A question was asked on Twitter about how I write. Judging from the title of this post, it can be assumed that I will discuss just that — about how I 'write' to this blog. Workflows and other cool nerd-out stuff. Well I'm sorry to say, this isn't that post.
Write? Who? Me?
First off, I don't think I'm a very good writer. I don't believe that I have the journalist skills like Stephen Hackett, nor do I believe that have the poetic prowess like Patrick Rhone. My grammar and punctuation knowledge are probably not the best either. I would never call myself a 'writer'. Randy Murray is a writer. Not me.
I find no offense in calling Gridwriter a 'blog' nor do I find offense in being called a 'blogger'.
Conversationalist
"He writes the way people talk!" - Becky from The Simpsons3
I would best describe myself as a converationalist1 who transcribes himself as opposed to a writer. Each post is like an internal monologue in my head and my fingers just go nuts trying to transcribe what's being said.
So you may see that I quote a lot of my internal thoughts, make use of dialogue, use self-deprecating humor, or even cuss here and there2. The reason for that is because that is a very accurate representation of what I would've said if you asked me to speak about the topic as opposed to writing about it.
So of course, writing with this style comes very natural to me. I usually just open up Byword on my iPad or Air and just go to town. Once finished, I'll give it a once-over, looking for obvious grammatical errors, improve a word here or there, then boom — posted.
The fact that I write what I would say means that to improve my writing, I have to improve my speech. Luckily, I naturally pay close attention to the speech and language of others. This allows me to pick up and learn new words, sayings and phrases from every person I meet.
An added bonus would be that since most of what I read are dialog-driven comic books, I become even more exposed to speech, words, and sayings from authors who excel in that form of writing.
Hinder Me Softly
However, I feel that writing in this style also hinders me greatly. Unlike other writers who plan out, outline, mind map, and draft their work, I do not. A part of me feels that I am missing out on growing as a writer by not practicing those steps. However, during those times when I attempted to pre-plan, I was often dissatisfied by the result.
Another thing that is problematic is that just like if I were speaking, when I write too long, I tend to ramble and go off topic into other tangents. So for longer posts, I do attempt to outline my direction with beacons just as if I were giving a public speech.
Despite those hindrances, I've come to accept my style. I may not be able to hang toe-to-toe with other great writers and bloggers out there, but it's okay because this what I am comfortable with. It's what I'm accustomed to. I think I'm much better at writing with my style than I am when I try to be a 'writer'.