Comments

Does it really matter how well you write or what you write?

Posted by dau at January 25, 2005 1:55 PM

Grammar, content, style, and word choices matter to many readers. Why dilute WOW concepts by communicating them poorly?

As most people have not thought about (much less studied) grammar since the tenth grade, any effort to do so will pay big dividends. Read Bruce Ross-Larson's books (especially Effective Writing and Edit Yourself) or visit www.clearwriter.com. Also consider C. Edward Good's A Grammar Book for You and I ... Oops Me - an excellent primer on grammar and style issues.

Posted by Bill Peper at January 25, 2005 4:20 PM

Lapses in/Disregard for grammar, content, style, word choices, AND spelling certainly take away from the message a person is trying to put forth. When I receive a business/professional e-mail wrought with poor spelling, grammar, etc.--at least one of which I did receive today--I immediately believe that if the person was to lazy to get things together in an e-mail message, then imagine what they might do with more profound work.

On that note, I'll add to Bill's suggestions by recommending people visit (or re-visit) Lynn Truss' "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation". I thought everyone had come across the book--until I received that e-mail earlier today. Side note: the book has an interesting entry about the punctuation mark that is the Tom Peters Company logo.

Posted by Lee H. Igel at January 25, 2005 4:49 PM

I'm really keen to build a blog site and was wondering if anyone has any tips? I'm doing this on a low budget and would like to build a quick and dirty proof before I continue.
Any help would be very much appreciated.

Andre

Posted by Andre Googe at January 25, 2005 6:05 PM

andre,to to blogger.com, sign up and start a blog. start writing. no cost. real easy.

Posted by Erik at January 25, 2005 6:10 PM

I'm not sure who the target market for this conference is...

people who already "get it"?

or people who would like to "get it" but aren't sure how?

a bit of both perhaps?

i never found blogging that complicated. i just assumed it was something you did... and you learned the craft by doing it yourself and watching how other people did it.

seems like there's a lot of 'official' formalizing going on.... lots of people debating the ROI and whatnot.

still, it's all good. seems to me like some kind of tipping point is being reached.

agree? disagree?

Posted by hugh macleod at January 25, 2005 8:14 PM

Hugh:I think the tipping point is Blogs for business or not !! Theres a lot of infrastructure and investments made in blogsphere. However, the list of companies who use blogs are limited.. hardly any of the f500 are placing weightage on this app. Why ?? What is the ROI's ?? where is the business case ?? I am still awaiting for any report which clearly articultes that blogs and business are in a common tapestry !! lets forget the ROI's and TOC etc..

Theres hype and now the tipping point is to make sure that 'portage effect' takes place into the business community.. i.e blogs are carried to the Companies !! But wait a minute - how the heck to use blogs ??Is it to be used a marketing app or a communucation app or company type website or all of these ?? THe faceoff between blogsphere,bloggers, blogs and companies in the making.. ..

Posted by /pd at January 25, 2005 9:02 PM

It seems to be about "monetizing" blogs, Hugh. For if not, why have a conference about how to have a genuine conversation?

P.S. Love your cartoons!

Posted by Tom Asacker at January 25, 2005 9:04 PM

Erik, I think you have caught the inherent tension between the "blogosphere" and the "business blog" folk that I'm sure kept cropping up there in Seattle. I agree that the best way to write is to just start writing like mad, about anything. Set yourself a goal of ten paragraphs a day and stick to it. Peter Elbow taught me this in his superb "Writing without Teachers".

I don't entirely agree with the "write what you're passionate about", however. A flip answer is that I'm passionate about my wife and kids, but I don't share the intimate details of our life online (though, to be fair, I do have a parenting Weblog at http://www.APparenting.com/ ). Instead, I'd modify this to say "write what you're passionate about, then frame it in a manner that makes it suitable for widespread public consumption".

When I read weblogs, I am often astonished at the level of personal detail that people share. An ongoing thread of "TMI" (too much information) , from my perspective (though I completely support people blogging about whatever and whomever they want). I share my personal life with friends and family, not the entire online universe at large.

In fact, years ago I had a creepy experience that solidified my opinion in this matter. When my book "Creating Cool Web Pages" was first published, I had a Web site that included a photo page with pics of my family and young daughter. One day I got an email from some weirdo who accused me of sexually exploiting my child online by including the picture. I wasn't, but having someone like that SEE a picture of my daughter was sufficiently upsetting that I have since removed all pictures of my family and only share them with family and friends behind a password-protected gateway.

Some bloggers may feel that I'm too paranoid, but there are some odd folk online, folk who might be getting more jollies reading your personal information than you may be thinking about. Writing about what you love and are passionate about, writing about your personal life and experiences, is one thing, but opening your kimono at the public bus station at 3am is something else...

