As I’ve said before, we’re all writers to some degree or another. We write emails, we fill out applications or forms asking various questions, we review stuff on Yelp or Amazon. Many more spend hours at work crafting documents related to whatever business they’re in. And still others work on teams called variously “editorial,” “news,” or the most generic of all, “content.”
And this is all before we get to people who actually are trying to write on their personal time, for an outside-the-office project or, believe it or not, for nothing more than “fun.”
Let’s hang onto that word “fun” for a minute, because I think it’s a concept that too often gets lost. No, work isn’t always fun–and since writing can be “work,” it isn’t always “fun.” That’s fine. But you can bring fun into the equation. You don’t have to keep it outside the gate like a naughty dog with its tail between its legs.
When you go searching for writing advice, one of the common mantras is “write what you know.” That’s fine advice, as it helps to keep you focused on a topic that makes sense to you, and for which you won’t stumble as much on facts and/or need to interrupt your process to look something up on Wikipedia.
But I’d like to take that concept a step further and say, “Write what you want.” Because it helps make the writing process something you actually will feel like doing. It brings that feeling of “fun” back into the process.
This can apply best, obviously, if your current writing assignment is wide open–if, for instance, you’re taking a writing course to improve your skills, or simply crafting a short story for no other reason than to satisfy yourself.
But it’s something you can bring into other areas of writing as well. As much as you can, see if you can work a reference to your favorite hobby or activity into a document at work. It’s a game, sure, but it’s also something that may actually resonate with others. Did you go waterskiing last weekend? Can you turn that into a metaphor that’s relevant to your business at hand? What about your passion for rock collecting? Scuba diving? Cooking?
The beauty of creativity is that it’s up to you to set the parameters. And writing, even for the dullest of business documents, is a creative endeavor. You are choosing the words, you are choosing how the ideas fit and flow together. You are in control.
So if that’s the case, then why not write what you want?