=)

It will come as no surprise then, that I’ve not understood how and why I got into 9rules from Day 1, and that I’ve doubted myself and the “quality” of my output ever since. And boy do I understand the doubt that lingers and magnifies itself when the discussions you mention come up.

But in the end, I’ll keep on doing what I’ve done all my life, which is write and tell stories and try and entertain others. And I’m damn proud still of that 9rules flag waving off my blogging fortress and will be as long as the Triad keeps adding such great sites to the list. These newcomers are honored to have got in, I’m honored they want to be in a club that has me as a member.

I guess the way we look at it is natural development and forced development. The way I see it, having the words come naturally doesn’t always mean it’s the easy way out and you’ll never get better at it. I guess it means bringing out who you are, what you can do and realizing your full potential. I’ve tried forcing myself to write something but at the end of it, it feels hollow and meaningless.

I don’t know if you fit this technique into “things that come hard” but what I’ve done is be inspired from the people whom I believe have that quality. Learn to write the way they write. Pick up on their mannerisms and context and fit it in the way I write. Eventually, I find a balance between the way they write and who I write as. Over the years, I’ve changed my writing habits somewhat but the end result is, I write better now than I did before and I will keep trying to do just that.

I think I’ll rephrase that for myself that “I never post because I feel like I need to post.” The fact is that every single time I’ve written a post — EVERY ONE — I’ve intended to publish, I’ve felt that there was something I wanted to say or share. Often, during the writing, the ideas either don’t come, or I end up stepping back after writing it and thinking “you know, this seemed like a better idea in my head.” In those cases, I don’t post. I merely leave the post in the backend, in the hopes that one day I’ll take a look at it again and say “here’s what I need to fix this…” I make it a point to write in order to improve, but just like an author doesn’t sell every short story he creates, this writer doesn’t release every post he writes. (I have at times and the results are less-than-stellar.)

@Arthus: I’ve said it before, congrats. You definitely produce quality stuff. And regarding your idea about starting a blog where you put your second tier posts is a good one. Maybe I’ll take that and run with it.

@David: There’s something to be said about keeping a posting schedule. Every time I’ve tried it, it’s always involved a fair amount of planning, and definite dedication. But when you do that long enough, you find that your stuff naturally begins to improve. Like you mention, there are times when you feel everything you have to say is great and others when you feel nothing you say is worth posting. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s best to post anyway, not just to post, but because maybe you really are being too hard on yourself. Of course, in cases like that, I’ll usually sit on a post for a few days, then read it with fresh eyes. Sometimes I’ll be able to tell what’s wrong with it, fix it, and get it ready to go. Sometimes I’ll just shelve it again. Often, as a result of these shelved posts I end up writing something like this, and getting a much better response than I could have expected.

@Edrei: “If its going to be a pain to write those posts. Don’t whatever you do write it.”

I’m not sure I agree with this one. It’s easy to write when things come easily. It’s not easy to publish when things come hard. But it’s at those times, when one has to fight and struggle with every word, that one actually grows in the art. it’s that whole “write whether you feel like it or not” perspective. Whether you publish or not is another matter, and but the principle’s the same. There’s something to be said about writing when it’s hard. Strangely, I find these to be some of my more satisfying posts, and usually it’s these that demand the highest quality I can deliver. Then again, it also depends on the short view versus the long view. In the short view you’re looking at the quality of the post. In the long view you’re looking at the quality of what you can produce. There’s a world of difference between one and the other.

“If it’s beginning to look nothing like that, then whatever that comes out is going to lack meaning both for us and perhaps for a lot of people.”

Here I agree. If it becomes a constant struggle, where your heart is no longer in it, at all, then it’s time to hang up the keyboard.

“[I]f the question of perfection means wading through hell and back for some minuscule attempt to be better than you already are. Because I love what I do. I see nothing wrong in that. I guess that’s what passion is about.”

I’m going to print this up and hang it on my wall. If I had a gold star, I’d give it to you.

If its going to be a pain to write those posts. Don’t whatever you do write it.

The thing with blogging is that for most of us, it is a job. It’s a hobby that we started out to begin with. It’s something we do in our spare time and it’s something we would love doing.

If it’s beginning to look nothing like that, then whatever that comes out is going to lack meaning both for us and perhaps for a lot of people.

What makes us good. What gives us the quality is the desire to say “I have something on my mind that I really want to say” and then saying it. It doesn’t mean it can’t be refined. It doesn’t mean that the eloquence of the words can’t improve with time. It just means that whatever you say, you mean it at the time it was written.

I don’t believe that there can never be too much perfection and for the most part. I am one of those people who will work a lot for that small bit of detail that people often miss (simplest example would be my blog theme where I started from zero knowledge to building what you see now where the times in between were spent doing on so much trial and errors for little bits of code). The difference is though. I love it. I love what came out of it. And if the question of perfection means wading through hell and back for some minuscule attempt to be better than you already are. Because I love what I do. I see nothing wrong in that.

I guess that’s what passion is about.

I think in part this is because I’ve gotten much better at finding things of quality; things that are saying what I would only better, sooner, and more prominently.

It’s a tough problem for any writer and I’m not sure there’s any solution. Sometimes you’ll have genuinely interesting things to say and sometimes you won’t.

For a long time I kept to a publishing schedule even when I felt what I was saying wasn’t that great. There’s no test for an idea better than introducing it to the world and seeing if it has legs. This can be incredibly disheartening when you see that you were right, but truly incredible when what you thought was garbage is judged differently in others eyes.

I hate leaving long comments, especially one’s I’m not sure will lead anywhere, but in this case I think I’ll just do it.

Best of luck on the never-ending quest.

This is certainly a question I struggle with often about the quality of my work. Oftentimes, I’ll write a post and read it, then decide it isn’t worthy of my blog and leave it as a draft. Last I checked I have like 300 draft posts stored up… maybe I should start a blog of the stuff which wasn’t quite good enough.

In the end, I think it comes down to: will I be proud of saying this work is mine? If not, I won’t publish it. (Or hand it over to a client) If it is, it’s ready to go.

The quality in the blogs that submitted to Round 6 was seriously awe-inspiring for me and the ones we picked to include in 9rules are unbelievable. Straight-up unbelievable. Their conviction for their topics is so refreshing that it really makes me think about what I write now… at 3by9 or anywhere.