Posted by Dave Taylor at January 25, 2005 11:14 PM

It is effortless and enjoyable to read the work of someone who writes well. It is hard work and frustrating to read the work of someone who doesn't write well. If you have profound ideas and perspectives but can't communicate them well - then what's the point of having them in the first place? You can't make a difference if you are not understood.

Posted by Helen at January 26, 2005 8:44 AM

Here's my tip for improved blog or online writing:

1. Go to/sign up for: forums, blogs,bulletin boards, discussion lists on topics you're passionate about.

2. Then start engaging in heated debates, expressing yourself calmly, avidly, goofily, seriously, academically, street wisedly, etc.

3. Notice the reactions you get. Are you intelligently rebuffed? Angrily denounced? Perhaps even banned from the site or list?

4. Congratulations. You've learned the hard but direct way how to write blogs and other online material.

I've written direct mail and science fiction and poetry since 1971, but had to engage in self-training as described above, just to really get a grip on writing online. It's different.

Hope this helps.

Posted by Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate at January 26, 2005 2:24 PM

Good writing is hard. Period. Full stop.

Writing regularly does help us become better writers, but not on a linear basis. The slope is shallow for a long time if you use this technique. Other techniques for improvement -- education, training, editorial interaction -- are more potent than merely writing every day.

Halley and I made a number of other points, regarding the elements of good blog writing -- like using humor, and so on -- but its also important to point out that the ability to write (like the ability to pole vault, sing, or tell jokes) is distributed across the population in a bell curve. This is another one of the inexorable blog laws.

Posted by Stowe Boyd at January 26, 2005 3:54 PM

I strongly disagree with Stowe’s assertion that good writing is “hard.” Good writing requires “only” clear thinking and a grasp of grammar and writing conventions. These skills are well within the capabilities of virtually anyone willing to develop a writing competency. A small effort in this area can provide a distinct competitive advantage and yield tremendous dividends.

While few can match Shakespeare’s natural aptitude for composition, such genius is NOT required to communicate effectively. Even without Tiger Woods’ natural talent, most golfers could break 110 on an average course with good lessons and practice. Becoming a good writer – the rough equivalent of breaking 110 – is a question of effort for most people.

Communicating effectively is not some mystical gift sparingly granted by the Fairy Writer Gods. I am convinced that most people could dramatically improve their writing skills by investing a small amount of time and money. People have adopted the same defeatist attitude toward writing skills as assessing their artistic talents. Go to www.amazon.com and read the reviews of Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and Mona Brookes’ Drawing with Children. They contain scores of testimonials of individuals convinced they lacked any artistic skills who now draw beautifully. I would be happy to recommend some further resources if anyone is interested.

Posted by Bill Peper at January 27, 2005 12:09 AM

Writing every day helps.

Reading high quality writing (literature, smart blogs, poetry, academic, scientific, etc.) helps.

Strong desire to succeed in writing helps.

Hand copying long sections of famous authors (Proust, Hemingway, Dickens, Twain, O. Henry, Flaubert, Rilke, Freud, Darwin, Sagan, etc.) helps you get a "feel" for good solid writing.

Reading books like Interviews with Successful Authors and such, for deep insights and practical experienced advice, this helps a lot.

Letting others read your supposedly golden prose and ridicule and critique it mercilessly, this really helps, if the others are smart.

Avoiding bad literature, badly written blogs, etc. helps a lot.

But as I stated previously here, going to the front lines and duking it out with other comment posters, heated debates, reasoned appeals, on other blogs, forums, discussion lists, bulletin boards...

...you'll learn how to not weep or flinch when aggressively swarmed by naysayers, and you'll learn how to be aggressive yet diplomatic.

Posted by Steven Streight aka Vaspers the Grate at January 27, 2005 5:00 AM

I recommend to start writing just to improve your writing skills.

I refer to this in my Blog.

Posted by felix gerena at January 27, 2005 8:02 AM

Dave,

Instead of "Write what you're passionate about." I would say, "Be passionate about what you write."

Kinda like Alice's conversation with the Mad Hatter (say what you mean/mean what you say). They sound the same, but have completely different meanings.

Posted by Dustin at January 27, 2005 2:17 PM

Oh, and just something I do to improve my writing... read what you write BEFORE and AFTER it is posted. I do this with everything I write: emails, letters, marketing literature, blogs, comments, etc. Often it helps to even read it out loud.

You'll notice tendencies, mistakes, and omissions. Often it will allow you to extend your thoughts even deeper/further.

Posted by Dustin at January 27, 2005 2:22 PM