The Cathartic power of Writing
When i started my blogging activity, some couple of months ago, i was resolved, but somehow skeptic. I had tried writing before. I made probably four or five attempts to start a blog in the past four or five years, and each time i failed, and after just a couple weeks after my first objective my motivation just dropped, and i wasn’t able to fit writing in my not-so-busy schedule.
Still, writing to me is more than just a hobby. For several years now i struggled to force writing into my weekly schedule, and as a result i feel i have incredibly improved as a storyteller (also because my favourite style is short stories, and i somehow managed a sporadic exercise in online forums).
I said force, but this is not the right word, probably. The reason is simple: i love writing, i find it cathartic to the point that i’m exhausted, when i finished, and this is the very core of the problem for me.
I love writing so much that when i start i’m basically forced to continue until i’m drained.
Writing to me is a stress reliever, but also a place where to let my messy thoughts flow like a current, follow their natural direction without being interrupted, and find their natural place. You remember when Dumbledore tells Harry Potter what the Pensieve is the first time? That is writing to me!
I believe here on Medium there are several people with the same problem!
So, what changed? Up until a couple months ago i was not able to write and tell the story, so something must have happened.
Well, it’s actually not that difficult to tell. Basically i planned it differently. For years i just started, when i wanted to write. This time i actually did what i stress my clients about: i created a basic plan.
The first thing i needed was an objective. I know myself, and i understood that my objective didn’t need to be SMART. Actually, it shouldn’t have been. Being a little obsessive-paranoid, i tend to become a wee too much attached to metrics and KPIs. What i really needed was some kind of vision, and it wasn’t difficult to find one: i consider myself an entrepreneur of the Myself Corp., and what i always need new customers, being them actual customer for my consulting services, or employers who want to hire me for more long-term commitments. And as a marketing guy, i understand the importance of good communication in getting to this objective. So i started a course of Communication (that helped me understand how Communication can actually be my career focus, together with Strategy and Innovation), and rephrased my mission in three simple words, to get clearer in my message.
Communication. Strategy. Innovation.
Secondly i had to decide what to communicate. My immediate objective was not to sell anything. I was not doing marketing, in a strict sense. I wanted mainly to interest and engage people. I decided to communicate about my work, but also about my passions and my personal interests, just like i’m doing right now. This is because i like my work, as long as it’s part of my life. As an entrepreneur, i don’t experience a strong separation between my work and the rest of my life.
My third step was choosing the channels. The blog was a must, but i wanted to grow my presence especially on Linkedin, so i opted for Pulse. And i just loved Medium. Somehow i had to figure out how to create different contents for my channels.
On my blog (sorry, it’s in Italian!) i liked the idea of quick pills about myself thus what’s really different from how i write on other channels is the format i use: you can read any of my post in no more than a minute. On the other hand i knew that Pulse and Medium are more prone to columns, and in general longer posts. The difference between the two channels is language. On Pulse i write in Italian, my native language, whilst i try to keep my english alive here on Medium (hope it’s not that bad!)
Also i write about more work-related topics on Pulse, and more life-related ones on Medium, but it’s more a general direction that a rigorous template.
Last but not least, the frequency. My objective was to come out with one post per work day. This gave me motivation, challenge and timing.
With this plan in mind i always have a couple weeks of posts in queue, awaiting to be published, and i’m wondering if i’m able to come out with short stories in the weekend. This will probably be one of my next steps.
Do you also have a plan like this? I shared it because i sincerely hope to find some more ideas to help me plan better, and write more!