Re: Finding my Blogging Voice
Dear "Thoughtless Ramblings",
Congratulations: you made a "splash". Your first post here resonated with so many people, and for a very good reason: we are all grappling with the same sentiment. Many of us around here think we could "do better, write better, be better."
I'm all too familiar with the feeling of lacking a structure to follow. It's disarming, isn't it? Whether it's the structure of an academic paper, an essay, or, in my case, the inverted pyramid, we've been taught for years to write with a specific goal in mind. Suddenly, when there's a blank page in front of us with no assignment, no topic, no prior instructions, it feels like being a fish out of water.
I've been rationalizing that process recently. As someone who aspired to be a writer and ended up as a journalist, the experience of writing without the rigid rules of journalism or without a specific narrative to tell is like being asked to swim across a river just for fun. And you wonder: sure, it's fun, but what if I drown? What if I'm terrible at it? And with all these people watching?
I haven't been here long, but I've collected a few lessons that I want to share with you:
Adress the Gap
When I started doing creative work, I came across this quote from Ira Glass. It's really interesting when someone puts into words what you've been feeling but never found the right way to express. Ira did that for me. I KNEW where I wanted to get. I KNEW I wanted my work to be as good as the ones produced by my idols and the best interactive journalists in the world. But my work? It wasn't even 1/10 as good compared to them.
Over time, I've learned that this gap will always be there. Because your references change, and you're ambitious too. And you never realize that the gap is closing.
Addressing the gap and being aware that it's there and it's totally fine was the only way I found to cope with it. Because, luckily, Ira gives us the answer: put yourself on a deadline so that you can try and fail and try and fail until you learn.
Don't be shy
Writing is always an act of suffering and exposure.
You suffer because of what I've mentioned before, and you expose yourself in a way that I'm not used to. It's been therapeutic to write here, to address my pains and frustrations, my ups and downs, and some very personal and deep thoughts. But I understand that, in the end, when you hit publish, it's like you deliberately exposed something too personal to the whole world. And it's scary.
Only two people in the world know who is the author of this blog: my girlfriend and my sister. Not even my closest friends know.
On the day I published my text about my orchid and my grandfather, my girlfriend, who has been following my enthusiasm with this newfound place, asked me what I wrote about that day. She knows, probably better than anyone, how much I miss him. And yet, even with my partner of a lifetime, I could only say: "I think it's better if you read it".
Write to be read, but don't care about numbers
I created this blog bored with the stress of social media and the constant conflict there. Because of my job, I couldn't say a thing without being afraid of being accused of being something. So, on the first days that I got here, after lurking around for weeks only reading what others had said, I wrote my first post without really wanting it to be read. Even though it made some "splash," I was writing without the clear goal of being read -- maybe some kind of social media PTSD.
Then I started seeing people mentioning my posts. And replying to me. And taking something that I wrote and building on top of it. And suddenly, my sociology classes clashed with my memories of that old web, and I remembered that social media killed most of this spirit. It's good to see that some rebels are fighting to preserve it, and I wanted.
Being more social, replying to posts or e-mailing people can also make your voice reach new audiences. But honestly, and even if I think you should write to be read, I wouldn't care a lot about the metrics. It's hard for overachievers like us that get their ego hurt when that text that you think it's the best thing you ever read is practically unread.
Right now, I have 10 people following me via RSS feed. It's easy to think that it would be cool to have more followers. But then I remind myself: there are about 10 people who read something I wrote and enjoyed it enough to say, "I want to read more from this guy." 10 people! I mean, it's almost the size of a football (soccer for my fellow American readers) team!
Have fun
My final advice is a cliché, but I believe it's the most important one. Last week, exhausted from a whole day dealing with a bug I couldn't solve, I was finishing the redesign of this page. Why? Because I was having fun.
I think it's important to set yourself a deadline so you can post almost daily. At least, that's what's working for me.
But the day this stops being fun, the day keeping your blog updated feels more like a job than a pleasure, it's time to quit.
Sincerely hoping to read more from you,
Bearly Significant