I’m not a writer by trade or education.
I'm an interior designer ... An interior designer who writes a design blog.
And I want what I write to be interesting and valuable and readable and compelling and informative and entertaining.
I want to shock a little bit. I want to teach a little bit. I want to share a little bit. I want to make friends a little bit.
I just want to just be me a little bit.
I mean, isn't that what storytelling is all about? Revealing a little bit about yourself so that others will find some sense of connection??? ... or not.
Kurt Vonnegut On The Shapes (or lack thereof) of stories
I’ve been reading a lot about writing (actually, "studying" is probably a more appropriate way to describe it).
I even took a webinar from an (in)famous blogger / writer (I'll save the story for another day).
One thing is certain...
When I start, I have no idea how anything I write will play out.
There's no pre-planned introduction, arc, or ending.
I upload an image or two that represents the concept I'd like to convey into a Google Drive document - but I just let it sit there, with a title. Sometimes that Google Doc will remain there for weeks, maybe even a month or two. As I see images or get ideas, I go back in and add to the piece. I add more words or images, a paragraph or two.
Maybe the title changes.
Maybe I realize I should divide one long post into a series.
Maybe I shouldn't write much at all because a post full of pictures would tell the story more effectively.
Or maybe my ideas would be best described in all text.
Whatever the route, it's clear that I never know when I start where it will end up, and I'm that way about a lot of things.
(...Well, except for when I'm designing an interior. Those projects require design plans where things are carefully considered and planned out. :-)
With just about anything else I do, I have a grand plan and distinct goals, but I don't track towards them with blinders on, because I’m very subject to change, to whim, to a better idea I may have along the way.
And I very much subscribe to the approach of how this writer below develops a story. He lets his ideas develop and wander and grow.
I'm a fan of Breaking Bad. And when I read this article, I realized that my approach was not so unusual.
Vince Gilligan's approach to writing is really a remarkable process, and the show's dedicated following serves as proof that there's something right and effective with an erratic train of creative thought.
Read the article about him that's linked above and make sure to take good notes - that is if you fancy yourself to be a storyteller ... which, by the way, you should ... because we're all storytellers in our in our own write.