Warning: This is a guest post by FitJerk’s Fitness Blog. FitJerk’s guest post has colorful language, so be aware of that. If you want to guest post on HowToMakeMyBlog, please check out more info here.
When Marko approached me to write a guest post for him… I was like “yeah, why the hell not”. Although my passion is fitness, I do have a blog, so it’s fair to say that blogging itself is my passion since it’s one of the sexiest platforms ever devised to help you spread your helpful message… or your shenanigans, whatever floats your boat, I won’t judge.
But the problem was finding out what to write about. I went to his blog and was like “fuck, this guy posts like 6 times a week on the topic of blogging, what possible topic on blogging has he NOT covered by now?” and to make things worse, there are a million OTHER blogs out there on blogging and I don’t want to harp on the same repetitive, sleep inducing dodo… what to do?
So I figured if there is one topic that no one had ever written about, it was how “I” tend to write. I mean it’s only logical because he’s not me, so he probably doesn’t roll like I do. Now, I’m not out to make a million and one FJ’s but if you can learn a thing or two from the way I do things, then the valiant effort it took me to bang out these keystrokes will have been worth it. So, lets get on with it…
What exactly is creativity?
Actually, I don’t REALLY know what it is, but I do know the state associated with it. It’s when you’re sitting in a chair, checking out some article when suddenly, an idea pops into your head and your mind starts RACING with possibilities… and if you’re a blogger, you can come up with a way to turn it into a post in 5 nano seconds. So you begin writing and just can’t stop, line after line you just keep going and before you know it, an hour has passed by.
I’d like to think of that as creativity (specially for writers) and if you can tap into this goldmine, well then the content you pump out will be golden as well. Personally, I have 2 techniques that help me tap into this goldmine, the first is known as…
Your core is always shining through
I want you to remember those words. In fact, I want you to jack hammer them into your skull till your profusely bleed out of your ears. They are that important. It doesn’t matter if you have a video blog, an audio blog or a written blog, every time you create content and put yourself “out there”… you need to realize that YOUR CORE IS ALWAYS SHINING THROUGH.
So what is your core? Well… the fuck do I know? Everyone’s different. But whatever your core happens to be, whether it is quiet and shy, loud and obnoxious or steady with a flow, you need to realize that it’s always shining through, which means you cannot afford to be FAKE or put on a FRONT or claim to be an EXPERT at something you are not. This is the first step you need to take when you want to write without restricting your flow of creativity. If you’re faking it, your audience will know, and when they know, it will cause a few problems:
- They won’t be able to trust you and will become skeptical, the same way a pushy car salesman puts you on the defence. You know he has an agenda when he asks you how your day is going or how you’re liking the current courses you’re taking in school or whatever. His interest in your life isn’t genuine and you can sense it.
- You’re content will blow harder than Hurricane Katrina. Seriously, the connection between the brilliant idea in your head and what comes out on the page will be so distant and weak, you’ll want to slap yourself for coming up with something so utterly garbage.
- Because of reasons in #1 and #2, it’s inevitable that you’ll be forgotten, mentally slotted in the group of mediocracy with other loonballs that will never get a second look, or a second chance. Technically speaking, you will have a shitty “stick” ratio. How sad.
When you create content, you need to be real… whatever that may mean for you. If your reality right now isn’t what you want it to be, then go change it. Work and invest in yourself if you have to. Once you do this, come back and do what you set out to do.
If tomorrow I started kissing people’s asses and was all love-dovey, my current reader base would call my bluff, roast my ass, unsubscribe and never return. They KNOW what I’m about. When I write, I’m not fooling anyone… I know I can be an ass and I know that I can get carried away, but that’s who I am so I don’t try and hide it by making my content or my website all mainstream. I don’t try and please, I try and provide… there is a difference. When you please, you are bending over for people, when you provide, you are sticking your hand out… if they take it, cool, if not, then no big deal. See, I value my readers but I also value myself and it would be an injustice if I was lying to both parties. Get what I’m saying?
As an example, take a look at my pen name… I didn’t give myself this name you know, it was bestowed upon me. I just found the hilarity in it and ran with it… you need to do the same. Run with what your core is TRYING to express to the world and everything else will just follow.
Spit first, shine later
People used to ask me “Hey FJ, what exactly is your writing style?”… and I never had an answer to that question because although literature is something I’ve sorta studied and spent time with, I never knew there was some “specific” style of writing. Or maybe I didn’t want to believe it because to me, the whole idea of having ONE style of writing is bullshit. That’s like asking “what style of martial arts do you practice?” I like to take the whole Jeet Kune Do approach from Bruce Lee… I take what’s important to me and create my own style.
So the next time someone asked me that question, I had an answer. I now call my writing style “Verbal Diarrhea” and diarrhea isn’t something you can control is it? Which is why it’s kinda ironic because it’s not actually a style. Heh, I crack myself up sometimes.
But the thing is, I do all of this on purpose and with intent… it’s a technique I call spit first, shine later. When you come up with an idea… stop worrying about the type of pen you’re using, the type of paper you have, or the fucking sentence structure in your paragraph. All that shit is IRRELEVANT! Just spit it out… all of it, then once you have it on the page (or screen) go back and polish it to a shine.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people try and write PERFECTLY in one go… as if the concept of the “editing” has never graced their damn heads. It’s there for a reason, when you have an idea, an impulse or a thought… the last thing you want to do is restrict it. Just start writing and let it flow and I guarantee that the words will come.
