Well, after almost two years, I asked myself that question, and I was asked that question. The answer is yes.
However, it’s important to first clarify something. Having a blog is, in some ways, fun, but it’s not an outlet. It’s not a place where you come to unwind from the stress of work or the worries of life. It’s a place that requires clarity, intention, and presence. It’s more than a space where I simply write and others read; it’s far from a vessel where I can pour out pent-up energy. That’s what gyms and running shoes are for. It’s an environment where what you write has an effect, and precisely for this reason, it’s crucial that that effect be as close to the right, positive, and constructive as possible.
Perhaps, in ancient Greece, I would have ascendeda mountain to speak to anyone who would listen. Today, I write. But writing is only part of the process: publishing an article means going through many different phases, each with its own logic and “accurate” meaning.
Start from zero
Everything starts with an emotional push that leads me to produce a first draft in a river-like mode. In the company, “river meetings” are those that help the group analyze every aspect of a topic to bring all their respective insights to the table. So when I talk about an “article wrighting” by “river mode” I mean that I simply let out everything that was there waiting to be brought out.
Without emotional, grammatical, or contextual control. Even the verb tenses are left to chance. The topic? Even simpler, that day at that time, something is pressing to be released and told. It’s the topic that chooses when to write it down. The only real choice in the moment is what to use to bring it out: a dictation machine, a smartphone and a voice note, a text written on an email draft.
In short, you find a virtual pen and write something. No matter how rough it is.
Then, as punctual as taxes, comes the part you can’t escape, the part where you sit down in front of a plastic and silicon computer. I then proceed with the construction of the article, taking the raw material and transforming it into finished, concrete thoughts, even if they’re still written in poorly written style. There are still numerous typos, punctuation errors, and incorrect verb tenses. However, the whole thing is starting to resemble an article.
The fun part ends there and the part that requires attention begins
I reread every thought and analyze it carefully. Yes, I analyze it carefully because it’s written.
To tackle this second part, I draw on an awareness born of everyday experience. As often happens, it can be said that a large part of our experience comes from the world of work. Also because I spend a large part of my daily life there, in the world of work.
In fact, I’ve often had to take action after giving someone a strange impression about something I’d wrote. How so? Emails, now more commonly called just “mails,” sometimes force you to take action. For what?
Because someone has read one of my emails, perhaps written in a more fleeting moment, written with greater passion, the omelette is ready to be eaten “They were annoyed by the tone”. So, each time, I’ve gone to my colleague to explain that the tone was normal, and after immediately rereading the message’s content with an “expressive” and calm reading, the result of that soothing action comes naturally: “Oh well, reading it like that actually has a different effect… you know, I was annoyed by…” and so on.
In recent years, I’ve drastically reduced the phenomenon of calming visits, because I’ve learned to reread everything I write very carefully and repeatedly and, no less importantly, to empathize with the reader. I’ve realized that 99 times out of 10, tone depends on the mood of the reader and rarely on the mood of the writer. If an email can be misinterpreted, imagine an article; it would be difficult to knock on the reader’s door to explain myself better. Those who write have a need, those who read are subject to someone else’s need. We’ll have the opportunity to delve deeper. This experience comes from the world of work. Also because I spend much of my daily life there, in the world of work.
Returning to the blog, reading and rereading what’s written helps construct sentences that evoke the right emotions in the reader. This makes a huge difference in the success of an article. Mood is the first step in the success of a communication. Both on the part of the writer with a certain mood and on the part of the reader, emotions can create different panoramas. Therefore, if the writer wants to succeed, he or she must avoid words and concepts out of context that can be annoying for a variety of reasons. Well, after the phase of constant reading and rereading, having reached a state of the article that appeals, I continue with a technique learned from extensive study: reading aloud several times, applying the practice of “expressive reading.”
Expressive reading is a very emphatic reading style that emphasizes punctuation and produces the result of a story told by a narrator, like those we hear on TV or in movies. It works very well when reading stories to children. Finally, when everything is ready and the article can be published as is, we add an image because it’s the attention-grabbing element. The article is ready.
To be read, yes, but the web thinks differently.
Just as I insert an attention-grabbing image for people, allowing them to imaginate on the nature of the article, the web also requires its own image. Lacking eyes and an emotion with which to speculate on an image, it requires its attention to be captured by text, or “tags.” Tags construct a general idea: “mountain,” “river,” “forest.” Mr. Web makes do with this to present the content to those searching for something relevant. Now i am simplifying, but this part of the job also requires a lot of attention. Mr. Web is more careful about reading than I am about writing. Words shouldn’t be chosen at random, and they shouldn’t be chosen among those that “arouse suspicion” in some search engines.
Roughly speaking, I’d say the draft takes about 5% of the time. At least in my case, when something in mind is ready to be brought out. The first finishing touches take about 60% of the total, and that’s the work on all the content, which will ultimately be the source of satisfaction for the article. After that, the finishing touches, everything else weighs in, always as a percentage. These are indicative percentages, of course.
I can say very briefly, and with certainty, that the fun part is in that 5% of the draft. The rest isn’t difficult, ugly, or annoying, or even work; however, it takes time and represents the part that requires a bit of effort. This is also why there are so many articles in draft form, some of which will never make it into the ether. Perhaps, reread after a few days or weeks, I’m not in the mood to finish them. They just sit there, like tools in a shed waiting to be put away.
Is it worth it? Absolutely. A blog like this aims to be a place for considerations, inspiration, and circulating ideas. A space to share experiences, tools, and practical suggestions, but above all, an environment in which to grow through information and awareness. That’s why I pay so much attention.
Writing is an act of freedom. Every freedom requires responsibility. And perhaps it’s precisely this balance that makes it so fascinating.
In the meantime, to be picky, it’s 4:49 in the morning, and I’ve completed the draft of this article I started at 3.
Thank you so much for your time.
L.C.
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