Write

Part of my job involves copywriting – more specifically, coming up with stories to enrich our products and build connections between ourselves and our customers. Giving them something to vibe with, so to speak. Some of it gets used, a lot of it doesn’t make it past the planning board. I was asked recently how i got into copywriting…well, it was kind of given to me to be honest. I have always been around writing. i do read quite a bit (well. now not so much). In high school i enjoyed english class assignments more than any other homework. I still keep some of my essays, and I can vividly remember certain assignments I completed. I even remember my IGCSE English exam essay. I was editor and writer for our school newsletter for several years. In Uni i was always put in charge of reports (perhaps also self-appointed because I could not bear the typos and glaring grammar) and when i entered the workforce my bosses also asked me to write, from company profiles to project write-ups and other non-design related things. After my 2nd degree, I joined an NGO were i was in charge of social media updates, and this also followed me to my current job, but I’ve since left that for more product related content.

Why do I write?

Writing is easier, in a way, than talking. In my head, thoughts are jumbled up in multi-track thought trains which collide and careen off in every direction. i can spend hours trying to think of what to say. But in writing, you can see you thoughts clearer. you can trim, crop, and nip superfluous sentences. You can rearrange and review and reflect. most importantly, you can express more clearly. you can think of nuances, of rhythm and pace, of structure.

Some people are gifted with the ability to do this in their heads, so that whatever that comes out of heir mouths is at the very least, coherent, and at best, dripping with eloquence. I am neither. In between stammering and jumbling up my sentences, it’s hard to express a thought, let alone an emotion, even after rehearsing I in my head 20 times.

I used to write a lot. I had more time, and i suppose, more random things i felt like writing about. i had a tiny scattered audience of friends and acquaintances. And then i stopped. A friend once told me maybe a stopped writing because i found someone who listened. Quite deep, and perhaps that was also true. Honestly, i still do like writing. I won’t claim i’m any good at it, but whenever i re-read old posts, i do enjoy remembering. I think my problem these days is i start writing. but end up not knowing where I’m going with it. So I have amassed so many drafts, just hanging with no end. Does a post have to have an arc? A conclusion, or a tie-up? I don’t know. Less thinking, more writing, at least for now.