A writing process for generating shit people want to read
The starting point of a writing process should be a problematic question or a risky claim.
Begin with a question that is genuinely puzzling to you. Or a tentative claim that invites multiple perspectives and/or resistance & skepticism from the audience.
(And no, this isn’t about being “controversial” for controversy’s sake. That’s basic and boring as fuck.)
When you start with ideas that are familiar or comfortable, you’re boring. Automatically. When you begin with things that are safe or certain, your writing will feel flat and perfunctory. Automatically. When you try to “demonstrate your expertise,” or “create value,” you’re boring. Automatically.
That shit may have worked before every god damn person on the planet became a fucking coach or “expert,” but it’s not good enough anymore.
If you don’t know which problematic question or risky claim to begin with, email me. Tell me about what you’re reading lately.
I’ll find it for you in 10 minutes. If I like your email, I might even do it for free.
(if you’re not reading, don’t waste my time)
Currently reading the entire Animorphs series that I loved when I was a kid. Mostly a mid-life crisis/nostalgia sort of thing. Also a bunch of nature books & field guides (another passion from childhood).
I guess the common theme is everyone's looking for the "right" way to do shit. Wasting hours reading self-help books or listening to DudeBro podcasts that promise you'll achieve <desired result> if you follow their program. But kids don't care about doing things the right way. They do what's fun and then move on. My kids scribble on paper for hours without caring how it looks, then breezily toss it in the trash.
I’m researching grief these days, have been putting together some thoughts during the night. I think about how we get addicted to the process of grief and stay in there looping because it’s comfortable and it means we don’t have to put in the effort for something new and uncomfortable. Im open to ideas on making this something worth reading. I’m tying in my own experience in each of the grieving stages of the delusion of denial, the rageful anger, the desperate bargaining, the hopeless depression and the choice of acceptance.