*Recently, much to my pleasant contemplation, I have had a number of people asking me about my writing process. In this post, I will explain what happens as I’m writing. I find this exercise to be interesting, because I have never really been asked how this all works. What follows, is my best attempt to detail what goes on inside my mind when I write a paper I intend to publish.*
The first thing that happens is, I see an image inside my head. This image, is almost always the cover image, or first image, that is found at the top of every post. When this picture is presented to me, the paper in its entirety is already written. The best way I can explain it is it is very much like a package delivery.
After I see the image, I really do not have to do much of anything. I merely flesh out what is written. Think of it as the words being embedded in the fibers of the image or picture that is presented to me. Within those fibers is a running stream of words, whose waters I wade in, until the paper is completed. If you ask me what determines whether or not a paper is completed, I will say that for me, it has to have its own unique I.D. Its own secret signature.
If I have ever had a problem with writing, it is correctly concluding when to put the pen down. The temptation to overwrite is always there. I have never suffered from “writers block.” Coming up with things to say has never been an issue. My issue is having too much to say. Trying to “fit” it all in one space and do so in a way where I get my points across, but not at the price of boring the reader. As a writer, that, is probably my greatest fear. You can chide me for my poor punctuation. You can criticize me for repeating myself. You can punch me in my face for my “far-fetched” ideas and scenarios that I slide across your table. I can get over all of those because those are things I can improve upon in future posts. I can even recover from failure–if you hate my work, you hate it. That’s your choice. What I cannot recover from is boring you.
So making the work informative, impactful, and soulful–those are but three attributes that must be in the DNA of every post. This is all part of the unique I.D. or secret signature of each one. I am always aware that with each word you read, seconds of your time are being consumed. So when the post arrives inside my head, it is entirely up to me to unpack it properly. In terms of the final product, length varies depending upon how much I think I need to say. I say that because the reality is, each post, could be an entire book in itself.
Using a yarn ball as my visual representation, each of these interlocked fibers is packed with words. So in writing, much of what I do is very much visual, in that I can look at something, or I see something, and BOOM! I have an entire post. This being the case, a post can arrive at any time of the day or night. I can be doing anything from working out in the gym to driving to work. I have to be ready at all times, because when it comes, I have to be ready to write at my nearest convenience. As you are aware of, life is not perfect. In those times where I do not have access to a pen and paper, I take my phone out and leave a voice memo of either the title of the work or a few words.
Once the image arrives, I always name it. The image and the name determine everything. So once I receive the package and start looking over its contents, I give it a name and immediately speak out a few words in my voice memo so that when I come to my office later, I know where to “look” inside my mind.
Ideally, I like to get in a quiet place with my laptop or at minimum, a pen and paper. Again though, life is not perfect. If for instance, it will be several hours before I can get to my home office, I will write on my iphone. The notepad and voice memo apps are the two most priceless apps made. I have sketched out a countless number of posts on my notepad app, and nothing is better for jogging my memory than replaying the voice memos. By taking advantage of these two tools, I am able to go to the correct directory inside my head.
The mind is the home of many mansions.
The mobile phone is the greatest productivity tool that has ever been devised. It is a marvel that I take advantage of whenever the opportunity presents itself. As expensive as they are, I credit no other innovation to opening more doors for more people (myself included). The technology we use is a fantastic complement to the mind, because they organize mass quantities of data in much the same fashion. If I look at how a machine groups and prioritizes information, the mind works similarly. The processes of a chip, much like the thoughts of the mind, must be in agreement amongst themselves, in order to accomplish a single task or ten. The package delivery I referred to at the beginning of this paper is a perfect example of the mind working much like a computer. Much in the same way, the mind is capable of taking a monumental task or process, and it is able to digest it to completion. This, is what my mind has always been able to do with writing.
I have always seen the final result before I actually manifested it in this realm.
I say in this realm, because in the other(s), the final result is not only completed–it is waiting for you to finish the job by completing the job in your realm.
If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t.
For years I walked away from my package deliveries because I didn’t think I had what it took. I failed to hold respect for myself, and as a result, I failed not only myself, but all those who were counting on me. When you have a unique ability that is constantly tugging on the coattails of your imagination, you do yourself no favors by ignoring it or attempting to suppress it. For the greater part of my adult life, I let a warehouse full of package deliveries pile up at my doorstep until I am where I am currently–carefully taking one at a time and unwrapping the contents within each.
You are not of a gift. You are the vessel of many.
If the mind is home to many mansions, you hold the master key that opens that array of doors to places never before seen. Having yet to have been populated by your eyes, you hold access to a Universe of the unseen. This is exactly what a packaged delivery is. When the post arrives, I see and take possession of the image within. Once I consume that image, I can give thought to the words necessary that will deliver that image to the many. As I’ve stated previously, I’m not really doing anything, other than giving a voice, to what I see.
So, when I’m writing, the only task that matters, is completion of the message. Again, it is already done when I take delivery of it. What all of this is and where it comes from, I credit God. For those out there who do not believe, I will say, that we all came from some place and we’re all going some place. You did not descend from a stairway of greatness by your own conception. The one true creator, is inside of all of us. We all have that image installed in us. I’ve never needed anyone to tell me this. I’ve never needed to attend Sunday church service to know this. The one true word is within us all. The reason I know this is because I’ve seen it.
With the correct words I can be a builder of people. We have enough out in the world to tear one another down. It is something that is all too easy to do. That is a position I will never seek to partake in. What I want you to realize is there’s a package inside of you. Something that no one else has, gets delivered to you. This is not something I see–this is what I know.
Being that I have to put together the correct sequence of words, this comes by feeling. I do not actively think of what to say or how to say it. I spend practically no time telling people what I think they want to read because the minute I do that, I’ve lost you.
In every paper, I set out to share my knowledge and my thoughts and feelings, but do so in a way where I don’t put you to sleep. When my work gets too dry or clinical, I’m quick to inject some emotion into it to keep you engaged. Once I arrive at the point where I grow bored with the paper, that, is when I stop writing. I could easily keep expanding and writing, making the post longer, but if I’m bored with it, it is not going to get any better no matter how much I try to improve upon it. I truly believe, that when I grow bored with my writing, my readers can sense it. And that be the case, before long, my readers are asleep, just as I surely was while writing it.
So this is my overview of what goes on when I write each post on my site. The only way I can expound upon this in greater detail is a far longer post or one broken up into a couple of parts. Down the way, if the demand is there for me to continue talking about this, I will definitely do that. But for now, I believe this will suffice.
Before I go, I want you to know that what you see will be as unique as you. You can only achieve that which your mind believes. My sincerest belief is that we can all have what we want, and be who we want. So stop waiting.
- Act with ambition.
- Proceed with urgency.
- Be that preternatural calm in chaos.
- Help others along the way–the hand that gives is above the hand that takes.
- Do not take “no” for your final answer. Keep it moving until you get a YES.
- Do not overprepare–move on and act by faith, not by sight.
- Be that person you have always wanted to be, and you will live that life you’ve always wanted to live.
- Believe in yourself the same way you believe in your hero or favorite person.
- Act as though it is impossible to fail.
Lastly, thank you for reading. I could not do any of this without you.
–Daniel Cousin
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