"I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood."
– Audre Lorde
I write my posts directly into the LinkedIn "create a post" box. There's no draft. No shining up for primetime.
I start with an idea – from a list of ideas, from a book, from a conversation, from a comment someone made, from a community call, from the news, from politics, from personal experiences – and I write.
LinkedIn allows 1300 characters. I know about how long that is, but not exactly.
I write and I write, and I let the ideas flow. Stream of consciousness. The thesaurus app my only companion.
I see where it goes. Sometimes the flow is powerful and compelling. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes I scrap a post that doesn't come together.
But usually I know what I want to say, what needs to be said, and what others need to hear.
Often, I get on a roll. New ideas come to me as I write a current idea. Sometimes I go over the 1300 characters.
It's okay. I don't stop. I finish my thoughts. I find a way to wrap it up.
I go back and cull, edit, shorten, streamline, wordsmith.
This whole process takes no longer than ten minutes.
I press "post" and see what happens.