process

I try not to edit too much when I write. Unlike when I speak I feel I have all the time I need to choose the correct words to convey the correct feelings. There is so much less pressure to “get it right” on the first go, as opposed to speaking where one tiny, misplaced, word can crumble even the most wonderful of phrases. So this mental sludge is, for better or worse, mostly my thoughts as I think them and present them to you.

Sometimes my thoughts come in torrents and in those times edits are necessary because so many words are misspelt or run together or left out entirely until I can think of the word I want. Writing in torrents is abominable. The mechanics of my hands will never be able to sufficiently keep up with my mind and as a result I cannot accurately capture the brilliance of the moment. I miss things every time.

And sometimes my thoughts are like this morning. Consistent swells of words, easy to scoop up and investigate and arrange. Gentle rolls of ideas coming together and waiting patiently to be transferred down my arms, to my fingers, to my keyboard, to you. Writing this way is a practice in patience as the pauses stretch out before me. A chance to sip coffee. A glance out the window. A re-reading of what has already been put down. Writing in swells is gratifying.

So if you spy a misplaced comma, a wonky sentence structure, or butchered spelling please be forgiving. Whether torrents of words or gently lapping thought patterns, none of this has been overly touched before reaching your eyes.