Recently, I posted “Content is King - But What Does His Crown Look Like?” - and, it turns out that what I was really trying to say was this, by Merlin Mann:
4. Good blog posts are made of paragraphs. Blog posts are written, not defecated. They show some level of craft, thinking, and continuity beyond the word count mandated by the Owner of Your Plantation. If a blog has fixed limits on post minimums and maximums? It’s not a blog: it’s a website that hires writers. Which is fine. But, it’s not really a blog.
That’s so much better than I put it. Fewer words, clearer message. I’m just thankful that my post was up 5 days before Merlin’s - he’s so good at what he does, I’d never survive the accusation that I lifted his stuff without permission.
Now, in all candor, I laid those first four paragraphs out so that I have a little credibility when I say that I’ve wanted to talk about editing, even before I heard and read Merlin talk about it here.
(By the way, you should totally watch the whole video at the above link. It’s a talk to bloggers, but the lessons are valuable to anyone who does creative work. Yes, even you.)
Back to editing - what I wanted to say about editing was crystalized for me as I was deleting pictures from my recent family vacation to Disney World.
Understand, I took about 587 pictures. Now, I am not a good photographer. I do not use “good” equipment. My pictures (mostly) stink.
BUT - I know this and, so, I take a lot of shots, just so I can have those 20-30 that are worth syncing to my Apple TV. Whether it’s writing, taking photos, or improvising jazz, I’ve learned that 85% of what I try is crap. The other 15% can be molded, massaged and sculpted into something worth showing to other people. Chances are - you’re like this too.
The percentage of people who can crap out pure gold is very small. They’re the true geniuses of the world. The rest of us are plodders and, if we’re at all good, it’s because we work hard at it. Everyday, at every chance. If you know that little fact coming into the process, you also know to expect a fair amount of editing along the way.
How about some practical advice from this? If you are struggling with what you’re writing, and can’t fit this idea of better content into your schedule, try putting some extra effort in and get 3 or 4 blog posts in the hopper. Work on one and when you get frustrated or get to the point where you can’t go further (but you know it’s not done yet), put it down and move to the next one.
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First - funny total that totally caught my attention! Second, great points, especially about taking time and editing what we do. I often type out my posts and save them and come back to them later. I may polish them up or delete them cause they were awful! But I hate to just skip ahead to publish without being sure of what I wrote. My posts still aren’t perfect, but I try hard to put true effort into them.
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