So, what did I learn from the last post?
by Joseph Rueter
Conflict resulting from writing and publishing is something that has held me from writing and publishing in the past.
I guess it was my mental construct of what to do with conflict that played a part in holding me from publishing in my mind. I figure conflict is part of writing. What do you do when people disagree? This is an especially important question in a place where the writers thoughts are in public and the recipients/readers thoughts are not, as in a blog.
How can this dynamic of conflict in public be effectively managed? Do you stuff the conflict deep in your consciousness and dwell on it? Do you block it out and with herculean effort cease from paying attention to it? Or, do you hit it head on? I am starting to think it may be more helpful to aim for conflict and to use it as a thing to work on. Maybe.
After the last post one of you suggested that while I am "loved" I should not email updates more than once a week. A few minutes later, another of you suggested that I publish daily and that you love the email summary with the link. Ha. This contrast is fantastic. My conclusion is that I’ll write as I can fit it in. I am aiming to write as often as I can reasonably do so because I am finding that it’s a fantastic conversation with myself. I’ll publish as often as I can polish things ready enough to publish. Success will hopefully be measured by some kind of consistent rhythm to beginning with.
A few other points made by readers include:
1/ "Don’t title posts Buzzfeed style"
I did “33+” to capture attention. However, the content is different than a typical click-bate headline. True. Just getting started here.
2/ "I wish you broke some of these these themes up and went more in depth."
Posts that could be written with more depth might go something like “Productive Business Travel” and a second, “How to Pack for Business Travel.” With each the aim could be to illuminate the points focused on of the 33+ that address efficient work product while constantly on the move and preparing to have the right things along. Take the negative roller bag stance I hold. I traveled last week with a guy that had a roller bag. He waited for the elevator as I took the steps.
3/ "Do you want to share with close friends or expand to a wide audience?"
Another way to address this might be to ask about what success looks like. For now, the aim is to build a habit… to strengthen the desire and the practice of writing and thinking in public. It's kinda semi-public because I'm intending to only use email as the alert mechanism that a new post exists in public for the foreseeable future. The extended aim maybe to be more distributed. For now, however, it's plenty to just build the habit and share with a small group.
I’ve concluded that I enjoy the process of writing enough that I am gaining from the habit of having a conversation with myself. That’s what I know now and what I will continue with. However, I think the following, pulled from an email from one of you, delightfully captures the challenge of a journey to competence in writing for myself. We’ll see how it goes.
[quoted]
if your goal is a mass following, your challenge in blogging or podcasting won't be having great ideas or sharp insights. it will be finding a way to make them resonate with a wider audience. you have the unfortunate gift of being hyper intelligent and well educated. your brain moves faster than most people's brains, which means you connect dots other people don't see clearly and can't see clearly unless they're taken through the connection dot by dot. and with your education in design, philosophy and theology, you sometimes use constructs and language that are lost on a lot of people who aren't in those (mostly academic) circles.
this is where slowing down in editing is your friend. so is having a good sounding board or three to help you achieve clarity in communication and making sure you hit the right points for resonance before you hit publish to a broader audience. and lastly, being willing and patient enough to discuss your posts/ideas in comments, watching to make sure you don't come off as condescending/arrogant.
Note: I passed this article to one of you for editing. No reply. :) I'll keep looking for an editor and doing the best I can on the editing front for now.
../.
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