A new direction

Today is a big day for me because it’s time to let you know that I will be ending Short Takes, in its current form, with my next and 70^th article on February 4, 2025. 

While I’m clear about my decision, it’s been a hard one. I enjoy thinking up Short Takes topics, writing the articles, and receiving comments from many of you while, hopefully, sharpening my writing skills.

Nevertheless, I realize that it’s time to focus on other writing pursuits. 

I’m excited that my writing has expanded to include personal essays, with a potentially larger project in the works. These essays started out, you won’t be surprised to hear, as one-pagers. Now, I’m learning that what has become a comfortable writing model doesn’t have to be the only one. Instead, I’m taking the space I need to tell the stories I want to tell.

I will continue to write fundraising and other strategic documents, and hope you’ll be in touch if I can help. For now, and looking back on my Short Takes experience, I’ve pondered some of what I’ve learned along the way. Here are my top three most important takeaways. 

Write from the heart. Think about the people you’ve encountered in your work, or elsewhere, whose lives have inspired you and influenced your writing. In an internship I had just out of college, teens and parents living in public housing both challenged and supported me in a project that was, frankly, completely out of my depth. Their lessons, friendship, and their photos on my desk have inspired me, and my writing, ever since.  

Let it sizzle. Good writing takes time. Even if your proposal is due tomorrow, allow a moment, or even an hour, but preferably overnight to walk away from your draft. Do or think about something completely different, and you might be surprised by a new idea that cinches what you’re trying to say. The feeling of satisfaction and even giddiness at your accomplishment is so worth the effort. 

Have fun! 
Writing for donors can be tedious, but you have latitude. For example, pull back the curtain to describe a little known slip-up, perhaps during a donor meeting, that you turned into a winning conversation. Write the short but always appreciated bread and butter letter. Or, sharpen your skills in brevity in a postcard to your colleagues from your travels to, say, Timbuktu or Coney Island. 

When you’re really stuck, get out the markers and doodle. Strategies like these can jump-start your brain and motivate new ideas for communicating with donors, or even your kids or your great aunt Bessie. 

Thank you
I’ll wrap things up next month, but for now I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for joining – and remaining – on my mailing list, and for your comments, encouragement, and peeks into how Short Takes has contributed to your writing. You have inspired me to start and then continue this endeavor. 

If you remain on my mailing list, I will keep you posted (now and then) about my writing, plans, and (hopefully) accomplishments. Perhaps this will evolve into an occasional writing series. 

Without you, Short Takes would never have happened. I’m deeply grateful.