Picture My Words

Summary

The author reflects on their journey from aspiring artist to IT professional, rekindling their passion for writing through the internet, acknowledging their storytelling strength and the challenge of avoiding passive voice.

Abstract

The author recounts childhood experiences of attempting to draw like comic book artists, which led to the realization that their true talent lay elsewhere. Despite pursuing a practical career in Information Technology, a field not traditionally associated with creativity in their community, they maintained a passion for poetry. The advent of the internet provided a platform for their literary aspirations, allowing them to engage with an audience and refine their craft. The author identifies their ability to engage readers' imaginations through vivid imagery as a key strength, while also recognizing the need to overcome a tendency to write in the passive voice.

Opinions

The author believes that their writing strength lies in crafting engaging stories that stimulate the reader's imagination.
They express a self-awareness about the need to minimize the use of passive voice in their writing.
The author values the role of the internet in providing an outlet for creative expression and audience engagement.
There is a hint of regret about not being able to pursue a career in the arts, juxtaposed with the practicality of their chosen STEM career.
The author suggests that writing is more than a skill; it's an ongoing journey of self-improvement and engagement with readers.

Using writing to paint a scene in your mind brings out the writer’s strengths and weaknesses

As a kid, I and my fellow fanboys would challenge each other to draw the best reproduction of a comic book panel. This exercise refined the skills of the true artists in our peer group while sobering the preteen dreams of the less talented. I fell into the latter group through the opinions of peers. From a young age, I knew I’d never have a career as an illustrator at Marvel Comics or DC Comics. Considering gals tend to be drawn towards artistic guys, I was quite jealous of those who displayed that talent.

Growing up in an African-American community that championed practicality, I pursued a STEM career in Information Technology. Learning the discipline of software development was an “edge case” occupation in that community in the late-1980s. Not many moments to impress ladies with my I.T. skills. At that time, though, I also became aware of my penchant for poetry. The college newspaper publishing my poetry gave me hope of one day being recognized as a literary artist. However, that wasn’t a “practical” skill, so it remained a largely untapped resource. I thrived in the computer major and sustained a good career.

This pursuit sidelined creative writing opportunities as I forged my way through work assignments. There wasn’t much need to wax poetic in an application design document. I grew genuinely concerned that my evidence of writing prowess would never see the light of day.

Eventually, the internet provided an outlet with a viable audience for my pieces. As the world wide web matured, I found that I could express myself poetically or in prose form to my heart’s content while receiving sincere reactions to these pieces in real-time. Technology freed the literary artist in me!

I feel that one of my strengths as a writer is the ability to craft a well-told tale that engages an audience’s imagination as exemplified by this piece. I can dip into the creative well of words to fill the literary canvas with imagery that evokes an emotional response. During this process of creation, one of my weaknesses which I’ve become more aware to conquer is using the “passive voice” style to communicate. (Should I start that last sentence off with “I’ve become more aware…”? LOL! 😆 See?!?) Writing is a discipline that requires engagement by a writer and reader to produce the highest quality works. Continue the journey with me.