My experience of writing
What I learned since I started writing full-time
Writing is a full-time job. I didn’t realise how much information I have to consume. It requires hours of reading and listening just to write a short piece.
Now when I have conversations, a part of my brain is automatically searching for topics and patterns I could explore in writing.
Most of the process is unconscious. I put in as much info as I can and at some point, a piece appears in my conscious mind. The hard part is translating from the unconscious to the conscious.
Investing time in writing something that not a lot of people read puts things into perspective for me: attention needs to be earned and the only way to earn it is to keep showing up.
English isn’t my first language and expressing myself in a second language IS HARD. I've always suspected I have a brain condition too that makes it difficult to express myself properly even in Lithuanian. It feels like I’m thinking one thing and when it comes out, it doesn’t always match what I had in mind.
It’s also a (fun) struggle between expressing myself and figuring out what my readers find interesting. Sometimes I write something that I find interesting and the response is meh. Other times, I’d write something boring and people love it 🤷♀️
Another struggle is putting my thoughts into a coherent narrative. I think I have opinions and points of view until I need to express them in a way that others can understand.
My writing is personal and reflects whatever I’m thinking about/going through. I’m afraid of being misunderstood/rejected/taken for a lunatic because I have quite a different view of most things that are not mainstream.
I write in short form when I haven’t developed the idea fully. Long-form writing is harder but could also derail into waffling too much. You know what they say, if you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it.
So far what I said is writing is hard. But:
The most annoying thing about writing in the social media age is that everyone has an attention span of a goldfish (including me). We are conditioned to seek feel-good content. It’s a generalization, but my fear is creating the feel-good type of writing because it has no lasting value. At the same time, I’ve got to play the game.
Sometimes I re-read what I wrote and it’s at best sub-par so I don’t publish it. If someone read it and thought: “Wow that was a waste of time” I’d be disappointed. When I read something I published and think ‘That wasn’t good’ I feel annoyed that I wasted someone’s time.
Someone said I’m too harsh with myself regarding this, but I think high standards lead to quality output. I saw the perfect quote describing this:
A skill I’m cultivating is saying the same thing in fewer words. When I speak, I’m over the top and use a lot of adjectives and exaggeration whereas great writing is simple.
I also run on emotion in my daily life, so writing makes me turn on the logical part of my brain.
I’m learning to connect two seemingly unrelated topics and finding core principles around them. The more patterns a writer identifies, the more relatable the piece feels to a reader.
Receiving feedback is both flattering and valuable. Flattering because someone took the time to say a kind word. It’s more touching than I thought it would be. Feedback is valuable because it helps me see what people find interesting but it can also be distracting because everyone has their own preferences.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and my brain starts spitting out a better way to write a particular piece.
I edited this piece 7 times and the last edit is taking place 2 hours before it’s scheduled to come out 😂
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If you have any topics you’d like to suggest, please share them with me! Anything in the ballpark of psychology, self-development, spirituality, beliefs, performance etc.
Send me a dm on Instagram or LinkedIn.
Have a great week,
Rimante 💛
P.S. My two favourite writers are Morgan Housel and Paul Graham. I highly recommend taking a look at their stuff.
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