I’m attempting a daily blog (again)
About 8 years ago, I tried blogging every day. I managed it for about a month. Earlier this year I tried to journal every day, and again, I kept it up for about a month. So this is not a promise or a pledge. It’s a device to get me over a mental roadblock.
The roadblock goes like this:
- There is so much I want to write about
- I don’t know where to start with this
- I can’t write about that topic because people might not like it or it doesn’t fit with what this blog is about or who am I to write about that?
- It’s two or three days since I thought about doing that and now the moment’s passed
- I’d like to write about this but I should write about that first
I need to do something to break the cycle. There was a Q&A with screenwriter Jacob Tierney, who wrote Heated Rivalry, yesterday which someone kindly Threaded and one of the things he said was the only way to get good is to work.
He said: “The worst thing you can do is think about your writing. Just sit down and write. Write bad scenes. But write them.”
Put the reps in. I’ve heard it before but it’s a good reminder. At the moment I’m skipping them. Writing things in my head but not getting them down on paper or screen.
I hold off on things because I see people saying they don’t want to see this or that; or because I fear it’s not good enough. It never will be if I don’t give it a shot. One of the issues I struggle with is tone. I don’t want to come across as preachy. No-one likes that, including me.
I read lots of things that I think need a wider audience. And then I tie myself up in knots about how to share that information.
One of the insights Tierney shared yesterday was that everyone should learn to write comedy. That’s a challenging statement for me. I’m not funny. Never have been. But I have been meaning to watch Steve Martin’s Masterclass on writing comedy for ages and there’s a lot of clever writing which uses humour to tackle issues. I’m not saying I’m going to start writing comedy but I have been thinking about the topics I want to write about and how I can make them more accessible and lighter without dumbing down.
This week I came across a brilliant blogger called Heather Cox Richardson who writes (and podcasts) Letters from an American on Substack. She writes clear facts, setting out what is happening, often with historical context. It’s calm, clear, and accessible.
And as the news keeps coming, she posts more often as needed. It doesn’t matter if she wrote something in the morning, she’ll put something else out in the afternoon if the news cycle demands something is charted, or explained.
I find that inspiring.
My writing is not for everyone. And you’ll like some pieces and not others. But in worrying about what people will think about me sharing what I’m reading and thinking about, I’m failing to spread the word about things I believe matter.
Most people trust what they read from friends and family above anything else. So we need people in our circle sharing information for us to see it. We might not be paying attention to the news, but we’ll listen to a friend down the pub, or read something shared in an online chat.
Today, Seth Godin, who has been blogging daily for more than 20 years, wrote about whether things are “too complicated for people to understand“.
He wrote: “Our first job is to do work that matters for people who care.”
“But don’t dumb it down to reach people who don’t want to be reached in the first place.”
This is such an important distinction. You can’t make people care. You can make it easier for people to get involved if they would like to.
When I started my weekly newsletter, The Sunday Edition, people like that it’s building in public. These pieces are an extension of that. A daily practice for me. Not everything will be my best work. Some might be rushed. Some might be posted at one minute to midnight.
I might write about an academic paper I’ve read, something I’ve seen in the news, or a discussion I’ve seen online. I might write about my current TV obsession.
Whatever it is, over the course of a week, hopefully there’ll be something there you’ll enjoy.
