Good Writing Needs Reps

 

Push Away the Excuses and Write

 Laziness and apathy keep us from writing. Laziness is easy to spot, it’s hours of YouTube clips on better running and UFO explainers. It’s filling productive time with unproductive habits. Apathy is related to laziness. It’s a lack of concern for personal improvement. Apathy excuses a lack of effort by reasoning that it doesn’t matter anyway. Laziness takes a nap, apathy just shrugs.

Writing is a discipline because it requires discipline. We have to work the muscle and remind ourselves why we started in the first place.

Inspiration  

Writing disabused me of the “inspiration fairy” a long time ago. That’s my phrase for complete writing ideas that drop out of the sky into my head. It’s never been true, but I still occasionally fall for it. Great ideas come from working through problems. If you’re unsure if an idea makes sense, expose it to the light. Let others read it. If it has holes, people will let you know. That’s a little scarry of course, because it forces you to put your work out there. Part of having a blog is exposure to criticism. But if you aren’t ready for that, there is a trial-and-error space. That is, the editing phase of your work.

My process for all blog related material is to edit, not only grammar and spelling but also descriptions. By descriptions I mean, explainers about how a thing works. For instance, I wrote an article on how technocrats rule cities. I didn't use a textbook definition of the word technocrat, but I did explain enough of the process to make my point. When you make a point in an article like that, you need to get the facts right. Sometimes it requires more research than you would’ve liked. Occasionally, the sheer breadth of a subject forces me to abandon it altogether. Once you realize that you don’t really understand it, save the article you’ve started for that folder on your hard drive. Get back to writing about those things that you have some prior knowledge of.

Prior Knowledge

That isn’t to say you shouldn’t stretch your wings a bit and learn about another subject. But I’d limit strong opinions until you’ve got a firmer grasp. If you want to know what this sounds like when a novice comes on strong with an opinion, listen to a podcast where host and guest discuss the Bible with no relationship to it. It’s embarrassing. Not that only experts can talk on topic, but the conversation is worthless without some prior knowledge of scripture. There can also be real harm to the listener from a dishonest host. I made a similar error. I wrote a book review of George Gilder’s Life After Google without really understanding the technology he was describing. It made for a weak review despite my best efforts.

Apathy

That about sums about the laziness part, what about the apathy part? The national news has no shortage of opinions and hot takes. There is a sense that my writing is just blowing hot air into an August breeze. “Does anyone need my view of an issue that’s already been covered ad nauseum by writers that get paid to do this?” That’s apathy. That’s a way of minimizing your opinions, writing and solutions. It’s not a good excuse. You can use that phrase for every article. “Why write anything then?” comes the response. “If you don’t matter then you don’t matter?” But the goal of writing and sharing it is twofold. You need practice for one. It’s the most basic principle of sharpening any skill. You need the reps. The best way to get good pieces of writing is to stack up bad pieces of writing.

Second, you’re learning how to process information and propose solutions. This can only be done through writing out the individual parts and trying to put them together. Sometimes they don’t fit and you bring in new pieces while discarding old ones. Problem solving can be done exclusively through the mind, but good luck trying to sell it to others without writing it down. At some point you need to communicate the solution. Writing forces you to work out the kinks of your plan. It shows you right where the weak points are by highlighting the inconsistencies.

Let’s not forget, writing is communication. Good ideas need to be explained.

Tone

In 2016 I wrote a review of Peter Thiel’s speech at the Republican National convention. I couldn’t quite explain why it bothered me so much. It seemed he was asking the culture warriors (Christians) to put aside their offense taking at transgender and gay issues. He thought it was a distraction from more important economic issues. I struggled to explain why it felt misguided. That one article took at least 3 full edits before I finally settled on something articulate. I’m not sure if it hit the mark, but my arguments were straightforward and logical. Getting the tone right matters too. Thiel understands how culture issues are intentionally divisive. I wanted to give him credit for that, while still showing how he missed the mark.

At this stage (novice) of writing I’m not trying to convince anyone to change their mind. That requires a herculean lift and one that comes with a lot of pressure. Apathy makes sense if the standard for prose is to change minds. Instead, try to offer an opinion that hasn’t been explored. Here too, we need to understand the existing narratives in the world. In college I considered myself a Libertarian thinker. It’s a philosophy that works well in a society of law and order. No one cares if the otherwise responsible neighbor smoke pot on occasion. Once drugs are legalized and the borders are open however, taking away legal constraints feels irresponsible. I tried to show this in my Libertarians and Drugs article. First, I needed to understand how they argue. What do they think a government’s role should be? How would they organize society? What constitutes morality? I discovered that true libertarians don’t believe in God and think very little of the humans He created.

Conclusion

I don’t know if I changed any minds, but I needed the problem solving that comes with argumentation. Laziness and apathy aren’t the same but they do overlap. Once you’ve cast off the reasons that hold you back from writing, you lose your excuses. I know I do. Inspiration comes from just sitting down and writing. I’ve never had an inspiration fairy drop complete ideas into my head. The best you can expect is to get an idea seed. After that, it’s up to you to work out the kinks. You’ll be glad you did. No more exuses.