I think the writing should stand on its own, and not be filtered through biographical details. I'm way too aware of being dismissed for e.g. being female, being over 65, and the various other reasons that people can trot out for refusing to consider a point of view that may not fit their world view.
I'm a privileged white woman, living a comfortable life in a beautiful place. I have written for as long as I knew how ... often too long, often too opinionated, and sometimes not well.
I have written for a living, even though the job was not necessarily called writer. These jobs have included newspaper reporter, television researcher, public relations advisor, project manager, governance leader and advisor to executives.
I couldn't have done nearly as good a job at any of the tasks involved in these titles had I not had the ability to write clearly and coherently. Looking back on my career, I see a thread relating to synthesis. Somewhere along the line, I acquired or developed the ability to take in a lot of information, process it quickly, and deliver a "take" that others found accessible and useful.
Towards the end of my working life, as a consultant, I used these skills to help clients make sense of their planning efforts. Synthesis, organization, presentation, clarity: those were the rabbits I tried to pull out of the hat of opinions, facts and dreams expressed by people seeking a common way forward.
Now, I write about what's on my mind. If there isn't anything, writing is a chore, and I feel empty. When there is something that's bubbling up, I find the writing flows easily and quickly.
Sometimes I have to watch out for recent influences. Too much sci fi reading, and all that comes to mind is dystopian futures. Too much news watching, and it's all doom and gloom. On the other hand, if I've had a wonderful trip there's likely a photo-filled travelogue bursting out. If the garden is delivering surprises, I'm inspired.
So if you subscribe to my posts - and if you do, thank you - you'll get an intermittent but slow stream of eclectic subjects filtered through the splendid isolation of my own mind. All opinions, all the time (except when facts are footnoted of course).
I treasure the writers that I follow, for they open up new words and new worlds to me. And several of them are good for a laugh, which is always welcome. Happily, it's usually when they intended to write humour.
