Forget all the rules, and write what you love

I am with you here 100% – if you think TOO much, you just end up stifling your own thought process and you lose a lot of those ‘creative juices’ – you don’t always have to write about a unique topic – it’s REALLY hard these days to write about something no one else ever has – but you can always provide a unique and new perspective, get people thinking in a new way, and so on.

In the first episode of my podcast (I really need to put out a new episode) I talk about my writing process, and the first thing I do is just write – I don’t stop and think about if it’s making complete sense, where I should add sources, and what not. If you start by just writing and get your thoughts down you’ve fought more than half the battle. Don’t second guess yourself and talk yourself out of a great idea!

Great post Akhila!

You’re such a great writer, Akhila! This post was seriously inspiring to me, since I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump and have felt paralyzed by the need to “deliver.” Deliver what? I’m not sure.

So, here I go – to write on a Friday, not during prime time and without any sort of schedule to note. Just because I want to write and I feel something itching at me to be said.

You’re amazing!

@Matt, thanks so much! I have to go check out your podcast because that sounds great. I agree too that there’s so much that has already been said. If you think that way, then you’re never going to write anything — everything you produce will sound useless or repetitive if you compare to all the material already out there. You just have to trust that you have something new to add and that your voice & writing is important.

In fact I was applying for a senior thesis in political science, and I was concerned my topic was too common/wasn’t “novel” enough. My adviser told me the best advice — don’t worry about coming up with a truly unique topic, everything’s been written about but YOU can bring something new to the conversation anyway, just by virtue of your own perspective. Great advice.

@Jamie, I so appreciate your compliments especially coming from a really great writer like yourself. I am so excited and glad that my post has inspired you to write, regardless of all the rules out there. I think if you have something you’re itching to write about you just have to put it out there, whether you feel like its “delivering” or not. In the end, your thoughts are important. Thank you so much and I hope you can remember this in the future too, whenever you have the urge to write! Don’t be paralyzed by your fears, or by worrying what everyone might think.

Thank for putting down on paper what we all need to hear/read sometimes. A gentle reminder that what matters at the end of the day is what we think of ourselves. I started my blog not that long ago as a place to record my journey to law school and while in law school (if I have time with all of the studying) and beyond maybe. My idea originally was maybe other people who are also on this same journey would realize someone else is going through all they are and not feel so alone and maybe learn from it. However, I was feeling like it was too journalish and that it was not up to the caliber of the blogs that I read every day. But your post gave the boost I need to say “I am writing no matter what anyone else says!” Thank you for your post!!!

Akhila, this was so well-written! I completely agree with what you have to say and I liked hearing it from your perspective. I sometimes laugh that blogging is narcissistic, but in the end, the best bloggers and writers are the ones that tend to their own passions and beliefs. They push boundaries and do what they want. Readers will come, but it is not about the readers or traffic because success will inevitably follow if you’re writing as you love to write. Thanks for writing this, I love it!

Kristina, I’m so glad this blog post was able to help you a bit. I think what you are doing is great – writing about your own journeys as a way to help and inspire others in similar situations. In fact, I started my own blog the same way – to try to connect to likeminded students and see if my experiences could help them somehow. But this blog has evolved into much more. There’s nothing wrong with learning about the blogging tips and becoming a better blogger that way — but there is something wrong in feeling confined and restrained after seeing all these tips and reading “better” blogs out there. You should definitely keep writing about your experiences in whatever way you enjoy most. You’re the one writing, and it’s for you to make the most out of. So keep writing what you love and I guarantee you will find likeminded people! Just keep it up

Grace, thanks for your lovely comment! It’s true — I guess blogging can be narcissistic. But I think the blogger has the most to gain from blogging, so they shouldn’t give themselves up just to gain more traffic or readership or branding. You’re totally right — readers and community will come if people see your passion and get to know you. Thanks for reading!

I agree totally with your post Akhila but I just have one request of people… please please please don’t write just to drive traffic to your blog. It’s horrible and boring and makes the blogosphere a depressing and trite place to reside in.

This is such an inspiring post Akhila. I’ve been putting off blogging/writing for a while now for this very reason – what if I don’t have anything interesting or cool or ‘now’ to write about.

I had started blogging way back in 2004 but abandoned it for such reasons, I felt my writing was my own ramblings that wouldn’t make sense to others. Now I realise that – you know what, that doesn’t matter!

I see it now, if you firmly believe in what you’re writing about and do it with passion – success and a readership will follow. Thank you, this (along with a few other nudges recently) was my cue to get a move on and get writing.

Thanks again!

Alex, thanks so much for the comment…you’re right, I think people should try not to write just to drive traffic to their blogs, but unfortunately that is what a lot of people do to really “brand” themselves and market themselves to others. I do wish the blogosphere was more genuine.

Shereen, wow I am so glad to have motivated you to start blogging again! This is what I love most — if my blog helps others in some way, however small, it makes me feel very fulfilled. I’m so happy to know I’m able to do that to some extent!

