I was talking with my friend Adam (not roommate Adam, another one) the other day after church and had an interesting conversation on why writing is so useful to anyone. Adam is currently writing a book and has good insight into writing as more than just a means of communication.

As we were talking, I mentioned that I usually have a number of topics/problems that I am thinking about at any one time and I always have trouble nailing down conclusions about these topics without writing down and drawing out in words/diagrams the issue I am trying to tackle.

Writing my ideas and difficulties solidifies what I know and don’t know about a particular problem and seems to psychologically free my mind. I don’t have to preserve what I know because it is all written down. My mind is free to move on to the next level of analysis of the topic, knowing that any conclusions I have already come to are safe and secure in written format.

Adam said he will start writing sometimes and just burn through a section of the book without stopping to figure out the details. It’s ok though as long as he gets down what his mind is churning out at the moment. He can always go back through and use what is already written as a mental reminder to add additional detail, direction and analysis.

This is why most writers go through a huge number of drafts before publishing any sort of work. It is also the reason why so many blog posts (including my own) are so mediocre. They don’t go through multiple iterations; they’re just brain dumps. In addition, this process is complimentary to the way our brains work and fuels innovation for any endeavor, whether it is writing a book or designing the functionality of a new software. And we all thought our high school teachers were just being mean when asking us to turn in our rough drafts.

Inspiration: Conversation with Adam

Categories: Software, writing