What Challenges Me As a Writer and Why I Will Always Write
Creative Ideas From Paula Bramante
Just a few days ago, Illumination Founder, Cognitive Scientist, and writing coach extraordinaire Dr. Mehmet Yildiz challenged writers on this platform to share their struggles and achievements related to writing. After a month of feeling blocked and scattered in my writing, Dr. Yildiz’s invitation gave me the push needed to wake up and start writing again. I am grateful for the challenge as well as the suggested outline for organizing the story.
Finding New Ways to Envision Audience and Purpose in Writing
I tend to over-think topics. This tendency blossomed in college and graduate programs where professors rewarded students for turgid academic writing on highly specialized topics. In all those classes, the days and weeks I spent crafting a research paper were only ever for an audience of one: the professor. Writing under these circumstances frequently demotivated and fatigued me, but grades and degrees were the carrots dangling at the end of the stick.
For balance, I penned personal journals, dozens of notebooks worth, on various topics about psychological self-regulation. The time I spent on therapeutic writing was only ever for one person: myself. Writing under these…
