17 Comments to “How Do You Balance the Insecurity and Confidence to Write on the Internet?”

1. April 7th, 2008 at 11:35 am
   Beth Robinson said

   I remind myself that if I don’t hit publish then I won’t improve. Somehow practice, as useful as it is, doesn’t have the same impact on me mentally.

   I remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect. I want next year’s writing to be better than this year’s. For that to happen there has to BE writing this year.

   I remind myself that I’m more critical of my work than almost anyone else. The worst that the average person is going to do is stop reading. That’s okay. I’ll have another chance to get their attention later. And if I don’t, well, I have comments from other readers saying they’ve appreciated what I’ve done so far. Maybe this time will get another bit of positive reinforcement.

   And sometimes I don’t hit publish. Sometimes I hit delete and write something else. Sometimes giving into the insecurity for a bit is like being pulled out as a wave retreats so that I have more energy to rush back in as the tide rises.

2. April 7th, 2008 at 11:51 am
   ME Liz Strauss said

   Hi Beth!
   I’ve never read a perfect writer . . . I’m not sure I’d like one. Perfect writing to me is an oxymoron, because writing requires a human touch.

   I keep my mind on the message I’m trying to communicate and look for the ways people might misunderstand what I’m saying . . . so that I can remove the points of confusion.

   Sometimes I don’t hit publish too, because I know what I wrote has something else, something about me or my mood, going on.

3. April 7th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
   Ria Kennedy said

   I summon the courage. I don’t know how, because I refuse to be beaten probably. Because it’s a personal point of pride that I didn’t. Because I didn’t let the fear silence me, and I put the monster back in the closet for another day.

4. April 7th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
   The Internet Apprentice said

   I don’t think I’m a great writer by any stretch of the imagination, but that won’t stop me from commenting The key to writing is to write! Don’t agonize about it, just bang those keys! If you do this consistently, you can’t help but improve.

   Thanks for the post!

   - Dave

5. April 7th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
   ME Liz Strauss said

   Hi Ria!
   Sounds like a “just do it!” way of thinking to me. So much we want to accomplish is a matter of just letting ourselves take on the task with a decision and a desire to succeed.

6. April 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
   ME Liz Strauss said

   I so agree, Dave,
   Writing is like playing the guitar. If you want to be good, you have to practice. Writing a blog is even better because our readers let us know what they took from our message . . . so we improve even faster than without an audience.

7. April 7th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
   Peter Knight said

   How do you balance the insecurity and confidence of writing to publish on the Internet? I don’t know yet. I have written for publication, even had a column in a newspaper, but I’ve been her on the ‘net for just two years, installed WordPress 2.2 three months ago (and 2.5, today). Writing is different here, I don’t know but I think you have the answer.

   By the way, I’ve just come from WordCamp Dallas, podcast, and your presentation there: Wonderful! I’ve also seen Matt’s, and Lorelle’s and John P. and have you all on RSS. Thank you!

8. April 7th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
   ME Liz Strauss said

   Hi Peter!
   The writing is definitely different here, but I have a feeling you’ve already gotten the hang of it.

   Thank you for the words and for mentioning the WordCamp presentation. It’s a pleasure!

   You’re not a stranger anymore.

9. April 7th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
   Lin Burress said

   Hi Liz! It’s so true, there are no perfect writers, but only writers who aspire to get better day by day.

   If any of us were to constantly critique every word, every sentence or paragraph, none of us would ever hit Publish. There will by typo’s, and grammar errors because none of us are perfect, even though we diligently read and proofread our own posts prior to publishing.

   WordCampDallas was amazing, and I’ve been implementing things I’ve learned there ever since, and my RSS feed list has grown exponentially since attending WordCamp.

10. April 7th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Lin!
    It was great to meet you at WordCamp!

    The longer I write . . . it’s getting near 3 decades now . . . the more I realize it’s about communicating. That idea gets more deeply ingrained with every word and thought I express. A comma out of whack or a misplace modifier might offend slightly, but if someone gets the essence of my thought, I think I’ve had a success.

11. April 7th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
    Whitney said

    Fear is insecurity and reasonable concern that’s run completely amuck. I tend to want to quash things that have run amuck, to push them back into a reasonable order of things, and keep them there.

    In a word…stubbornness.

    I keep a binder with some of my writing clips beside my computer. If my confidence gets shaky, in spite of my innate stubbornness, I look at my clips. It reminds me that I’ve succeeded in other genres and other mediums, in spite of some initial hurdles, and writing on the ‘Net will not, in the long run, be any different.

12. April 7th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi whitney!
    That’s a great technique. Looking at past successes is something I often suggest when I work with folks trying to find their vision.

    It makes totally sense to do the same when we’re trying to keep on track. Brilliant as usual!

13. April 8th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
    Frustrations with my Limitations. Blogging Pains III | Just Thinkin' said

    [...] Strauss, that amazing lady of Successful Blog, recently asked a question of her readers as to How Do You Balance the Insecurity and Confidence to Write on the Internet? And of course I had to be driving by when the title caught my eye and I got to thinking about that [...]

14. April 10th, 2008 at 5:01 am
    Solomon said

    Hi Liz!
    I like the way you wrote this article – It’s music to my ears: the anology of concrete and sand; the importance of truth in the message.
    I too suffer from the perfection paranoia and often quash my writing and postpone to a later date.
    But as I read and understand other writer’s articles, I feel more strnegthened and feel their thoughts and reflections are aligned with mine. And I feel emboldened to publish. Thanks!
    Solomon

15. April 10th, 2008 at 8:50 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Solomon!
    When we judge our words too harshly, we can squeeze the music and the heartfelt meaning right out of them. Our own way of saying things gives what we write personality. You can’t write my blog post. I can’t write yours. But we can write our own in an excellent way. Turn excellent into perfect? — what’s perfect?

16. April 25th, 2008 at 10:42 am
    Charles Jacobs said

    Solid advice, Liz. The toughest moments are when you face that blank computer screen and it leers back at you, challenging you to fill it with your words. Plunge ahead. Write. Let it flow. No reason to be fearful. Our good fortune as writers is our ability to go back and edit, rewrite, polish. After all, even the Great God Hemingway rewrote endlessly to “burnish (my words) until they become brilliants…to polish (them) into tiny gems.”

17. May 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
    David Bowman said

    Guts, and lots of them. Given what we do, we always carry some insecurity–so we reread and rewrite many times. Eventually, though, we send our writing to the world and hope we said everthing clearly and correctly. Like I said, guts.