Category: Creativity

On being a writer for other people…

I have always had limited time to devote to my writing. At the end of 2018, I got the opportunity to start getting paid to write for other people. I also opened my own little business providing creative services which was something I always wanted to do.

Of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, but my own content creation routine suffered quite a bit. By suffer I mean stopped completely…

While I still really enjoy publishing for others, even though it’s all been ghost writing, I realize that I still need to be publishing for myself!

So, while I don’t intend to fill my site with rubbish I do need dust off the publish button. This post is nothing more than a restart for my own writing habit.

After all, I can always come back and clean it up later!

Here’s to those writing for fun, as well as for profit. Let’s show everyone that really busy people can do both!

To Build Things…

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time lately learning how to become a digital craftsman. Mostly because I like to build things…

I grew up making things. Physical things that you can hold and use once finished. Everything from model airplanes to birdhouses. So, creating something that is purely visual is new to me.

I thoroughly enjoy interacting with a good design. I love examining the interface on a website or app and thinking of how the designer thought up the layout, and the developer actually built it.

Sometimes I look at everyday things and see them not as finished products, but their individual components, and how they are assembled.

Instead of a car, I see pistons pushing a crankshaft. Wheels mounted on axles, and the braking mechanisms that will help to stop its motion. Planes are all the shape of a wing. Control surfaces and lift. Walls nothing more than drywall covered studs containing plumbing and wiring.

Breaking down large projects into smaller pieces has come easily to me.

henri l via unsplash.com
henri l via unsplash.com

One thing that I don’t like about creating something digital is that you can’t actually touch it…

The feeling of course wood sanded smooth, or molding clay into shape are some of the things that make the experience truly wonderful. You have taken something basic and transformed it into a beautiful and useful product.

Getting your hands dirty is the best part.

The same can be said for creating something completely new using a text editor. In the end, I guess you can hold the finished product in your hand using the device of your choice. I guess that makes these sort of things real enough.