Rule №1: Have Something to Say
Are you just writing for the sake of writing?
A few days ago, I wrote a piece on being prepared for the unexpected.
As I crafted and then published the piece, I was confident that the reader would take inspiration from my writing, perhaps even take a minute to think about how they would best prepare themselves to deal with challenges in the future.
But despite thinking that I was spreading a positive message, I still managed to receive some negative feedback.
Amongst the few comments received, one opening sentence caught my eye, it began as follows;
“You say a lot and yet nothing.”
Receiving negative comments is not of huge concern to me, in fact, I welcome the feedback.
For it gives me an idea of how my writing has been received, allowing me to make positive adjustments in the future.
Some comments can fill you with pride, others with anger and then there are the ones that get you thinking.
That’s what this review did for me.
I began to think back over some of my past articles, asking myself;
“Have there been times when I’ve just been writing for the sake of writing?”
Coming to the Realization
So many of us are guilty of focusing on quantity rather than quality.
It’s human nature to want more.
More money, more material positions, more time. And when it comes to writing, to create more content.
But does publishing more come at a price?
I’m sure you’re no stranger to articles claiming that to get ahead online you’ve got to produce more content.
Whether it be on social media or on your own personal blog, the word on the street is that the more you publish the faster you will see results.
I too have followed this advice in the past, writing and publishing multiple pieces per day in the hope of making a name for myself online.
But it’s only now that I’ve come to realise that there have been times in the past when I’ve just been writing for the sake of writing.
And although the article and comment that initiated these train of thoughts was not one of them, it has got me thinking of how best to progress in the future.
Readjusting Your Focus
So perhaps you to have also been guilty of writing for the sake of writing in the past, just to push something in front of your readers.
Is this how you mean to go on?
As we are at the beginning of a new month and given the current state of the world there is very little to do, why not set yourself a challenge?
For the next four weeks only create and publish articles that mean something to you, that have sparked your interest and that you’ve had to take your time over, researched and thought deeply about before hitting that publish button.
Let’s make April a month where you turn your writing around and focus on quality rather than quantity.
