From the blog to the bookshelf. I'm on the way, God willing.
Don't let your motors run (no half steppin')
Keep on keeping on (no half steppin')
I said don't let me see you slide (no half steppin')
Cause party people keep it tight (no half steppin')
- from "Ain't No Half Steppin'" x Heatwave
You heard it here first: one day soon, I'm going to write and publish a book.
But if I'm going to be a New York Times Bestselling author, I need to really focus on improving my writing and tap into my capacity for brilliant storytelling and gripping discussion.
Here are three things I'm doing on the way to my goal of being on your bookshelf.
I've been an avid reader my whole life. But reading a lot of different types of writing has really been the key for me.
It is through reading a wide range of styles, genres, and voices that my own will strengthen over time. For the last year or two, I’ve been enraptured with detective fiction. Recently, I was into books about decorative arts because commentary on such personal tastes is so fascinating. I gained lots of vocabulary words in that space primarily so I can develop sharper critiques on decorative arts I put in my future home(s), but also so I can use sharper language in my writing.
This past summer, I visited the Evelyn Hofer: Eyes on the City exhibit at the High Museum. I wandered about the gallery filled wall to wall with images from Mexico to Munich serving as evidence of a photography career spanning five decades. I was both fascinated by her artistry and curious about the writers she partnered with to share these cities with the world.
Immediately after leaving the exhibit, I made a plan to start reading more mid-century travel writing. I wanted to see what it looks like to immerse someone visually, auditorily, and physiologically into a setting they've never been to and may never actually go to with accuracy, integrity, and style.
It is literary adventures such as these that keep me motivated. Reading Le Blanc, Christie, and Morrison, and exploring genres like popular science, art criticism, and behavioral economics keep me connected to my ambition.
On Tuesday, May 30th, Jared Seller Bryson of Seller Studios asked me to form what has now become known as our writing buddyship. He wanted someone to edit his pieces so that he could become a better writer. My only ask was that he would edit mine in return.
When he reached across the table in The Gathering Spot DC private office we sat in to shake my hand in agreement, I'm unsure of whether he knew how much editing his pieces would benefit me as it benefited him. But believe you me, the pieces on The Disco have very clearly taken a turn for the better purely because there's another set of talented eyes on every piece before it hits the internet.
In addition to the writing buddyship, I’ve had a number of my friends entrust me with editing a myriad of writing, from professional emails to breakup texts. It is through all of these interactions that I feel my eye and pen growing sharper as the days go by.
While reading other people's writing makes you a better writer, editing other people's writing makes you a better editor of your own work.
Everyone needs an editor, but once you become an editor, you start self-editing as you write. You start noticing different patterns, quirks, and tendencies in your own writing that you simply didn't have an eye sharp or removed enough to notice before. But through sharpening your eye, you consequently sharpen your pen and now suddenly your writing is improving in ways you wouldn’t have anticipated.
I write off the blog so I get better at writing on the blog.
Every day for the last 146 days, I've written at least 750 words. At the time of writing this, I've written over 132,318 words in this daily practice alone. Most of it's just ranting, strategic planning, financial planning, fantasies you’d expect from your fave local Pisces, reflections on my day, or an overview of what the rest of the week will look like. Very rarely do I use it to push out solid, blog-ready pieces. Allowing myself that daily space to exercise this muscle strengthens it in ways I never imagined. I really enjoy getting my words in daily and it helps my brain release a lot of things, too.
I also have spent a lot of time doing different kinds of writing to get better at blog writing. Specifically, I've leaned into learning how to write better reviews on Google Maps and LetterBoxd as well as better letters and short notes to my friends. I reason that if I can get sharper on something as small as a 7-word note I scribble on the back of a photo before I send it in the mail, then I will inherently get better at putting down 1000 words on w-2d.com or 80k words in a book for many more eyes to see. Practicing writing in other venues and in other contexts has really had a palpable impact on how I approach writing and get better at what I do. I also strengthen this muscle in my day job, by writing everything from articles to captions to meeting agendas. All of that practice will make a difference when I sit down to get the next piece up and out, or perhaps the next manuscript up and out as well.
Wish me luck!
Thalia, 24, has wanted to be an author her whole life and really has some good book ideas. Lord willing, you’ll see her name on a gorgeous book cover very, very soon.
