing off famous authors who work alongside their 'significant others’. More often than not, partners are editors, ghost writers or sounding boards. Quite obviously, writing a (successful) book requires a team of people so it makes sense that partners are roped in. I wasn’t quite sure what Matt’s angle was in this particular conversation, did he want to be my editor rather than my muse? Ultimately it was encouragement he was offering. He was saying that he thought I could do it which is nice.
Our conversation naturally led to what I would write a book about. I mentioned that I had over 200,000+ words in drafts online (you're currently reading it) but what would I write about if I had to start from scratch - which you obviously would have to do if you were going to write a book and not just stitch a bunch of MVP (minimum variable product) blogs together. I honestly have no idea what I would write about now come to think of it. Maybe you have an idea?*
Curiously, content for my blog has never been a problem. It was in the beginning with about 20% of my blogs starting with ‘I’m not sure what to write about today’ but I kept writing. Amazingly, every week I’ve managed to write at least 500 words. I often wonder if I’m a magnet for good stories or if starting this blog has made me super attune to all the good stories that have always been there? It's the whole chicken and egg argument. My problem now is not blowing past 1000 words because who has time for that!
I didn’t think that I actively looked for stories in my everyday life but perhaps I do it subconsciously. I’ve never sat down with someone with the intention of writing about it later but sometimes it just happens. So often it's the linking of several different events, conversations and thoughts that create the meaning and form the story.
I’m actually on the train back to Ballarat now. The sun is streaming in the window and I’m feeling very content after my presentation. I winged it, not because I don’t care or am lazy but because I’ve convinced myself (for better or worse) that I don’t need to prepare when I’ve been asked to talk about myself. This has gone on for quite some time now, ever since I deliberately didn’t plan a presentation to Queensland TAFE design students to prove the point that you need to be able to talk about yourself to a room full of strangers and not hide behind a portfolio.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve never had a portfolio that just ‘speaks for itself’ but any traction I’ve made in my personal or professional life has been because I took a chance to connect to another human. While ‘winging it’ is not for everyone, not over preparing and letting the room steer the conversation makes me far more relaxed and I can focus on the people I’m talking to rather than worrying about getting my lines right. I’ve got to leave my ego at home.
Writing every week is my way of connecting with a whole bunch of great humans who I rarely get to see in real life. In terms of my sphere of influence, my blog has done more for me than my portfolio ever has! The flip side of that is that I have a whole bunch of people who know more about my life and relationships than they probably need to. I got a bit bummed when a friend said she didn’t need to call me because she knew exactly what I’d been up to but now I’m just stoked she read it at all.
Life is so busy for everyone that to get a solid five minutes of anyone's time each week is a privilege. I love the fact that my New Zealand friends and family are following along. When I do get to see them in real life, I get to spend all the time talking about what they’ve been up to since they're up to date on my life briefings.
For only 2 hours a week I get to connect to maybe a few 100 people and on a really good day, I might get an email or a comment saying - yes! I know that feeling or that they were experiencing what I was and felt heard or seen. The best response I got was from my sister last week who read it to her husband and they gave my blog a ‘hear hear’. Brilliant.
*At the brekkie it was suggested that a book about all the random, amazing and interesting people I manage to get to share a cuppa with me. A bit like Trent Dalton ‘Love Stories’. An interesting idea…
