Daytime is work writing. Every paragraph has a KPI. Every sentence has to earn its place. I sit at my computer with a cold, calculating mind β where's the hook, how's the pacing, where's the call to action? I've gotten so good at it that the process barely touches my heart anymore.
Nighttime writing, after the kid is asleep β that's different. I flip through fragments from my day. A glimpse of an old lady pulling her shopping cart. A colleague's offhand comment. Nothing has KPIs. Nobody's paying me.
I write what's in my heart. Sometimes the structure is a mess, but I leave it β because that's what my thinking actually looked like.
Practical writing is a craft. It pays my bills and I'm grateful for it. Personal writing is heart-work. It's me, as a person in this era, leaving something behind. Mostly for myself. Sometimes someone reads it and connects β that's an unexpected gift.