I want mine to be mighty and multi-purpose.
So in the absence of writing, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and introspecting. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I can go pretty deep sometimes…and I do mean that in the cleanest way possible. One of my focus points over the last few weeks has been my writing. And as I’ve been focusing on it, I’ve been doin’ a lot more reading. I’ve learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses along the way. I was tellin’ Miss Jenkins this the other day and she asked me what my strengths were. As I scratched my polished dome, the only things that came to mind were areas of improvement. So maybe I really learned a lot about my weaknesses and glossed over my strengths. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I have a weird complex. It’s probably not something I should share, but f*ck it. This is not to be confused with butt-f*cking. Anyways, I’ll occasionally read an article or post that’s well-written and well-received, then wonder if and why I couldn’t produce the same. It’s happened on SBM before. I’ll see a dope post during the week, look at what I’ve written, scrap it, then start over. I’m competitive. I like to be the best at everything I attempt. It’s partially why I hate things like bowling and volleyball. But as I’ve learned over the years and more so over the last 3-4 months, that’s completely unrealistic. I’ve also learned a few other things that I wanted to share from my experience as a writer.
You Can’t Always Be the Best, but You Can Always Be Better.
I sorta learned this lesson in college from track. No matter how many hours I spent in the weight room or in the sand after everybody left, I’d never be the best long jumper on my team, in the conference, or even in my region. I could set new personal records regularly, but they still wouldn’t be stadium, facility, or team records. There were times I won meets and was still unsatisfied with my performance despite the “good jump!” and “way to go Slim!” comments that came from coaches, teammates, and friends. I was always focused on the next level. The same can be said for writing. People can tell me “good post” on gchat or Twitter, but when I look at the traffic or social media shares and see that the post laid an egg according to my standards, I feel some type of way. This has been one of the harder things to accept and is still a work in progress. Hence the whole being better thing. This leads to another point.
Because People Aren’t Responsive Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Reading.
I see a lot of people shut down their blogs because they see traffic, but they don’t see any comments. They write thought-provoking posts day after day and ask questions, but nobody responds. They get frustrated and shut down the show despite the fact they may have dedicated readers that enjoy lurking or reading from their RSS rather than engaging.
Just because people aren’t responding doesn’t mean your words aren’t having an impact. You’re probably makin’ someone’s day better or helping them through a situation and you don’t even know it.
And lastly, hella comments doesn’t mean quality content. I could write a post called “I Like White Girls” with “They make me feel good” as the body of the post and I’d probably see more comments about self-hate than I’ve seen on any other post here. That doesn’t make it quality and doesn’t mean I’ve succeeded unless my goal is to elicit a dramatic response. Keep writing for you. I’m gonna contradict myself in a bit.
If You Don’t Read, You’ve Already Limited Yourself as a Writer.
A lot of people ask me about my favorite books and recommendations. The truth is I don’t read that much. It’s one of my biggest weaknesses and something I’ve been concentrating on improving. I’ve come to the realization that I won’t be able to grow as a writer if I don’t start reading more books, sites, etc. The interestin’ thing about reading more is that I’ve learned what type of stuff I gravitate toward. And it’s been that realization that has further pushed me in the direction of the new project I’ve mentioned. The other great thing about reading regularly is that it provokes stylistic and content ideas. If you’re a writer and find yourself reading a ton of sites when you have nothing to scribe about, then you know what I mean. Proactive is better than reactive unless we’re talking about acne medication.
You Shouldn’t Say I When Talking to the Us.
I’ve learned this one from writing for a couple group blogs with strong followings. I can get away with it here because well…this is my shit. By when I’m on stage with the rock band, it’s done me more harm than good. Let me elaborate.
Once you get to a point you’re writing for a larger audience, stuff just changes. Somewhere along the way it goes from the focus being on you to the focus being on what you can do for readers to keep them coming back. And as much as people hate generalizations, they love generalizations. They get conversations going. If you look at the megablogs (I know this is relative), you’ll notice that you don’t see too much “I think” and “For me, this means…” in the posts. The writers are assertive and speak as if their words are gospel.
