Several months ago Amanda approached me about writing some posts for the blog. She was thinking of having me write about one post a month. I thought it would be a great way for us to collaborate and work on a common goal, so I thought to myself, ‘Great, sign me up! How hard can it be?’. The poetic and timeless words of Clark W. Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation “Holy s*%t! Where’s the Tylenol?” sums my experience up quite nicely, I think.
Writing is Hard
All I have to say is ‘Wow, this writing thing is freaking hard’! Before I started working on the blog, I didn’t think I would struggle with topics as much as I have. I’ve been struggling to figure out what the hell is wrong with me? Why can’t I write for s*%t?
Any of you reading this, if you’re someone who writes content, you have my utmost respect because it isn’t easy! At least not for me. I still haven’t figured out what to write about.
With that in mind and without further adieu, instead of actual content, I present to you a post about my writing experiences to this point. Since I can’t seem to come up with an actual money related post, why not!
Emulation is the enemy
To this point, the biggest struggle has been that I’ve been trying to emulate the posts that I read on this site and others. I enjoy reading the content that’s out there and want the posts that I write to be as good. However, all that seems to come out so far is crap.
My post, my voice
I think I’ve stumbled onto the problem. I’ve been trying to write using someone else’s voice and it seems to just come out awkward. Emulation is a good learning technique in certain situations. I’ve learned writing isn’t one of them. At least not in this case. I need to use my voice. I need to write about subjects that I’m knowledgeable about and what I’m passionate about. As good as Amanda’s voice and writing are on the site, WhyWeMoney would stand to benefit much more from Alan’s voice.
Friends, that means my posts will undoubtedly not be all that much like Amanda’s. There may be similarities in some ideas and values, but Amanda and I have different strengths and weaknesses. Our perspectives aren’t the same. She’s the money guru in the family. I tend to be better at the technical side of things and working with my hands. So, as you can imagine, our posts will be very different.
I was warned
I can imagine Amanda rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she reads this! She’s been telling me this exact same thing for months. I know dear! You know me. Stubborn and not very good at taking directions. Sorry!
Not sorry
I take that back. I’m not sorry. I know I could have avoided a whole lot of pain if I had only listened. But, here’s the thing. I’ve learned a lot from the struggle. I’ve grown. If I had missed out on the struggle, I would have missed out on the growth as a writer. No pain, no gain.
As much as I hate writing a post and then deleting the whole damn thing, each and every time that happens, I learn about what doesn’t work for me. I’m finding each time I go through the exercise, there seems to be small, incremental improvement. Hopefully, I’m on the path to figuring out my voice and getting a handle on what does work for me.
I’ve found in my life that struggle and pain can be excellent teachers and some lessons are best learned by these masterful teachers.
Lessons learned
I’ve learned that it takes a lot of courage to write. Even more to actually publish what you’ve written.
I find the idea of sharing my written words terrifying and yet I find it to be weirdly gratifying. The power of the written word allows your ideas and thoughts to reach such a huge audience. What other form of communication will enable you to continually have conversations and impart ideas with people you’ve never even met. Coupled with publishing on the internet, writing online content allows a writer to reach unlimited (well, technically limited to around 7.5 billion) people.
I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for all of the content creators out there. Kudos! Keep on rocking that content! This stuff isn’t easy and there are a bunch out there that make it look awfully easy. At least it seems that way to me from this side of the screen.
Amy @ LifeZemplified says
Congrats on pushing publish, Alan! Much respect and admiration for getting it done. We absolutely adore Amanda, but look forward to hearing your voice too!
Alan says
Thanks for the comment Amy! I appreciate everything you’ve done for Amanda and look forward to getting involved in the PF community as well!
SC | MissFunctional Money says
Hey Alan!
Words are hard.
I SO appreciate this post — I think you hit the nail on the head. You already recognize the danger of trying to replicate another’s voice, and I think you’re on the right track. Like you said, the only way to get better at writing … is to write. I think it’s courageous too, and I hope you keep it up 🙂
Alan says
Thanks for the encouragement MissFunctional Money! I agree that writing and publishing takes a lot of courage. More than I ever imagined. You just never know how something you’ve written will be received once you put it out there.
Steveark says
I think writing three posts a week would be difficult but one post a month? That should be achievable, and I think you figured out the problem. You have to write from your heart, not try to be someone else’s voice. That is hard. But you’ve lived a whole life up until now and there have to be dozens of life changing experiences you’ve had that made you, well, you. And that is what people crave, stories, since the first people crowded around campfires in the dark. And you’ve got some great ones that only you can tell.
Alan says
Thanks for the comment Steveark. I agree the straight from the heart stories are what resonate. I know that’s what always grabs my attention. Writing is definitely a learning experience that I hope, with time, that I get better at.
Mystery Money Man says
Great post, Alan. I think that even the most experienced writers struggle with these feelings from time to time. I’m NOT that experienced, but I know it’s an ongoing challenge. Personally, I find that I need to maintain that creative headspace. When I’m writing more frequently, even if it’s just a couple hundred words/day, the ideas flow more easily. As soon as I take a prolonged break, things grind to a halt.
I took most of the month of October off, just due to the enormity of what’s been on my plate at work, and I felt like I’d completely lost the ability to write. Finally I sat down this weekend, forced my self to get a new post written, an in the process, I think came up with ideas for about 10 more. : )
Alan says
Thanks for the thoughtful comment Mystery Money Man! It does seem like the whole process gets a bit easier the more frequently I do it. I haven’t done a whole lot of writing since college (which is much farther in the past than I care to admit), so getting back in the grove was very difficult. Totally agree on the idea floodgates opening while you’re writing. It seems like when you get in that flow, the ideas can just pour out of you!