Words are hard. They’re so hard to write and find the right words and-
Sometimes I find it hard to find the right words to say what words I want to-
Words are so hard.
Writing is the process of converting thoughts from one format to another. Often, it’s taking an unstructured, loose idea, and turning it into something concrete.
The same is true for speaking, and anything that involves words. Actually I should have opened with that and-
It’s hard to make words. It’s hard to receive words.
It’s hard because it involves converting thoughts between-
They’re a lossy format.
When you take an unstructured thought, and put it into words, you’re likely to lose something along the way.
It takes skill to keep all the essence of a thought in words, and it usually involves tightly packing information into subtext.
Still, words are a great format. They’re easy to copy and spread. And there’s a joy to their rhythm and pace. I enjoy the pitter patter, step and slide, turn and tumble, of words words words.
Words don’t need to make sense to do their job. They can convey a feeling without making any sense at all.
Words have power because they can change people. They can do a lot.
So words are a really crucial thing to get good at.
The best way to get good at something is to do it again and again and again and again. So here I am, writing words again and again, day after day. Some of my words are nonsense and some are not. But either way, it’s practice.
I like to use simple words, because I like the ring it gives my voice.
When I was a teacher, I got quite good at sticking to simple words. So much so, that I started to struggle to give my words any flourish.
I tried very very very hard to bring it back, but I still suck.
It frustrates me that I have certain things in my head, certain feelings, that I can’t get out. I’ll keep practising here on this blog and you’re welcome to read along.
But you don’t have to. As my friend Jani Eväkallio told me today,
“I used to read your blog posts but you started posting too much.”
Back to the blog.