More writing aspirations

I don't ever think I'll ever see myself as primarily a writer. I'd much rather be "doing" something with my hands or body rather than sitting at a keyboard and computer screen day-in and day-out. But just because this isn't my calling doesn't necessarily mean I shouldn't write. My belief is that writing should be something everyone should do during their entire life. It opens up new avenues and strengthens an alternate form of communication when conversation and body language don't suffice. Writers aren't the only ones who should write.

Over the next few years I have aspirations of taking my level of writing to an entirely new level. It is going to take an enormous amount of effort and energy, but it's one of the greatest tools I have at my disposal at this point in time. Strides have already been taken with the increase amount of blogging, and that is all good. In order to achieve the next level, I'll need to reach outside my grasp and develop various forms of writing outside the casual or semi-casual blog. This includes technical writing, diagrams, essays, speeches and ultimately books. Let me briefly go over each of these styles and keys to success one-by-one.

Technical writing - at this juncture of my career, technical writing is very likely the most practical and welcomed form of writing. From troubleshooting and repair documentation, to instruction manuals and newsletters, I am able to translate intangible thoughts and concepts into words and pictures that are easier to read and follow. In the same light, videos may also have a place in here somewhere as well...I'm still not sure where yet.

Diagrams/design space - these are the random pieces of paper with ideas, pictures, drawings, and everything else in between. Just like Leonardo DaVinci's famous diagrams, it's a place to let the mind wander while being technically neat and proficient.

Essays - generally contain all the meat and potatoes of my ideas. They are most often quite formal and structured, contain extensive technical terminology, contain visual aids, and very suitable as reference material. Of all the writing forms, I possibly excel the most at essays. Haven't tried writing a book yet, so that remains to be seen!

Speeches - focused and structured, however much more general in nature than essays. I may leave out many technicalities which may not be as accessible to the general audience. That said, my speeches are normally very articulate, focused on design and flow over raw information. I’m looking to grab – and keep – attention of the audience.

Books - ahh yes...the ultimate prize. Since I was a kid I always wanted to write a book. So much so that I would take a whole bunch of blank paper, fold it up booklet style, number the pages and draw lines (which were meant to resemble text) and make stick-figure drawings interspersed across the hundreds of "pages" meant to mimic periodic illustrations found in most literary works. I've even tried to start writing books at various points of my life...and never really advanced beyond the first chapter or two. There are several reasons for this: I never really had a clear vision or structure for my writings, and my vocabulary was unusually very limited. As I have before, I will very openly acknowledge my reading and writing ability level had remained very stagnant since age 10 until very recently.

So I'll have to wait and see where this goes. I've already written a number of technical documents, so the experience is there and I believe I can pick this up quite easily. My biggest challenge will be the essays, which may take several attempts before they become semi-natural. Progress will be made, that is certain!