I was told that writing is a great way to force oneself to concretize their ideas.

Writing makes you confine your ideas to words - to language. As the saying goes “ideas are like assholes; everybody’s got one”. Ideas by themself are not special; they become great only when paired with thoughtful execution.

I’m someone who does not have a lot of ideas (I think; it’s hard to compare your thoughts to someone else’s). I grew up believing my sibling got all the creative talent and I got all the “logical” talent. That old “left brain/right brain” model.

But I enjoy writing. I’ve made it my profession to write things (okay those things are code and I’m writing functions but I have a strong belief there is a tremendous overlap in skills). When I’m writing code I’m attempting to convey intent using words and phrases that carry shared meaning in a specific context.

I think when you’re younger, you can often lead yourself to believe that skills that come “naturally” to you are things that everyone is good at, and that the skills that actually matter are the ones that you specifically must apply hard work to be good at (after all, if it’s easy for a child to do, it must be easy for adults to do, and thus cannot be of much value).

I’ll give the example of public speaking. I’m a rather good public speaker, and have been since I was at least 12 or 13 (my parents may be able to attest to even earlier instances that I can’t even remember). Apparently, most people find public speaking hard - some even find it scary. But if you told 13-year-old me that this skill that comes “naturally” to him is one that could be cultivated in to a lucrative career, it would stun him. You don’t even have to contend with another person when speaking publicly! You get to ramble on and on and no one can stop you!

Contrast this with something like painting, or any other visual art. I am an atrocious painter. My mother and sister are excellent painters, and have come to acquire this skill through practice coupled with natural ability. But if you’re not in the top 0.00001% of painters, you’re probably a hobbyist. Even with decades of practice, most people who are good painters (as I understand the field) are not professionally employed as such.

So when I found out I liked writing and it’s something that “felt easy”, I dismissed it as a non-viable career path. You have to work hard at some skill you aren’t good at to make a good living.

In the intervening years between that world view and my current one, I’ve come around. I’ve started writing again. Because I enjoy it, and because it helps force me to turn my ideas in to something real. I want to use this space to sharpen my writing blade, so that I can use it in on the battlefield of professional endeavours.

If you take any time to read anything I have written, drop me a line. I need people to be my whetstone, to show me where the nicks and notches are, and to show me where the blade has already been honed.