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Learning to Write Month 1

So, last month I made a post stating that I would learn to write again. I have not been as consistent as I had hoped to be when I decided to start this goal. My mind has been occupied with securing employment for my family’s sake. Fortunately, I am in the process of securing my first work from home contract. While I am wary of any and all employment—I’d like to experience office employment at least once. For now, I will attempt to reflect on what I’ve learned since enrolling in the “Good with Words” specialization on Cousera.

 

During the first module of the course, we were to learn the “words underneath the words”. Essentially, we had to the audience we were hoping to write about. But beforehand, we had to come up with a plan for “why” we would want to write. What follows are my answers from the first writing assignment.

Good with Words Self-Assesment

1. Tell me about yourself as a writer

a)

-I don’t start with an outline

-I rarely read what I finished out loud back to myself

-With location it is hit or miss, when I was drinking, I would go to bars to write, but since I’ve stopped, I usually write from home or on a journaling app now.

-Truthfully, I don’t write consistently. Originally, I was learning to write in order to get passive income from my blog. I often repeat myself. Furthermore, I don’t seem to have a plan when I write out anything. Since I’ve stopped drinking, I can’t articulate my thoughts well. But I know that I’m only using that as an excuse to drink in the past.

I feel awkward and police my own thoughts. I’m afraid that I come off as incompetent. I know this is  due to past experiences of social othering because of my race and personality.

I feel resentment and bitterness towards myself for allowing others to define who I could become.

Still, I’d like to be able to articulate my thoughts in writing rather than speaking.

If I’m being honest, I prefer writing because it means I don’t have to vocalize with people who are socialized to automatically dismiss my experiences.

This is why I want to write. My voice is already silenced out of convenience and I refuse to have this happen to me any longer.I should be able to express my thoughts as a human being and not an object.

2. When was the last time you wrote willingly?

  1. b) The last time I wrote willingly was for this course and about learning to code. These pieces were driven by my depression and low-self esteem stemming from being an introverted Black man working low paying jobs for 12 years. Part of me hated myself for ending up in a position no better than the slavery my ancestors were forced into. That shame and indignity is still there due to institutionalized white supremacy. An institution that persists because enough people are willing to go along with this oppressive system, so long as they are not directly affected.

So I guess I also feel angry at the people who are consciously and unconsciously complicit in my continued subjugation.

  1. I think the fact that I know how to register domains, wordpress plugins and SEO. I’ve already done the steps necessary for growing an audience.

What I really need to work on is the consistency and quality of the content I produce. I know that I can write from prompts sober but I also want to write stories about sex, exploration, race, philosohy, science etc. I often procrastinate because of my self-esteem issues.

  1. My SMART ans stretch goals

a)

-Be able to write write a blog post every week consistently

-write/type at least three ideas a day

-be able to express my emotional state daily

b)

-My stretch goal is to at least write 10 stories for my comics by the end of 2021

-I will write and publish three short comics by the end of 2021

And I guess that’s that. I’ll continue to work through the course and get try to get more comfortable writing. Thanks for reading