Significant relevance of both title and picture will only be decided by the people who look straight at the ideas.
It’s been a while. I was missing in action for around two months or more, and here I am again. Some people must have wondered what I did during the past months, or thought what kind of reason I had for the prolonged absence. Well, I can’t really explain most if it, but maybe I can explain some of it along the lines of “finding myself”. Hopefully, I can still get my point across.
More than two months ago, I had a talk with good friend ghostlightning. It was just the spur of the moment that I blurted out something I thought I shouldn’t: How to blog, the good way. I don’t know if ghostlightning was anticipating the big idea, or if I was just desperate that time, but I do know that it’s going to be something that would have to change me, one way or another.
In a nutshell, I was told that I was writing in a totally rude way, enough to drive people away from reading (okay, I know this sounds absurd, coming from me, but it’s true), I totally alienated myself from my initial goal (“to effectively deliver the good stuff” became “to effectively deliver my good stuff”, while “to write according to interest” became “to write according to what I see fit”), and that I’m far from being good enough to write. At least that’s how I see things from the gist of it.
To think that I, who was trying to point out post gangrene and blog postmortem in the past, would fall victim to both, I thought it would never happen. I thought that I can somehow sustain myself if I write with reasonable intellect, but the more I tried to write intelligently, the more I failed to write intelligently. From content to opinion, the shift was like a sudden spurt of interest from the former, then the abrupt loss of interest, resulting to the switch for the latter. and vice-versa. Failing to notice the decay that I go blind because of being full of myself, I may as well brand myself as a fool. But like I said, it’s either get game, or get owned, and choosing the latter option seemed all the better, even if it has unforeseen consequences for someone as unpredictable as myself.
So I laid low, away from the world I tried to conquer, observing the blogosphere from a distance. Stemming from ghostlightning’s past advice that I should try to take a look at how others manage, I somehow took it at heart and followed a few blogs that piqued my interest. During this time, I look at blogs with these in mind:
- 1. THE ABILITY TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY. It’s something that can dissect broad or deep topics with variety and “flavor”, or turn a simple topic into a good read. This would not only explain the article in detail, it would also show how creative the writer is. It’s hard to explain, since every writer has a different type of thing going on, but simply put, it’s how you write articles with detail and style.
- 2. THE SKILLS TO INJECT HUMOR IN A POST. Providing a good laugh while getting your point across, it’s a hard thing to do. Why? You’re trying to divide your reader’s attention from the joke, the topic, the joke’s relevance to the topic, and vice-versa. You can’t simply do that by abruptly cracking a joke and say it’s funny without people pointing out if it made any sense to what you wrote. An express delivery of laughs instantly turns a boring read to a good one. No “cock-nutsack” antics since ghostlightning so far, but hopefully we get an equally epic approach.
- 3. THE POWER TO REACH OUT TO READERS. This is something I might not have, I don’t really know, I was too stupid or narcissistic to notice back then. But seeing other people’s blog getting responses, it shows that you’re not talking to yourself. Opinion is not limited or one-sided, and it must remain that way. The transition of the topic at hand starts from the writer’s say on the matter, from which the readers then give their own say. This mutual understanding and conflict generates a good buzz, and more readers will then come see what’s up on the place. Ultimately, a well-read article simply gives you credit aside from your own, and that means you’re good. Now, doesn’t that make the writer feel just as good as the article he or she has written?
- 4. ENJOYMENT IN WRITING. The best example so far for me is, still, ghostlightning. Not only does he have a few of what I mentioned above, he also truthfully enjoys them. How can someone say? Simple: it shows in his posts. For you to be able to feel the intensity of the words without forcing emphasis, and being able to convey that to others? Well, I’ll be damned. If there’s some kind of deciding factor or something, I think this might be it.
Simple camaraderie, yet every experience is as meaningful as anybody’s.
