Until I began this blog, I hadn’t realized the writing skills that I had let wane over the years. I don’t mean writing for the sake of a report for school or work, ie. writing that strips any personality out of my thoughts. That’s the sort of writing that includes a lot of “as per my last email” and “To Whom it May Concern” statements. I still have the skills to communicate that way, but I lost the ability to communicate my thoughts through writing.
Blogging has forced me to flex a muscle that I haven’t used in a very long time. Such skills that I have had to revive through this process are:
Creative Writing Skills That I Had Let Wane
1. Creating Something From Scratch
In work or school, you are often told what to write. You are told the goal of the writing, the metrics used to measure success, and the overall structure it should have. With blogging, a person has to come up with all of that on their own.
2. Creating Individual Blog Posts That Add to the Overall Goal
Blog posts are episodic in nature. They are small progressive steps toward something bigger. They lead to an overarching story or goal or merely convey an unintentional evolution of a person’s writing. This can cause challenges of cohesion but also repetition.
Finding a middle ground and keeping things interesting means striking a balance between the chaos and cohesion of each individual blog post in the greater structure. My strategy for doing this is to simply write in a way that I find interesting. I figure if I enjoy it, then other people might too.
Choosing topics for individual blog posts can feel like a daunting amount of creative freedom to someone who has had very little. Am I qualified to make these decisions? (Jeez, how much of a mindless drone did I become that I am having to relearn basic creativity?)
3. Adding Your Personal Experience
This is a great way to interact with your content and bond with readers.
Readers have gotten to know more about me than some close family members lately. It is a great way to connect.
And yet, I am not used to writing about myself. I am used to writing analytical things. Where do I even begin when talking about myself? How can I access thoughts that I have gotten comfortable not sharing? So far, I haven’t even shared anything too personal. I am just that out of touch with sharing basic things about me.
4. Writing in a Casual, Authentic Way
I have noticed that I use a lot of commas. Often, when I re-read a blog post that I have written I will have to remove at least a few commas. This is a bit annoying but it is also the way my brain naturally thinks. With overarching ideas, I need to take mental pauses in the middle of writing them down. My mind is processing at those pauses.
Also, when I was young, I was taught never to begin a sentence with the word “and” or “but”.
But I do.
I was also taught that a paragraph should be at least three sentences long. And I sometimes ignore this.
My point is, I will sometimes ignore grammar rules if I feel the new structure more accurately conveys my thoughts. That way, the flow of the writing matches the flow of my mind and the idea. After all, writing should be about communicating thoughts as accurately as possible, not following a set formula. Doing so adds to the tone of the writing.
Part of the reason why I started this blog was because I felt constrained in other areas of my life. Even in small ways, my writing should feel rebellious because that is why I am doing it.
I have also been switching between British English and American English in my spelling and punctuation. I do this somewhat haphazardly, no real reason, really.
Messy Bun Book Lover
(Originally posted on May 5, 2025)