Claiming identity as a writer

Trying on a new idea for size.

Although I’ve written for years It’s only lately that I’ve contemplated claiming an identity as a writer. I don’t think that’s as dumb a statement as it might first appear.

My work has always required me to write but the focus has been on other aspects of the work—consultant, systems analyst, programmer, stage manager, producer, entrepreneur, C-level executive, teacher. Writing was a supporting not central element.

I’ve now been retired the last couple of years and struggling with that transition. I am no longer any of the things I called myself. What is left is that I am a writer. At the same time, I haven’t been happy with the rhythm or consistency of the writing that I finish. Those old roles that drove the process are gone. I now need to design new processes and practices built around this remaining role of writer.

Four years ago, I wrote a post about Idea Management as an Abundance Problem. Points to me for articulating the issue. I was less diligent about working out and following through on the implications. They’ve now caught up with me. In retrospect, I was relying on my other hats to drive the process. I didn’t recognize that I had to put something in place to replace what had now fallen away.

What and how I wrote once flowed from the work. The structure of the work and roles drove the writing. My writing practices grew organically from that over the years. That’s a consulting term of art for “it’s a disorganized mess of spaghetti.”

I am now at a point where I need to investigate that mess and apply some design thinking to crafting something that works better than what is there now.

In one sense, what I need to do next is to refactor my writing system. I need to take activities that were buried as lowly “subroutines” in prior roles and transform them into a coherent standalone system. I need to work out anwers to what makes a writer something different from a consultant, or a project manager, or a teacher.

I’m thinking that I will share this exploration as i undertake it. If you have pointers to others who have taken such a journey or resources you’ve found helpful, please share.