My Writing Process

My writing journey began in the crucible of high school journalism class, under the tutelage of the formidable Ms. Marjorie Nobel. She demanded daily news stories from each of us, and her red pencil was as sharp as her wit. "Opinions are for the Editorial page ONLY," she'd declare, striking through our misguided attempts at commentary. We quickly learned the art of crafting a compelling narrative and the cardinal sin of "burying the lede."

These days, inspiration often strikes during my daily five-mile walks, as I immerse myself in the world of podcasts. When an idea takes hold, I pause to jot it down in an email, a digital breadcrumb trail of concepts and themes. These fragments accumulate in a ever-growing document I call my "blog notes," a repository of hundreds of potential story ideas.

From this chaotic collection, I begin to shape order. Themes emerge, like "Leadership Lessons from Rotary" or "The Ethics of Service and Reputation," each one a potential post waiting to be fleshed out. I next dive into research, harnessing the power of Google and AI to unearth context and depth. The search results become a springboard for further exploration, a virtuous cycle of discovery.

At the heart of my writing lies a commitment to first principles, a desire to excavate the core values of Rotary service. It's not about lofty ideals, but rather the tangible impact on our lives and communities. With the pieces in place, I sit down to write, getting all of the ideas into draft form. It becomes a rough gem, needing to be polished.

Revision is where the real magic happens. The goal is clarity and impact. And hopefully a story that is memorable. I move things around and go sentence by sentence to ensure there is a good flow. Finally, I enlist the aid of AI, like ChatGPT or Claude, to catch errant typos, spellings and smooth out any remaining rough edges.

But even then, the process isn't quite complete. I often find myself revisiting these pieces, tweaking a phrase here or a paragraph there, in an endless quest for improvement. The final step is to share my work with the world, adding it to our club's blog, email newsletters, and social media channels.

Through this iterative process, I strive to create content that informs, inspires, and sparks meaningful conversations. It's a labor of love, a testament to the power of the written word and the values we hold dear. It's also my gift to you. Please share with others without any sort of attribution.