Out of Practice
It’s been almost 8 years since I graduated college with an English degree.
I spent the first year or so out of college as a writer, but as the company I worked for grew, my role changed and morphed and in time, I became a graphic designer. I didn’t do it on purpose, it just kind of happened.
I enjoyed it for a long time because it made me feel creative, but over time, the doubts creeped into my mind because I wasn’t trained as a designer…I was trained as a writer. I have confidence in my abilities with the tools — I’m a proficient user of Photoshop, InDesign and the whole suite of Adobe products that designers hang their hats on, but I often doubted my ability to actually design.
I eventually (and maybe only recently) overcame that belief that I just wasn’t a good enough graphic designer. I know now that there were negative forces who caused me to feel that way and I’m fortunate that those forces no longer hold any power in my life.
However, as I’ve embraced my role as graphic designer, I’ve lost touch with my writing background. That’s what this blog has always been about, really &mdash an outlet for me to tap my fingers to the keyboard and see what comes out. And while I thoroughly enjoy the blogging process, I’m finding that in my new job, I’m being called upon more and more to develop content (which is business-speak for “write”). I still can write perfectly servicable copy, but I am struggling to regain my voice as a writer. It’s as if I’ve gone hoarse &mdash the words are there, they just aren’t emerging with a lot of clarity.
Lately, I’ve been working diligently on a couple of projects that are very important to me. Neither are work projects and both are requiring to write a considerable amount of content. I’m finding myself grossly inadequate right now of accomplishing that writing and it’s really frustrating.
If this post doesn’t make any sense, it only proves its point.
3 Comments to “Out of Practice”
Kevin
When I was in high school, I focused a lot of my energy writing silly fiction and zines and other stuff. (All with a pen and notebook.) When I went to college, my attention focused to computers, and then to design. These days, my attention is drifting away from the visual arts and back to writing.
When I first started really writing again about five years ago, I sucked. Just awesomely incoherent garbage that thank goodness never saw the light of day. But I just kept writing, and over time, I found a voice after hundreds of pages of practice.
I guess I can relate. Blog writing is kind of a double-edged sword; it feels good to complete a small piece of content that gets read, but does not offer the opportunity to really stretch and expand upon a thought. (If you think about it, I could have condensed my book into a single blog post of bullets, but where would be the opportunity to deeply research and explore an idea?)
Not sure if I have advice. Keep practicing, for sure. But if you really want to find a voice, try writing something that lets the voice explore its space.
- 2:43 pm on 10 21, 2007
Sidna
I think your writing is very expressive and creative. You definitely have an opinion, which is a quality I have always appreciated in anyone. Keep exploring your writing AND graphics techniques. Over time, each will provide you more confidence and a proficiency you’ll be more pleased with.
- 9:27 pm on 10 23, 2007
Brett
I think you should write a book. Seriously. About what? I don’t know but I would read it and i’m sure others would to. Don’t think about a topic too long, just write. I suggest something light that people can laugh about…there’s a market out there for that(i’ll give you a buck if you can make me laugh).
- 9:28 pm on 10 24, 2007
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