I find myself understanding that I operate under the concept of writing being a form of thinking. I have probably seen that on a bumper sticker or as an editorial title 1 somewhere. This seemingly obvious realization of writing as a form of thinking comes after a renewed interest in books, research papers, and content that others have created on their own sites and blogs. Over the last handful of years I had pulled back from consuming extensive amounts of written content. Largely caused by life changes and living more in my own thoughts. Over the last two years there has been a considerable upswing in the amount of written content I have read and engaged with. Which has further caused me to be writing more in both notes and by journaling.
Writing has been instrumental in my ability to think through difficult problems, process situations and changes in life, communicate thoughts and designs to others. Writing and reading are great forms of communication. There is a reason they still exist in my opinion as a primary method for transferring knowledge, even in this age of video content. I don’t see writing and reading going away long term. I do believe our approach to both skills will change, hopefully for the better.
Writing isn’t a new concept to me. I write a lot personally and professionally. However, the audience has been relatively small in both contexts. Technical documentation for my team, notes of my own for reference and personal knowledge management, and journaling. Much of the writing happens in limited view of the public. I am making an effort to change the visibility on some of my writing by utilizing this site. After decades of enjoying the content others create it seems only reasonable I share some of my own thoughts.
My mental model for this writing as thinking concept is similar to thinking out loud in a room with the door open. In this situation others can discover you and listen to your thoughts and engage in discussion. By engaging in discussion you can become exposed to new thoughts, ideas, and viewpoints. Which I believe to be a net-positive experience, even if the delivery or discussion can occasionally be uncomfortable. There are of course always exceptions.
My plan is to create both long form and shorter form notes. I will be posting on various topics that intrigue me or that I am learning more about in the Writing section. I will be sharing references to thought-provoking writing and my own short form thoughts in my Notes. My intent is to authentically put my attention and effort towards writing more openly and thinking more openly as a result. My desire is for this to encourage others that do the same as I have greatly appreciated those that have written publicly.
To that end, if you are looking for a reader for your first post or another reader of your work - Just reach out with a pointer to your writing via hello(at)noisyoutput.com.
This offer is inspired heavily by friends that have read my rambles and by Manuel who makes a similar offer. If you’ve not checked out Manuel’s site, I highly recommend it as a source of unique thoughts, interviews with others that write, and fantastic site design.