So yeah, people care about you of course, but the scale tips at some point and it really becomes about them. They want you to entertain them or make them angry. They want something they can react to and it’s difficult to cause that when you make yourself the subject of everything. There are exceptions, but I don’t really feel like listing them here. Oh yeah, try posting on a regular schedule, build up an audience, then not post something on a regular day. Bet you get an email, tweet, or FB message from someone asking where the post is.
This Post Needs to Be 2 Parts
I’ve written 1,000 words and broken one of my own rules. I have a few other points to mention and will share them in a separate post. Hope this was helpful. Let me know in the comments.
Honestly,
P.S. I keep such an irregular schedule here that it’s probably best to subscribe via email rather than check back daily and be disappointed when there’s nothing fresh. I write in spurts. Pause. So subscribing via email allows you to always catch it…like a condom. Sorry, I’m thoughtful and crass.
I enjoyed this post! As a new blogger, I find myself struggling to find original yet popular topics…right now, I don’t worry about hits b/c I pass my posts around to friends and fam, and they pass it around, so forth…but the lack of comments have discouraged me…even if my post sucks, at least say something LOL It’s a learning process though and I’m not in it to make $, so I’ll keep at it
Thanks for posting this! Looking forward to your part 2
Thanks for dropping in! But like you said, keep at it. Friends and fam will see your growth as a writer from it.
As a fellow blogger, I appreciate you sharing this. There’s a lot here that I’m going to marinate on and try to implement in my future blog posts. I’m taking the time out to comment right now just for the simple fact that I too get discouraged when I put out long, heart-felt blog entries only to have no one comment. But like you said, you gotta keep writing for you and know that what you’re writing is effecting somebody somewhere.
Keep it up!
Myron
@SmooveSalsero
Glad you found this helpful. Hopefully you’ll find some of the part 2 points helpful.
I really loved and enjoyed this post.
Great Post! (Per usual)
As another new blogger I have to remind myself of some of the same things you advise. #s 1,2, and 3 are gems.
But my greatest obstacle has been trying to write what I want and not seek the approval of others. Baring it all (in words, not pics) its scary and leave you vulnerable, especially when my twitter isn’t as anonymous as yours, people I’ve known through school etc get access to that side of me. Either way, I’m having fun thinking like a blogger. So many thought each day and now I can take them and develop them into 300 words or more.
That approval of others thing is crippling. Definitely wanna keep that in mind. I’ve only really gotten rid of that in the last 6 months or so…and it’s still a struggle sometimes. I can tell when I’m going out of my comfort zone because I get that weird feeling in my stomach. I try to take that feeling as a sign I’m about to write something epic.
Once you start reading, you can’t stop. It becomes addictive…especially when you find a fav author or series. You’ll stay up late to read your fav book, stop watching tv and you’ll be online less. lol Stay away from Barnes & Nobles, it’s a rip off. Buy books used online.
Cool post man and it was really helpful. I’ve been blogging for a few months now and occasionally I do get frustrated with the lack of comments. Then ppl start hitting me up asking about me posting something. So I know ppl are reading but I wish I had more traffic but I know that’ll come in time, provided my posts are of quality. Thanks for posting this can’t wait for part 2!
Great post. #4 really resonates with me b/c I’ve been thinking lately about what kind of blogger I am and what kind I want to be. I’m not sure that I will ever be the one who writes about my take on current events or my day to day drama. I know that people like to read that kind of stuff, but that’s not really what I feel like writing. So then I think, well, if you don’t want to write stuff that you know/think/believe will generate a larger audience, why write at all? Do I write for an audience or do I write for myself? My motivation vacillates. At any rate, I thoroughly enjoy your writing. Thanks for sharing.
“My motivation vacillates.”
Eloquently stated. I feel the same.lol. That’s why I created a personal blog. When I really wanna be all about me, I step over here.
yes to the second one, for some reason that was hard for me to learn but I got it now
I know people read b/c they “comment” via other avenues, Twitter/Tumblr
I have very little comments on my blog and I always respond to them days late b/c I don’t expect them so I don’t check for them. But, it lets me know that someone other than my friends read my blog
I don’t blog but as a reader “Because People Aren’t Responsive Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Reading” resonates with me.
I’m one of the ones who rarely comments but has all the sites on google reader and HAS TO read them every morning..and will share the links out to friends. So keep writing..I’m the lurking dedicated reader
(see..you even drew me out of my lair today)
+1, read/check every day for updates (just subscribed via email).