You should definitely blog again. Don’t worry if it’s rambling or if doesn’t make sense to others. You know, putting something down on metaphorical paper anyway takes a lot of courage, and it’s important to do — by writing your blog you’ll learn a lot about yourself and life, regardless of who reads it. You should go ahead and do it, and do it in your own personal style because then people will really get to know you. Send me your blog when you’re done

Akhila, I agree, writing about what you love will keep you writing the best content. If you really love it your creativity will be strongest, because you are always thinking about it. I just want to inspire entrepreneurs, so that’s what I blog about–but it’s to provide content to my network, to the people I’m trying to help, because that’s my passion

@MattWilsontv, thanks so much! You are right that writing what you love will lead to good and creative work & writing, just like doing what you love in life will allow you to succeed in that field.

Akhila, this post is awesome. I think the reason why many are turned off by the whole notion of blogging is because they worry about other people and find many of the “rules” hard to follow. I am a newbie to blogging and honestly I didn’t find out about all of these “rules” until after I had started blogging. I did it for me.

Of course I would love for people to read my posts, but my primary purpose for blogging is pretty much because it’s therapeutic and it enables me the ability to release all of these ideas I have floating around in my head! My point is if you are always looking at others to validate what’s right and what’s wrong you’re going to lose yourself in the process. No one wins when that happens. Again, great post.

LaTosha – thanks so much for your comment! I agree. I think when I first started blogging I too wrote just for myself and pretty much didn’t know about any of these “rules” for blogging. But once I found out about them…honestly, it stifled me. It made me feel as if I had to write at a certain time of day, or about a certain type of topic. It made me feel like my topics about human rights or social issues weren’t really that great, since they didn’t really attract much traffic. But now I’ve decided: forget about what everyone tells you. Just be yourself. And I’m going to follow my own advice!

Keep up the writing. I understand how it can be so therapeutic — and I think you’re doing a great job of making your posts interesting, relevant and professional while also showing what you are interested in as a person. Good luck and if you need anything or want to talk shoot me an email!

Akhila, I totally support the movement to “forget all the rules and write what you love.” If we force ourselves to stick to certain guidelines when we write, chances are that our posts will come out sounding forced and disconnected. However, if we write about something that we’re going through, or that we feel passionate about, then we are giving our readers the best of ourselves.

Last Friday, I put this theory into practice. I kept trying to start writing a post, thinking and thinking of something insightful to share, but I was just too tired, and I had too much on my mind. After talking to our friend Grace, I decided to just put my thoughts into words and write about them. I was nervous when no one commented, but I finally got a great comment from a blogger I really respect, and I felt good about my decision. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

Akhila – you did it again – totally hit home with this post. I love reading your posts because you always manage to attract those “popular bloggers” in saying, “Akhila, you’re SO right.”

“Forget all the rules, just do what you love” doesn’t only apply to writing. It applies to everything in life. Same thing with interviews. Anyone who has been to an interview workshop held by Career Services at universities know how they give you a list of to do’s and don’t do’s. Then people go around and ask their friends about interview tips. But I say – just be yourself and let your personality shine. Skills are trainable, personalities are not. That’s probably what got you your summer internship too. If you’re really passionate, people/jobs/readers/customers/money/whatever will follow.

Thank you for being yourself because you’re amazing

Sam, thanks for the comment! It’s really great that you were able to put this in practice – for a second forget all that’s bothering you and just write, and write about something you love. It’s so simple and really, I wish blogging would be more about passion than personal branding.

Ruby, thanks so much! I’m very touched and i’m glad you enjoyed this post. I agree that it’s totally true — just do what you love applies to interviews and even careers. If you don’t pursue a career you’re really passionate about you’re not going to succeed, simply because people will see through that and you won’t be able to put all your passion & dedication into that. I totally agree.

Akhila,

Write what you love — exactly. For me, inspiration to write can come from very emotionally-charged places. The other night a friend of mine upset me by saying that social media is completely useless, and although people still say this all the time, this was a good friend who implied that blogging (i.e. my blogging) was a ridiculous waste of time. It really affected me, but I used that drive to write, and the creation that sprang out of that — well, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

I love what you say about how people just want to get to know you. It’s so true. Personal voice, I think, is so much more important than whether you rigidly pick a blog topic and stick to it. That advice is so outdated.

Wonderful post.

Amy
twitter.com/AmySegreti

Amy, thank you so much for your comment. Inspiration comes in different ways for different people. Your experience sounds so genuine and the drive really came from the need to respond to criticism. A lot of inspiration really comes from the desire to express our own opinions, I think.

It’s so true too. People want to hear that personal voice. They don’t just want to read writing that seems to be spewed out by some robotic or mindless creature. They want to be able to connect to the blogger, the person behind the writing. Personal relationships, at least to the extent that online voices can provide, add the most important dimension to writing and blogging, I think.