There’s this huge chunk of my core that craves only to be a
writer. To spend every waking moment in front of a computer or typewriter and
caress the keys in such a way that they sing out these wonderful, prophetic
thoughts. But I can’t seem to ignore the other, smaller, part of my core that
screams at the top of its lungs “haven’t you read the self-indulgent crap all
over the Internet; writers are full of crap.”
Of course, there is another obstacle that prevents me from
being a writer full-time; I have these amazing kids and an incredible wife.
They need me; I’m the only one who makes an income… I can’t say “work” because
I don’t work nearly as hard as my wife does. And writing what I want to write
everyday certainly wouldn’t pay the bills that need to be paid today. But I do
write everyday. I write marketing copy for the company I work for in between
writing proposals to clients and prospects, outlining how we will save them
money and solve their problems. The writing I get to do is challenging, but
it’s not even in the same ballpark as the type of writing that could ever be
satisfying to one’s soul.
And then there are the over-commitments. Whether it be a
non-profit organization that needs a grant written to obtain funding for some
righteous cause, or a group focused on a social issue that needs messaging
crafted that will inspire donations and actions, I can’t turn away.
So, sprinkled between the obligations I have to my family,
and the over-commitments I make to other people, I find these little fifteen-minute
blocks to write what I want. Sometimes I’m lucky and I’ll find two or three
blocks in a day. But more likely, I go a week or two without being able to
carve out any time.
So what does this have to do with being very different? I
have no clue… it just seemed like a phrase that described the world today. The
writers that all try to be something else; the politicians that claim they are
something new; the companies that say they are the new paradigm. And don’t
think it’s lost on me… you know what I mean. How can you be “very” different?
An unnecessary adjective wedged into a place where it doesn’t add any value. A
word that, at first glance, adds value but upon further reflection is only a
thinly veiled way to increase the word count of a copy.
And since I’ve written anonymously (and under multiple nom
de plumes) for the past twenty years, I just decided it was time to write under
my own name, with my own thoughts, showing what I can do in little
fifteen-minute blocks. There’s no deep meaning here; no overall message that I
want to impart on the world. Just a chance to type what I want for a brief
moment, whenever I find the time.
Feel free to critique or comment… or ignore. And most
importantly, don’t forget to…
- Kevin