Here’s to great content…
And there you have it, a little insight on how I do things. Some of you will be able to take it and apply it and some of you won’t… either way I think you should at least consider trying what I wrote because it will have an insane impact on the quality of the content you create. It will be more authentic, more entertaining and therefore more valuable to your reader than the generic lameness you see on something like Ezine articles… which means they will stick to your site better than bird shit to a windshield.
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
You were right about the language being a bit raw, but the post is right on. I like the “spit first, shine later”.
Let me be the first here to attempt to define what creativity is.
Elizabeth Gilbert taled about this in a 20 minute video.
Her basic point is that creativity or genius is “A Divine attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant unknowable source, and did not come from human beings themselves.”
As an artist I have a great deal of experience with creativity, and I think she nailed it right on the head. Creativity just comes, and it is up to you to use it or ignore it.
For those that think this is nonsense, John G. Bennett (a student of Gurdjieff) would have said that “when learning something new, you must learn to suspend your disbelief, only then will true knowledge filter through.”
Hmm, her video sure was interesting. Big ups for sharing that. I half-ass agree with her… creativity DOES just come, but from a “distant unknowable force”? Not sure about that one.
I’d like to call that force the human brain, which is still very mysterious to us on some levels since it hasn’t been fully explored and understood.
Wow, the language sure is a little rough, but heck, that’s the way I speak every day.
It seems that FitJerk kinda got taken away from the original topic of the post. I expected to read something on “how to be more creative in your writing” but it turned out to be a post about “how to be yourself in your writing”.
That was still a good fucking read
@SebastienPage
Hmm… yeah I guess I did steer off topic slightly. I got all shamen-guru-spiritual for a bit. Must be the Yoga or some shit.
Still… being yourself during writing is probably the most creative thing you can do, partially because it’s unique. When everyone is trying to be different, and they end up being the same.
Shite this is what counts as bad language – I had to read it tiwce to note the bid bad arse F* word – I obviously hang out in the wrong part of the blogosphere LOL. I have always sworn in real life and just started doing it on my blog naturally – it seems to shock some Americans – the language you (and I ) use is no worse than you will here in any school or most offices in my country. Nice post though – make it real- seems a hard concept for some people born into the PC world of today!
FJ, I like that “spit first shine later” philosophy.
I call it “Publish then polish” myself… wrote a whole article on it, the blow-by-blow.
Thanks for giving great hints of creativity. I think this is one of the most important messages in 2010.
According me creativity is a natural science where we can present something unique and which is useful to reader.
Yes, I agree with writing it all down first before polishing. Editing and polishing work during the process of drafting do restrict the flow of creative juice because they bring out the critic in all of us. Eventually, the critic destroys our work.
True, self-critiquing before finishing is such a bitch.
Great article. This guy tells it like it is.
I think by your “core” you can also mean your “voice” and I do believe that everyone has their own voice and must write from it.
There’s enough room in the blogosphere for everyone to write authentically from their own voice and not to fake someone else’s style. You would only be able to do that for so long before you would be exhausted trying to be something you’re not.
Just my $0.02.
Karen
Yap, I’m agree with you. We should always write our own voice rather then copying other style.
Spit first: recently I switched from writing to recording. I just talk about what’s on my mind and get it transcribed and polished later. Works like a charm. Not only I’m able to crank out twice as many posts, recently I’m getting better feedback too.
Now that’s what I’m talking about. Good stuff. Yeah audio is interesting, it let’s you “spit” shit out at a much faster pace. I’m currently experimenting with it.
What a great article! The straight talk is refreshing. I also like the “spit & polish” analogy. Thanks for the motivating content.
Jim
Nice post here Marko! I agree about people who are trying to write a perfect post in one go. I have tried that before, and it took me forever to finish a short article.
I write so much better when I just write whatever is on my mind without worrying about grammar and spelling errors.
I hope you can double your income in 2010 Marko!
Regards,
Kai Lo
Guess I should have heeded the warning. You said, “…it seems to shock some Americans – the language you (and I ) use is no worse than you will here in any school or most offices in my country.”
I’m an American and I’m not shocked by your language. I simply don’t believe that this is common to any country – maybe to your group/audience/pals/readers whatever it is you do.
Sorry, but I’m tired of people resorting to shock language, those who can’t put a sentence together and think that’s a good thing, merely to get attention, then telling me nothing.
Aside from that I really like this blog. What a shame it had a post like this.
Awesome shiz FJ. For someone who writes about fitness and started out wondering what you might post here, you did a hell of a J.O.B. I think you have a huge amount of knowledge others could gain from spitting out some more shiz like this elsewhere. I have visited your blog several times and was surprised, don’t know why, but was to find you here. This may not be the most appropriate place to ask for a guest post but if you ever want to spread some wealth my way for my readers feel free to holla… (I see ya in the forum too)
Hi Christine, woo hoo!
I’m really liking this blog Marko
Lee