I’m an Artist. Why Did I Say Yes to Writing?!
I struggle to put together words more often than I care to let on. Colors and textures motivate me, and words tend to blend on the page. To be dramatic, it’s my hero’s journey: being an artist in a writers’ world. With a new career in tow, I faced an ultimatum: learn to write or… well. There is no or.
I took a social media position, and it’s been a blast. I love creating posts paired with eye-rolling alliterations and puns. It’s a creative and strategic career, but it has taken on a new task: blog writing. At the start, I felt disconnected from my writer’s voice. I was out of practice. I needed to learn some keys to writing effectively and authentically from a visual perspective. Here is what I learned:
Outlines are the New Blog
No more neatly studied outlines to build up gorgeous layers of essay and finely woven blog posts. Blogs have evolved to be straight to the point. My artist’s mind sees it as if it were a neatly laid out sketch: beautiful, iconic, gestural, but the form and point are clear. The blog has become an outline but is injected with grammar, complete sentences, and a dash of personality.
Art by Christoff Niemann: https://www.christophniemann.com/
Blogs are Practical
While the ‘creator’ still exists, content has evolved to be practical. It’s written in a knowledgeable and informative voice. My need for a visual conjures up the front cover of The New Yorker when Christoph Niemann is the artist. Simple and effective shapes to communicate. Consumers crave information that they can easily store away and apply to their personal lives: both eye-catching and intelligent, but can be understood under the scroller’s thumb.
Don’t Hold Out for A One Hit Wonder
Like the paintings between the wall and my desk, not every blog will be a home run. Let the successes land and learn from the failures. Slowly the words ebb closer and closer to the blogger’s center of gravity — a balance of writer’s interests and what will land with an audience. It can be a frustrating process, but that is the nature of the beast. We are helping to shape and mold the online world with every post and blog. Not every shape that forms will work in yours or my favor, but when they do… it’s Nirvana.
It’s safe to say that not all visual learners are like me. Many prolific writers are also fantastic artists and vice versa. Someday, I hope to be decent at both. For many, practicing is the only way. I don’t need to draw the parallel to art with that one. It is the true standard of success: nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Till the day I can call myself decent, I have this list of great ways to intertwine the worlds of writing and art while I continue to practice.
