On 19th of July 2020, Sunday afternoon, I had a chance to learn the very first online learning event from Nusantara Innovation Forum. “Write with Power,” says the title. It enticed me from the first time the topic was announced, not to mention the speaker, Oviliani Wijayanti, a seemingly humble, lovely woman with an utterly interesting profile, international exposures and broad experiences in both medical and journalistic fields.
Personally I have always wanted to become a writer, and have been writing personal blogs since I was a teenager, but sometimes it feels like some important keys are missing. As time goes by, it feels more and more important to be able to deliver creative or innovative ideas well. Have you, like me, ever felt like you have such a brilliant concept inside your mind but not able to convey it to other people in the right way?
Knowing how to write with power is a beneficial skill, not only for those who are pursuing a writing career, but also for everyone else to write an upselling Curriculum Vitae, a winning motivation letter for scholarship application, a strategic marketing ads, a concise report for shareholders, a lively memoir, and even a profile summary on LinkedIn “About Me” section.
The beautiful fact is, writing with power is about combining Science and Art.
Writing = Science + Art.
Theoretically, we could use the science of writing to make it clear, concise, coherent, and consistent. However, the art can make a writing not only readable, but also enjoyable. The good thing is, no skillful writer is naturally born a writer. What is the secret, then?
Writing Mastery = (Science + Art) x Practice.
That said. We could try to flawlessly apply the theories; use our five senses to ignite the reader’s imagination, beautify the words by any known techniques to make it even more spectacular, but if we never immerse ourselves to the writing environment, those theories won’t serve us well.
Photo courtesy: Ovi Wijayanti
A writing should express the voice of the writer itself. Hence the most simple start would be to… read. Yes, first of all, a good writing always needs the writer to go into deep dives on readings, experiences, and observations.
Secondly, and the most interesting part is, we should find our voice; discover our style and identify who will be reading it. Find the balance between what we want to share and what the readers want to read. The key here is ‘the right blending’.
What’s next? Perhaps the most uncomfortable yet very much needed task of all time, get feedback. Whether from a writer community, a beta reader, a professional writer we always look up to, or a close friend. Be open, embrace all good and bad critics that we may get, set an objective to continuously improve and grow.
After all, writing should be an interesting journey. Lastly, quoting Jim Goodwin, “The impossible is often the untried.” We will never know if we don’t start.
Happy writing!
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Let us know your thoughts and what are other topics you would like to learn with us by sending your e-mail to collaboration@nusantaraif.com or visit our website https://www.nusantaraif.com.
Hope you found it useful! Thank you for joining and sharing your learning. Keep writing Manda!