Getting Better At Writing
A month to date has passed since I’ve attempted to write more. Pardon me, since I’ve started writing more. It still feels like silently dropping information into an abyss. For now, I’m still motivated and it’s not like I started this with the intention of developing a following.
Delving deeper
I want to get better at writing. Like any process, you want to get better at there are two golden rules (not weighted equally). Research, and then actually doing it. I did some research. The standard “How to get better at X” google search. This led to a bunch of SEO optimised nightmares on how to get better at writing, mostly fluff pieces. Luckily, there are a few good writers that I am aware of. I searched them up and scoured their archives for relevant information.
The advice has been broadly summarised below. Write.
The only common strain, I could find among those posts. Write. A lot.
When you think you’ve written enough, keep writing.
Whilst writing this I had a smirk on my face. This was the exact same advice I’d given to a friend, when he said he wanted to get better at art. I gave him a wry smile. “Draw”. Karma’s a bitch.
This poses two problems. A lack of content in my brain in relation to…
- Quality
- Quantity
Addressing problems
To address the first point, I can waffle. The second not so much. I’ll take the volume approach, although it goes against a lot of the things I’ve read online. “Occupy a niche”, “Quality over quantity”, “Content is king”. Pardon my English, but fuck all of that. I’m going to spam. I need to improve.
Reading about successful bloggers, they occupy a niche. Something that makes people want to come back to their site. That’s how a lot of them are able to convert their readers into consumers when(or if) they start to sell a product. Many of them use those readers as a distribution channel for Consulting, generating business or as a stamp of authority within the industry.
Finding a niche
I don’t necessarily have a niche to occupy, a business to start or an industry to become an authoritative figure in (yet). A potential niche could be anything that captures my interest. Although, I did not start this blog with the intention of sharing information with a potential niche. I could develop an interest and then expertise around that topic by writing on it. That sounds like a pain in the ass, and admittedly a bit far out of my comfort zone. I don’t want to go too far out of my comfort zone. I want to be able to sit here and spin out a post in 20 or 30 minutes, proofread it later in the day and be good to go. That kind of means that intense research is out of the window.
So that niche would have to be something I gravitate towards naturally, so relevant to me at that time, that it doesn’t feel like work or is DIRECTLY related to work. So the blog could potentially serve as a repository for my actual notes for work. I enjoy learning stuff. I’m not particularly good at it, but I am good enough.
What does this mean?
We live in a digital age. My output is unconstrained by nothing bar myself. As long as I have the discipline to write on a regular basis. Then theoretically, I should get better. There are some constraining factors, such as receiving high-quality feedback. Assuming I put myself out there, which is a topic for a whole other day, I should be able to combat that.
So what is the point of this piece ultimately? None really. It’s simply another day where I had a sudden bout of motivation, and decided to hit an arbitrary 500-word quota. An exercise in being unconstrained.