So, a wannabe author/writer walks in to a writer’s conference…
Sounds like the beginning of a not very funny joke. But, that was me earlier this month as I attended the Harvard’s Writing, Publishing and Social Media Conference for Healthcare Professionals. Quite a busy three days. Started at 7AM and finished after 8PM. A lot to learn and absorb: Improving writing style, understanding the publishing and self-publishing landscape, using social media effectively and with purpose. During the three days, met some great people that I now know in IRL (in real life).
There were so many take aways but a few things did strike a chord and stand out.
- This blog is “static.” Once or twice a month I write something. Probably a little too long and a little too moody (more on that in a minute). Right now, it’s really a one-way communication between myself and you the reader. I would like there to be more engagement and build on what I have started. I would like to provide more content that hopefully YOU the reader find either useful and interesting or entertaining.
- So I am asking you, the reader, what more you would like to see? How can I make this more of a two-way conversation? I am looking to post:
- Shorter thoughts and musings on life and themes such as burnout.
- Write on End of life issues / advance care planning / introduce thought leaders and game changers in this space
- Timely topics of the day.
- Interesting book reviews or articles in paper or journals on critical care, end of life care, burnout.
- Guest bloggers with strong clear voices on interesting and important topics.
- The last part that threw me for a loop was how morose or weighty my writing must feel to most people. I often dismiss as a joke, when my long-time friends send me a text checking in to make sure I am ok after a typical post. During the conference, it was commented on that IRL I seem different than the “voice” that comes across on the blog (ie: I have a sense of humor, funny/sarcastic and quite social instead of morose, melancholy, moody or morose)
So, to be brief, my BLOG and website is a work in progress (similar to my life in general). But I hope to grow it into something more. So maybe call it Balance Redux, or Balance 2.0
Come to think of it, lets get this conversation started. Thoughts on a new name? Anyone….