Webster’s Dictionary: definition of manifest:
1. readily perceived by the senses and especially by the sense of sight. Their sadness was manifest in their faces.
2. easily understood or recognized by the mind.
Online Etymology Dictionary lists several definitions, including “to show plainly” and “clearly revealed.”
Manifest. Manifesto. Manifest Destiny.
Obvious. Clear. Apparent.
A published declaration.
I am writing for 30 minutes for 30 days, to improve my writing, but also perhaps to write my own persona manifesto. (That sounds so cocky, but being intentional is often perceived that way.) My mind is always writing. Especially when I run. I run for clarity. My best ideas, difficult problems solved, have often come during a simple 30-minute run. I am always amazed at how obvious, clear and apparent certain things become when my feet hit the ground.
I have lots of opinions and ideas, but because my mind is always writing, I often move on from one thought to the next, without ever getting it in writing. One solution for my personal data overload and personal data loss, are written lists…records of paper in journals or notepads. Unfortunately, paper lists often get lost, especially when you live in a house with small scribblers. My 2-year-old daughter has no greater pleasure than to abscond with mom’s “work” pens and paper and do some “work” herself with them.
In the USA, I always kept around small yellow legal pads for to-do lists (I learned this trick from my Dad) and larger white legal pads for my ideas. For some reason, the French, despite claiming a title to Law and Latin and all things legal, don’t seem to use legal pads. Or at the least, they don’t sell them in stores where the average person might find them. Indeed, finding a pad of paper that is simply lined, and not graph paper, as we would call it in the USA is extremely difficult. I have not found writing on graph paper to be as therapeutic or satisfying as writing on a white legal pad. Call me silly, but it is a true statement.
Writing with a pen on white lined paper is for me extremely satisfying and therapeutic and so I have been long reluctant to take to journaling on a computer. However, with my lack of access to legal pads in France, I have discovered that when I write on paper I tend to forget my writings (except for lists of course) over time. Occasionally, I have kept a special journal where I keep particularly poignant or turning point type thoughts and experiences, but in general, my pen to paper writings have served as little more than therapy over the years.
Word processing and blogging, however, record my musings in such a fashion that I can return to my writings and revise and improve them over time. This is also very satisfying. It also serves as an opportunity to develop my writing muscle. I’ve read in a few places over the last few years that to be an expert at something, you need to do it consistently for a few years for about 10,000 hours. I would like to be not just a naturally good writer, but an intentionally expert one.
Intentional. Intentionally good. Intentionally paid.
Many people feared that the digital age would sound the death toll for the written word. I adored the New York Times as a youth and I felt so rich in soul, body and mind, when I was able to take a paper New York Time subscription for a semester at university for a mere $10. The ultimate life of luxury to me was reading the New York Times, with a steaming cup of coffee, in a sunroom on a Sunday morning.
Newsprint and news journalism has certainly suffered and is still at risk in our digital world. Books however, seem to be thriving. Actual print ones, as well as, books written by anyone and everyone who ever wanted to write a book. Similarly, with websites becoming the virtual calling card for just about every kind of business, the written word is arguably more important than ever.
The problem is with the quality of the written word in our digital age. I used to wonder if I could make a living writing content online, but in the last few years, I have seen so much bad content. No, TERRIBLE content, that I can’t help but put myself out there. Certainly, there will always be writers better than me, but at the least, I can continually strive each and every time I write, to improve my flow, my grammar, and my ability to tell a story.
If you like my musings, feel free to comment or share this post. I’ll be back tomorrow.