Why I Write the Way I Speak — And Why That Matters
Because real people aren’t waiting to be impressed — they’re hoping to feel understood. I didn’t grow up calling myself a writer. I still don’t introduce myself that way. But I’ve always been the kind of person who notices things — small patterns in how people talk, the way a sentence can land softer when you change just one word, the pause someone takes before saying something they’re unsure about. Maybe that’s where it started. When I sit down to write, I don’t try to sound clever. I try to sound clear. I think about who might be reading, and how I’d explain something to them if we were having tea on a slow afternoon. No jargon. No showing off. Just saying what needs to be said, in a way that feels true. I’ve written about things I know well — everyday topics like wellness, food, small tech tools, even the feeling of being stuck. I’ve also written about things I had to learn from scratch. Either way, I begin by asking: What would I want to know if I were reading this? What would mak...