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I’m no expert on anything. Learning brings me joy, and writing is an integral part of my learning and exploration process.
Derek Hughes suggested these five elements in a framework to give his writing the necessary focus.
1. Chase what excites you, not what you know
2. Write for transformation
3. Start small (but don’t stay there)
4. Write about what energizes you
5. Experiment until it resonates
What energizes me is learning. What excites me is chess because it offers an abundance of learning opportunities. I play games to gain skill, but my passion is for study, not competition. All the content created about chess improvement offers a wealth of tools and strategies for learning.
I’m a chess novice with aphantasia. Writing for transformation means exploring how to work within the limit of being unable to see or form mental images. The best metaphor I’ve heard for this is that the computer is running, but the monitor is turned off. Aiden Rayner of Don’t Move Until You See It renamed “visualization” to “conceptualization” — and this is what many of my chess articles focused on.
Starting small meant exploring what training methods or books were suitable for beginners. Expanding meant reviewing chess apps, podcasts, and videos, as well as sharing my ideas for chess training.
Experimenting means writing about other interests I have. Two articles that repeatedly appear in my Friday weekly stats as having the most views are about Catholic and Carmelite themes. Medium doesn’t require a single niche.
What do you want to learn and to write about?
