writing is hard
When I started this blog, interesting topics would effortlessly pop into my head. But as I started writing posts, I came to the realisation that transforming these ideas into writing is actually really hard.
Coming from an academic background where I would write theses and dissertations with relative ease, I was surprised to discover that all my experience in technical writing didn't transfer over to writing in a non-academic setting. It was easy for me to conceptualise and write about concrete ideas based in academic reading and scientific journals. But once I started to write about more abstract subjects that weren't easy to put into words, it took an extra step to translate my thoughts into comprehensible and accurate English.
Not to mention the act of writing itself. I would go through multiple iterations of the same post, rearranging and pruning sentences wherever I saw fit, even using a grammar checker to make sure I wasn't making any obvious errors. I would write, rewrite, and rewrite again to ensure that my ideas were clearly conveyed in the words I have written. The amount of work and effort put into a well written post tends to be hidden behind a veil of effortless prose and sharp grammar.
I recently read William Zinsser's book, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction in which he shares a similar sentiment:
Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it's because it is hard.
Reading this book made me respect my fellow bloggers even more than I had before, because they were writers who made writing seem effortless. Even this post has gone through multiple iterations, with sentences rewritten and paragraphs rearranged until the words finally felt right.
Writing, I've learned, is a craft that demands patience, persistence, and humility. What appears simple and flowing on the page often represents hours of careful thought, numerous revisions, and countless moments of frustration. While I still struggle with each new post, I've come to appreciate that this struggle is not a sign of failure, but rather an integral part of the creative process.