"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear."
Joan Didion
I have always enjoyed reading – enjoying other people’s writing – but it is only in recent years that I have started to discover what Joan Didion shared – that writing helps you uncover what you are thinking.
That of course does not mean only profound thoughts and innermost revelations. It also includes thinking about words and phrases that set you off on a trail to discover something else about a topic or subject; and sometimes that includes going down a rabbit hole.
"To enter into a situation or begin a process or journey that is particularly strange, problematic, difficult, complex, or chaotic, especially one that becomes increasingly so as it develops or unfolds. An allusion to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll."
(From Idioms, TheFreeDictionary)
Sometimes it almost seems self-indulgent to spend the time going down a rabbit hole, a leisurely distraction away from the main purpose of my writing. As The Free Dictionary shows the discoveries may not always be pleasing but they are usually informative.
One writer who I enjoy each week is Roy H. Williams who publishes a weekly online musing The Monday Morning Memo. His reflection is usually around a 5-minute read but this always connects to wonderfully eclectic rabbit hole.
Roy’s key interests are in small business and he is a gifted advertising copywriter and strategist so many of the rabbit hole features relate to these areas of business. But they always go much further and provide many insights into life.
Roy is the master of the clever and often deeply meaningful turn of phrase. This seems particularly apposite.
"A willingness to write badly is the key to writing well. "
These are great words of encouragement for everyone who has stared hopelessly at a blank sheet of paper, then eventually made a stuttering start, trying to weave together what can feel like an incoherent jumble of words. And I love words so it should be easier.
As I was thinking about putting words together for this blog I remembered a childhood toy – my John Bull printing set! Serendipity indeed. Whether my set was a ‘No 8’ I have no idea but I discovered this photo on a wonderful blog – ‘Did your toys influence your choice of career?’
Have a think about your childhood toys. Did they influence your choice of career? My favourite toy was a railway set and, although I still enjoy trains and travelling in them, I never followed in my father’s and grandfather’s footsteps to become a railwayman. Of course, they would have no idea about what a blog writer is – that belongs to a world very different from theirs.
Lead well, take care
Graham