Only by that time did I realize that I was far, very far, from what I had in mind, and I fully alienated myself without me even knowing. It’s hard trying to write what people would talk about, and my past reputation is already badly known by the people around me. What is two months of limbo going to do with that? It’s nothing compared to what’s already been done, right?
Wrong.
The “delete absolutely everything” option ain’t always going to save the ass, and it clearly isn’t the best and always available solution. Like angels, from grace we fall, from the fall we rise again. Starting over, or continuing what has already been started, where fighting spirit or pure muscle and manliness and whatnot will fuel you onward to what seem to be an endless fight for yourself and for others, the clarity does not lie in the statement of facts, but the means to get them.
Maybe this is what will change me for the better. Again, I humbly stress the fact that I’m not as good as anybody that’s older than me in the field of blogging, not even with that one year passing by. If I still can’t get a good look at myself in the blogging world, I’m no big blogger to go in the way of another, or being one. This fact I already know, in a very hard way. I simply want myself expressed, and I’m willing to go in the way of changing things way far from those I used to do. so I can be able to talk with everyone. Heck, pride can go down the drain. That one’s anyone’s business, or anyone’s downfall.
I don’t intend it to be mine.
Thank you for all the generous words. It’s really very important to figure out what your goals are, and then work from there. In my case it’s very clear that I hold discussion to be paramount, and the other things can come after.
I do think failure is important. One way that I’ve insulated myself from the shame of failure is by publishing often enough such that the fail posts don’t stand out too much and occupy my thoughts. The most important thing is the current draft, or at least that’s what I tell myself when I want to get things done.
Lastly, I subscribe to the idea that quality follows productivity: the more you write, the better you get at it. So show it, let people see it, comment on it, or ignore it. That’s what I think anyway.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, bro. This hobby we choose to partake in is not easy, and not every single post is going to be groundbreakingly perfect. So much of blogging is about finding a good balance. Be confident in your writing, but remain humble; be critical in your writing, but remain civil; be interesting and readable in your writing, but don’t just sell off to general interest. What you choose to write about is what makes your blog unique, along with things such as style and approach. It’s good that you feel there is room for improvement and you are looking at a different approach. Personally, I’ve been reading you for a while and I don’t think that your writing is overly “rude” in the traditional sense. It’s a charge that comes often to writers with sharp rhetoric, but regardless it’s good always to take feedback from readers and observers. What’s a blog without feedback? A personal diary. Dasaku doesn’t host diaries.
In the long run, the one the the most important things a blogkeeper should have in mind is a vision and a goal, but don’t sweat it; it comes naturally over the course of time. Cum grania salis, I, far from achieving a level I would consider my goal, am in no position to lecture on the matter. Basically, write from the heart, keep your mind open, and always look to get better.
Well, the way I see it, you’re not just good at writing, ghostlightning. It’s like there’s something in your posts that not just tells people that they’re well-written. And of course, the chance that a post would fail can only be equal to the chance that the post would be well-received. Sometimes, confusion stems from that, which yours truly might have had back then.
I don’t know about productivity, though. I mean, we do have our own writing styles, and proving productivity on how a post is made is going to be quite a criticism. It’s just that the flow of ideas from words and vice-versa tells me that productivity comes either way, as long as you have the “drive” to write. But like I said, the above factors, and the possibility of failure, will always loom around the corner.
And yes, kevo. It’s very important to know that transparency between everyone, writer and reader included, is essential in blogging. Style is one thing, but I’ve also learned that unless you learn to respect others like how you respect yourself, there’s no transparency in any post you make. It is, like you and ghostlightning said in the past: A diary. I don’t want that, and I’m ready to change my ways after such enlightenment.
And uh… your forgot to add me on your Dasaku blogroll…
Oopsies, I always forget these things. I’ll patch that right up.
(I don’t see me in yours…)
Regardless, I hope to see some post-enlightenment posts soon.
Don’t worry. I’ll try to do more than just write posts about post enlightenment. I do intend to enjoy and stick to my goals.
(Also added you up. Thanks)