What If You Wrote With Others In Mind?

I don't have a consistent writing schedule and I don't know that I really can. That's the counterbalance of parenting and, well, everything else in my life. I remember when my husband and I used to go salsa dancing every week — before we had kids. Now, we are lucky to bust a move in our living room while we blast music in the morning to assist in getting the kids out of bed.

My husband was once in the audience when I gave a keynote address. Afterward, a lady approached the two of us and asked if I'd ever thought about writing a book. Before I could tell her how I would love nothing better, she turned to my husband and asked what he thought. He smiled and told the woman I was brilliant and some day I probably would write several books.

I don't take his support for granted. I know there are a lot of people juggling marriage, parenting, and work, who want to write, but just can't find the time given all their other responsibilities. I don't have any magical words of wisdom or a bullet point list of tips and tricks to hack the writing process.

Because it is just that — a process.

Inspiration for an idea to write can come at the most inopportune time (I'm looking at you, three in the morning) and then dry up the second you have all the time in the world. There is no planning for either scenario especially when you have a task list to attend to before you can grab a pen and notebook or get in front of a computer.

For example, today at work I remembered I needed to write a kindly worded email to the corporate level of Starbucks. Yesterday, despite a very long wait time for mobile orders, the staff remained kind, patient, and professional. The store manager even went as far as to hand me $4 off for my next visit. She didn't have to do that.

I wasn't upset, at all, about the wait time.

When I saw the drive thru backed up and the number of people in the cafe waiting, it dawned on me that it was probably a mistake to have ordered ahead on the first day pumpkin spice launched for the company. In addition to the standard busy morning, the staff was inundated with all the pumpkin spice sluts, like myself. I kind of brought the wait upon myself, but was thankful I'd left with enough time in mind so I wouldn't be late for work.

Others were not as understanding.

I watched, and heard, as a woman huffed and complained loudly to the customer near her that she'd placed her order nearly 30 minutes prior.

Well, so had I, lady.

What was the point in grumbling? We were all kinda in this together. The staff couldn't help that everyone woke up and placed their java orders at the exact same moment thinking they were going to save time, too.

Lines, for better or worse, are the great equalizer in modern society.

I took the observation as an opportunity to approach the manager and let her know that she was doing a great job. I'd worked in customer service most of my adult life, I told her. I knew days like the one she and the staff were having were especially hard. I promised her I would let the corporate suits know about my positive experience and she thanked me.

Would my words be inspiration, and redefine the standard for customer service? Of course not. But it was still something I'd committed to writing. Not for myself, but on behalf of another person. So, for me it was even more pressure. That's why about midway into writing this piece, I paused, opened another tab in my browser, and found the customer service website for Starbucks.

Turns out I couldn't send an email, but I could chat with a virtual agent. I figured it was AI, so I made sure to use the word 'kudo' which prompted the computer to assign me a live human. I then told Rahman I just wanted to let the company know how much I appreciated the manager at my local Starbucks. I typed out the whole situation and then worried there was a character limit for the exchange. I quickly copied my text just in case it stopped mid-story when I pushed send.

Thankfully, it didn't. I asked if he could be sure to get it to someone above him. He asked for the address of the location and after I provided it, he told me the story would be forwarded to the district manager and store staff. I thanked him and told him I needed no further assistance. I clicked out of the chat and came back to this writing.

What I hope you can take away from my experience is to treat your writing as though it is on behalf of someone else. Anyone else but yourself. I mean, sure, it's for you in the sense that you want to write. But also think about who needs to read it. Someone, somewhere needs to hear what you have to say because it will have an impact.

And hopefully, for the better.

If you enjoyed this story, please consider reposting so more people can read it. If you hated this, please consider writing and explaining why. I'm cool with either one. Love, peace, and solidarity.