D-Day

Dream. Dullness. Definition. Destination. Depression. Dollars. Despair. Drive. Deadlines. Decision. Domination. Derivation. Delight.

Procrastination, really :).

Emotion, logic, responsibility, all of that. None of that. What to do when you know D-Day is ahead? As it draws closer? And how is that all different when writing is involved?

Writing for business and education is D-Day for me. Professors and peers will present feedback, and no matter how experienced or well-versed you are in any field or subject, a grade or measurement of some sort will be attached to that piece. In business, coworkers and bosses and the public will be the critics. Both involve an influence on financial status. For that reason and many others mentioned above, emotion gets involved.

Target audience and caring about what feedback is shared will forever affect my writing. The writing course of the past 10 weeks was the bane of my existence, especially when a decline in my health status caused further delay in putting thoughts down on paper. Also, after weeks of having a break from being assistant editor for a weekly newspaper, the chief editor passed away suddenly, leaving me to help try to fill his shoes interim-style. But besides taking over most of his regular responsibilities, I have yet to write a tribute article for publication on the front page. Front page articles are nothing new. Tributes are nothing new. But it is about someone for whom I cared, and that is where D-Day starts to loom as procrastination and emotion fight to settle because logic keeps repeating all those D words I started this post with.

Ultimate improvement for my writing would be to never have to write at all. But it is selfish, because a whole range of people in my circle of influence would be unable to share in my thoughts, besides the fact that I am not sharing my thoughts in written form. Any assertiveness to share my thoughts is irrelevant, as writing mostly feels like a chore. It has felt that way since I was commissioned to draft letters of correspondence for executives of various standing when I was but 7-years-old; since I was asked to proof and contribute to a religious bi-monthly magazine, policies and procedures and other publications in various countries.

But even though I do not prefer to write when it comes to anything shared, I do write for personal growth in different journal forms, surprisingly. This particular course has reminded me that writing can only improve with knowledge and reading. Outlining on a separate and visible sheet of paper has helped me organize my thoughts more. Meantime, I would do best to start writing a draft, before a deadline looms. It is because of this new piece of advice that I know I will have more papers to write until writing assignments become a positive experience, with no trace of negativity.

Until then, several D-Days have passed.
More to come :).