Aussicht auf eine unbefahrene Straße

On becoming a writer (draft)

  • Does the title gets it on point?
    • Empathic but straight writing.
    • Signal vs noise
    • The empathic but clear writer
  • What does this article want to say?
    • Bring silence and calm into my life (or dump my head out)
    • Learn to express myself directly without noise
    • Where a clear written communication can be helpful
  • Where is the red string?
    • Point out whats the problem
    • Say what you want to do about this.
    • Show some examples
    • Express thoughts about this
    • Decide if this is helpful
    • Provide regular updates
    • Refactor, Retype, think twice.

Introduction

There are so many thoughts in my head. They often feel like a storm coming up or a noise getting louder. I often get excited about tech, or a conflict in life I cannot solve. Conversations with people keep replaying in my head and I keep thinking about it.

Writing is a way to calm the storm. To shut the noise. To get out of the loop and think straight.

My texts should communicate clearly. I want everyone who reads my texts, should be able to understand and maybe enjoy what I am writing. Writing should also help to not only communicate clearly I want to be able to express emotions in a foreign language. As a person who lives in germany, my english often sounds harsh and gets me in unpleasant situations. Especially in social media. People feel attacked about things I say and I am sure it is the way I am saying things.

There are by now just a few books on becoming a writer I can recommend because I read them. For example "On Writing Well" from William Zinsser. He makes it very clear how to communicate straight. There is also "The Elements of Style" from William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White which acts as a lookup for do's and dont's in writing.