Mastery in any field relates to efficiency. A true master, be he a sportsman, writer or businessman, spends most of his time in the sweet spot, where the least amount of input yields the highest amount of output.
Many people mar their self-expression by verbosity. They say a lot but impart little. They speak like a machine gunner rather than a sharp-shooter. Whether this comes from an undisciplined mind or a troubled heart is sometimes hard to discern, but regardless of its provenance it limits the effectiveness of the speaker and wastes the time of the listener.
Writing can be a wonderful exercise, a gymnastic for the mind that leads to a more balanced, rhythmic and collected self-expression. Writing leaves footprints in the sand, allowing you to retrace your steps and to see if you made the best possible approach to the idea you wished to convey.
While I’ve never kept a journal, I imagine that so doing would help anyone to gather his personal thoughts and arrange them in a way that best conveys his factual and emotional experience. Blogging offers another such avenue, with the added benefit (and pressure) of an audience.
If you are concerned to move from where you are to where you’d like to be, I highly recommend that you consider writing. There’s nothing like it!
On this note, feel free to send me anything you’d like to have me review or consider for publishing on my blog. I would be honored to participate in your process. I’ve enjoyed your excellent comments over the years and I would love to hear from more of you. It’s time to find your voice!
Gregory Hake 
Pingback: The Pages Speak by Kate Porfilio
Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration!
Eager to refine the sharp-shooting skill!
P.S. Bulls-eye!
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Thank you for the invitation!
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You’re welcome.
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Writing has a contractual element, even when one is just writing to oneself! Somehow the act of putting something into writing sets things in motion. Sales people have discovered this principle, and it has wider application too.
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I agree.
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When you put down words on paper, and especially if people are going to read those words, you are making a commitment. Even more so than speaking to someone, a written record allows either yourself or others to go back and know that “you said this on this particular date”. That can be scary or exhilarating, but what it should do is make the writer think carefully about what it is they are writing. The shorter the writing, the more on-message it should be. While a novel or a longer non-fiction book should have a cohesive theme, a short story or poem can wander from its central message far less often. In the days of hasty emails and hastier text messages, a cohesive and well thought out blog post, journal entry, short story, or essay can be a breath of fresh air.
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I particularly enjoy finding ways to open up a particular medium for communication. For instance, who says emails cannot retain the formality of their paper predecessors?
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I’ve enjoyed reading your blog for your content and your writing style. I’ve found my own writing benefits by reading well written literature. I actually find poorly written articles are like dissonant music and repell rather than draw me in, even if the subject is interesting to me.
I’ll be interested to see what your audience shares, perhaps some original poems!
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Good writing is always refreshing and inspiring. Many people write how they speak and would benefit from expanding their writing capabilities independently of their speaking abilities.
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I very much agree with your thoughts about writing and thanks so much for your offer. I plan on taking you up on it!
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Looking forward to it. Incidentally, I am open to posting any form of creative expression.
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Finding the right words and the right amount of words to convey a thought is a great exercise. Thinking through a process of communication requires an understanding of the subject and who you’re addressing. I know before I’ve given speeches or lectures on a theme I’ll write an outline of the information. This helps me distill it so I can stay in my allotted time and convey what I think will be the most salient points to my audience. Thank you for the invitation, I may take you up on it.
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Great!
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This does seem like a good exercise, to pen your thoughts in such a way where you use the least to convey the most. In so doing, it forces you to distill the essence of your message by being very clear in your thinking. There’s nothing worse than trying to convey an idea which is not clear in your own mind, as that’s where the fluff usually begins and you come across looking rather foolish. This I will keep in mind!
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Most sentences can be reduced by half and still contain the original meaning and tone.
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Thank you Gregg!
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