“You Can’t Always Be the Best, but You Can Always Be Better.”
I have always thought this way… Especially now that I am a runner. I am in no positon to really compete. lol! I am a tortoise right now. But what I can do is do better than last time. Always chasing that PR.
Keep it up! I look forward to seeing ‘The Real Slim Jackson’ in my inbox.
I left this alone last week, but wanted to circle back and say pause and thanks.
Makes perfect sense… interesting indeed…
Yes I am one of those who will hit you up asking where your post is… your Eff’m Friday post is my one thing I am committed and looking forward to… so yes if it is not there I am gonna call you out. *DivaKattGoddess shrug*
I’m not a blogger but I appreciate what was said here. I used to want to write but what would I write about? I don’t always comment but I always enjoy what you say.
As someone that’s been debating starting a blog for a while, I really appreciated your thoughts.
And I had to let you know that you are absolutely right about comments not being reflective of impact nor interest. I read ALL your stuff, mainly because I like your “voice”, value your thoughts and opinions and you have the ability to make me laugh sometimes and make me think too. So keep it up…I suspect I am not not alone in saying I would miss reading you if you stopped.
And I’m not even mad that you left Boston.
C.
Appreciate this comment. I’m putting it in my archive titled “sh*t that makes me feel good.”
I appreciate this post. I just wanted to drop by and say I’m still with team Slim Jackson. I’m just not able to comment the way I used to because of work. Keep on keeping on
This comment is a little belated, but I’ve been so slammed with work and other foolishness that its just taken me a while to get around to responding.
“Because People Aren’t Responsive Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Reading.”
I’m definitely part of this camp. I fairly regularly
dailycheck out TRSJ, SBM, VSB, NWSO and a couple of other big blogs out there that get a fairly heavy readership, but I don’t really contribute too often unless I feel like I have something specific to contribute to the conversation. I’m not one to reiterate a point that has already been made 20 times upthread. If what I have to say isn’t constructive in some way, then I’ll pretty much keep my opinions to myself. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the perspectives that aren’t presented, regardless of whether or not I disagree with them. And sometimes I just don’t have the time to flesh out my position the way I would like to about something, and would rather just not write anything than rattle off a half-cocked statement. I think too many people do the latter, and it ends up being ultimately being detrimental to the conversation that the post was supposed to foster.“You Can’t Always Be the Best, but You Can Always Be Better”
I completely feel you on this. I’m always baffled by people who tell me things along the lines of “you’re doing just fine” — who just wants to be mediocre? I want to be excellent. I want to be significant. I want to have an impact (hopefully positive) on the people I interact with. I want to be the best version of myself. So why do people stay surprised when I push myself? I remember back in college (I talk like it was so long ago when it really has only been a year and some change) I would always be the most upset whenever I got grades back from a class that I know I didn’t invest too much effort into and still got a fairly decent grade. In my mind, I was just like “if I got a B+ and I was mentally checked out, imagine what my grade would have been if I had actually cared?” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to constantly improve. Not knocking people that are content with their status quo, but you never know what you’re capable of until you try. I never thought I was capable of running a half-marathon until I tried, and now I’m running every day.
Shoot, I really didn’t mean for this to turn into an essay.
Since the post was about writing, this makes perfect sense.lol. Thanks for dropping in!
Dope ass post from one writer to another. Especially no. 2! many people thrive on the attention instead of just producing quality content. Just cause people shouting don’t mean you are furthering anyone’s consciousness
This is a very informative post. I definitely took something positive away from it. Thank you for assisting me with looking at things from a different perspective.
Great blog. Feel free to swing by and check out my blog and podcast…if you like.
JSin
Very nice post, Mr!
I always enjoy reading your posts on SBM and have read a few of your posts here. But I LOVED these posts about writing that I just stumbled over. Having been a personal blogger for 5 years by now (time flies, smh) I have started to feel the urge to do something more with my writing than the habitual blogging that is mainly to keep people back home updated on my life in the city. When I was younger I used to live to write, and we’re talking old school writing, pen and paper. Somewhere along the way I lost track of this love for writing, but your posts have ignited a flame. Very inspirational!