I sat down to write an essay about making an ebook, because it’s been a fun creative adventure. (It’s also not finished — I wanted to write from inside the process.) But as I drafted the essay, it occurred to me that what was supposed to be a simple, practical…
Originally published on Substack after updating my publication name there from Debit This, Create That (same as this blog) to The Creative Reconciliation. Although everything is archived here at debitthiscreatethat.com, I renamed my Substack as I began developing a distinguishable voice there. Substack began housing my more reflective, unfolding writing…
I vividly remember the first time I’d considered writing on Substack. I was walking through a rustic-chic clothing store with a friend, feeling the fabrics as we wandered by (while feigning a pay grade that could accommodate them). It was a little over a year ago, and I had been…
The Rapid Log · 04 “Be useful.” When it comes to communication, this is one of the most important pieces of advice I’ve received… But it can also feel the most limiting. It invites a healthy dose of perfectionism to the table — spillover from years spent writing in the…
But what exactly do they mean, and why do they keep saying it? I’m an accountant. Numbers and statistics reflect outcomes at a given point in time: You’ve made this much profit in the last 12 months. Here are your net assets at year-end. We often forget that we can…
Before we get started, I must admit a couple of things: Editor’s note: Until now in 2025, where I think I’ve finally started to make some progress toward clarity and brevity! But I did want to keep most of my original post intact, even if spread out over three separate…
Earlier this year, writing blog posts felt like a real struggle. But how could I be stuck? I had plenty of ideas and lots to say, but actually getting the words out coherently and succinctly was another matter. I had been blogging for about a year and a half by…
My writing… Lacks focus and structure. Not too long ago I wrote a post about the struggle to blog concisely. Honestly, I had a hard time conceptualizing why it felt like such a struggle in the first place. Writing concisely should be easy, right? Is it not just “less is…
So, you know what’s holding your writing back. What will you do about it? Personally, one of my biggest challenges is writing more concisely. (Why is it so hard? I have some theories.) At work, writing more (and more) concisely has been a decade-long process. I try to be mindful…
Here I'm musing on the struggle to write concisely, what I hope to achieve, and four ideas to start writing more concisely and with focus.