My Writing Spaces
My current state of writing and how I approach this process as a whole
I wrote a blog almost 2 years ago on Why I write, and I like to go back to that blog every so often to remind myself about why I do this. To think about how much time has passed since then puts me in a state of mind that I can’t quite put into words: a mix of nostalgia, wonder, and contemplation.
A few days ago I began writing on this space—on Substack—even though I already have another space where I write—on Medium. On top of that, I have a website where I also write. Why am I writing on 3 different platforms?
The truth is I’ve been trying to find my space, and I’m still on a journey to figure out exactly how I want to organize myself. I wrote a blog almost 2 years ago on Why I write, and not much has changed about that since. I still continue to write for myself: (1) to connect the different ideas that I’m learning, (2) to improve my own storytelling abilities, and (3) to remember things I find worth remembering, and I still continue to write for my loved ones (which includes my future hypothetical kids—so they can see how their father evolved over the years).
While those are my primary objectives, some new initiatives have been added.
I recently created a writing instagram, which you can find at @robertv.reads: This is a place where I want to record and share what I read because I’m always reading.
First, it’s a way to help point (3) above (to remember things that I find worth remembering).
Second, I didn’t want to “pollute” my personal IG with content that those who were already following me were not “necessarily interested in”. While reading is a big part of my personality, it’s not the whole of me. I don’t want my personal IG to be confined to this one area of my life because I’m a multifaceted individual.
Third and last, I discovered that the IG is a great link between my personal life (which you could say the personal IG represents) and my intellectual / philosophical mind (which my writing represents). I feel truly at ease sharing about my writing on that IG because it just matches.
This substack, which is core to the topic of this post!
I’d say that there are at large two themes that I like to write in.
The First Theme: “Processing Life”
“Processing Life” is what I call this first theme. It’s an abstract place where I ask and entertain big and small life questions.
It can be about the economy / politics, like:
It can be about navigating social situations, like:
It can be about life events from which I’ve learned key lessons, like:
It can be science-y stuff, like:
It can be about philosophical questions, like:
… And truly, it can be about anything in this very broad theme of “processing life”. Life is complex, deep, challenging, and mesmerizing. There’s so much I can process and learn about it, and I want to have a dedicated space for this type of blog.
I am making this substack about this theme: “Processing Life”.
The Second Theme: “Software Engineering, Career, Business, …”
Ok that’s not really a theme; I’m more so listing a bunch of “intellectual” and “geeky” shit. Again, it’s hard to put words into the topic, but generally this is the space where we’re diving into what I’m doing or trying to do in my “career” life. This is the space where I’m navigating all of that and perhaps leaving lessons that I’ve learned over time. I actually don’t tend to write much about this because I feel it’s much easier to be wrong, but it’s something that I’m passionate about. Here are some example blogs I’ve written in the past:
“Investing 001” (I’ve learned a bit more and have been meaning to write “Investing 101”—see reference in the blog’s intro)
“Productivity Tips for Software Engineers | Version 0 | 4 General Tips”
These blogs are a bit more “advice-y”, which is why there’s much less of them. I don’t want to veer someone the wrong way, and part of me even feels like, “why should anybody listen to me?” Being deeply aware that everyone has a completely unique reality and perspective, I find it challenging (and a bit egotistical too!) to give blanket statement advice without even knowing one’s life situation.
At the same time, my lived experience can be beneficial to others because I’ve benefitted from others’ lived experiences. The fact that I’m reading so much and learning so much from others is the simple proof. I even learn from my peers who are my age, so it’s not about accumulating “enough” life experience before giving advice to others.
All in all, I do want to write these blogs more, and I want to have a dedicated space for them that is separate from the first theme, and that’s why I am making my medium about this second theme: “Software Engineering, Career, Business, …”.
Who Knows What the Future Holds?
I feel much more at peace with these two separations, so that is what will will happen moving forward from today. However, just like things have changed and evolved in the past 2 years, things might change and evolve here too. Who knows what the future holds?
All in all I’m very excited about this move and can’t wait to write more.