Category: Designers Working With
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I have a confession to make.
Late yesterday, when I went to write the next writers post on the Designers Working With Series, I panicked and contacted mentor, writer, career coach, strategic planner and dear friend, Liz Strauss.
Via email, I babbled all sorts of fears. Writing fears. Basically, that I was scared to be responsible for the writers section of this series.
While I slept, Liz worked. In my morning, we picked it up again.
“Skype?” asked Liz. “I’ll meet you with a coffee frappe”, answers I.
During the three hours of subjects around, about, and including nothing to do with writing, Liz and I talked. Picking through the undertones of the conversation, she stated that I’m not afraid to write this series. I’m intimidated.
That, I am.
I’m intimidated because I’m not a writer. I’m a designer.
I’m a designer who feels that in order for a designer to be taken seriously as a business owner, learning how to write well is a needed skill.
One of the top skills.
Right up there with learning how to draw.
And that’s why I’ve put the writers section to the front of the Designers Working With Series.
But I’m not half intimidated, especially as my own writing skills are not spit-shined squeaky clean. I guess what I’m saying is to please bear with me while I share the insightful opinions from professional writers, as well as a few opinions of my own (perhaps not so insightful).
until the next
Designers WW,
cat
Comments to this post:
Comment: Liz Strauss says
Heck, everyone thinks that writers done do exactly the same thing. If you read writer’s blogs you’ll find we worry over and get intimidate even more — we have more practice so we can do better at making ourselves miserable.
Writing, like drawing or design is half ego and half self-doubt. Without one we could even get the nerve to start, without the other we’d be casting the movie before we started. The trick is to tell that self-editor — my friend, Lisa, calls the sabateur — to just ’shut up!” Well, to be quiet until the words get down and then edit them. :)
Writing is like playing the piano, it takes practice, but it can be learned. :)
4th April 2007 Quote
Comment: cat says
“we have more practice so we can do better at making ourselves miserable”
Liz, I love that statement! I’ve been gradually working up to full blown misery these past weeks.
I can see I’m going to be yelling “SHUT UP!” an awful lot in the next couple of years :-D
Thank you very much for talking me through this crisis. I’m half thawed and ready to go. Half ready that is!
4th April 2007 Quote
Comment: Scot Herrick says
Writing is like anything else: you practice. And writing a blog is good practice! You work on subjects, learn how to do research, learn how to find your voice, figure out how to become crisp in delivery, and look back over time and see how you have improved.
Writing has been made out to be intimidating. It’s not. Tell people what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Just make it your style of telling them.
And, outside of practicing the piano as Liz says, it’s important to start.
Promise yourself that if you totally hate writing after ten minutes you’ll stop. Tell yourself that every time you write and in twenty years count how many times you stopped after ten minutes. You won’t hit one.
You may not like everything you write, but have it down because it can be revised. The thoughts are not lost. And what you consider to be lousy today will give you the right context for the diamond tomorrow.
7th April 2007 Quote
Comment: cat says
Hi Scot,
I do notice that once I begin writing, no matter how I felt going into it, I soon became energised to continue. For the most part anyway.
This writers section was especially fearful because it was about writing, which I know next to nothing about.
Of course, I’m leaving it up to writers to chime in, so I should just relax and go with it.
7th April 2007 Quote
Pingback: » Designers Working With Series: Writers Summary BoDo: Business of Design online » Blog Archive says
[…] Right after the introduction I became a bit skittish and contacted writer, blogger, Liz Strauss for advice (thanks Liz!). With a nudge in place, I moved to the first question. […]
4th May 2007 Quote
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