Writeabout

What's the one tool, app, or service that, if it disappeared tomorrow, would cause the most disruption to your day? What does that tell you?

A letter arrives written in a language you don't speak. You find someone to translate it, but something in their hesitation makes you wonder if you're getting the full story. Write the scene.

Data is often presented as neutral, but the act of turning an experience into a number is always a translation. Where does that conversion fall short?

Every job has its own language. What terms or phrases from your work do you find yourself having to translate for people outside of it?

Plain language is often harder to write than complex language. When did simplifying something make it better?

What's something you understand intuitively but have never been able to fully explain to someone else?

Describe a tool or system you use that acts as a translator between two different ways of working. What does it get right, and what does it miss?

Think of a conversation you had across a cultural or generational gap. What had to be left out to make it work?

Write a short story from the perspective of someone who works in the margins — a night watchman, a proof-reader, a backup goalkeeper, a B-side. What do they notice that everyone else misses?

Boundaries between work and personal life have a habit of blurring. Where are the edges in your own life, and how well are they holding?