A Guest Post by Markus Urban of Art of Blog

In December of 2009 I decided to undertake a lofty challenge – to create a website/blog in one week and get 100,000 unique visitors within a week of launching it. I knew it was possible, and the sheer enormity of it was exciting enough for me to go ahead with the project.

I created the Art of Blog “One Week Challenge.” Along the way I wanted to share everything I knew about creating a world-class website. The plan was to launch a photography site called Hot Shot Photo and detail the progress as I went along.

I failed at what I set out to do.

However, I learned many valuable lessons along the way and I want to share them with you:

1. It doesn’t matter where you start, just start

One of the biggest obstacles to my online career has always been inaction. I would read dozens of blogs and countless articles about “how to do this and that”, amass great knowledge about what works and what doesn’t, and generally fill my head with enough blogging/business ammunition to do anything I set out to do.

The problem was that none of it mattered one bit if I didn’t put it to use. The sheer number of possibilities and options had become paralyzing and at the end of the day I would end up doing nothing.

The key was to start. Something. Anything. So I decided to move on something that really inspired me – the desire to share everything I’ve learned over the years and undertake a huge challenge. I took the first step. That’s what really mattered.

Takeaway: All there ever is – is to start. Start somewhere. Start with something that inspires you.

2. Timing is crucial

Like in comedy, timing is everything. One of the biggest mistakes I made was creating this challenge right before Christmas.

There were fewer people tweeting, a lot of the world was distracted by the holidays, and it was more difficult to gain traction during such a quiet time in the tweetasphere / blogosphere.

When Christmas came around, I focused on my family and friends and let the project take a back seat, weakening its momentum.

Takeaway: Be aware of what’s happening within the time frame that you set out for yourself. Avoid predictable distractions and conflicts.

3. You know a lot more than you think you do

I came to this realization after about the 10th video I published. I realized how much there is to know about blogging. Even though I had been putting out a ton of information out there, I was only beginning to scratch the surface.

When we’re caught up in what we do and what we’re interested in – almost every day of our lives – we forget just how much we know about the topic of our expertise.

I would be willing to bet that you highly underestimate what you know. Once you start putting it out there, whether in video form, through writing, or whatever – you will realize just how much you know.

Takeaway: Become aware of what you know – and realize that you have a lot to share with the world.

4. Get people involved

No man is an island. It became a lot easier to continue working when I had support and interest from my friends and colleagues. Not only did they encourage me along the way, but I was able to get them emotionally vested into the project by asking for their feedback.

People who found the project interesting would retweet and share it with their friends. When I mentioned them in the posts or asked for their input & help – then published posts and videos – they were vested into the project and would help spread the message.

Their input was helpful, and so was their desire to spread that which they helped co-create.

Takeaway: Ask people for feedback along the way, attribute their contributions, and they will be more likely to help you spread your message.

5. Put yourself out there

A good friend of mine Vo Megastar always says “put yourself out there. go hard. and someone will notice.”

A lot of people fear being seen. Mostly because they fear failing and being seen as a failure. If you can just take a look at that fear – accept that it’s there – and act anyway, you will be ahead of most people.

You have a unique life experience that no one else has – you have unique combinations of knowledge and a personality no one else has. Don’t be afraid to share that with the world. You will connect and make a difference to people who can identify with your style.

When I first started recording videos, there was that fear of “being seen” that eventually lessened. If you take a look at videos of people starting out, you will usually see then being somewhat uncomfortable in the first minute or so before they settle in and start talking like themselves. It’s ok – we all have that.

Takeaway: Just put yourself out there. You are great just the way you are. And you’ll be surprised at all the positive feedback people will give you.

6. Keep it Simple

One of the things that derailed the project was the complexity of it. People were confused about the concept. The series on Art of Blog was meant to be a behind-the-scenes series detailing the creation and launching of Hot Shot Photo. It was a website series about another website.

A lot of people thought that Art of Blog was the website that the challenge was about. It created a lot of confusion.

There was also confusion about what the “One Week” meant. Was it build and get 100,000 visitors all in one week? Was it build a site in one week, then reach that goal in the following week? To be quite honest, I didn’t define that clearly (even for myself) from the get-go, which fueled this uncertainty.

Takeaway: Define your purpose or goal in super clear terms, and keep it simple, right from the start.

7. When you fail, own up

If you set out to accomplish something and don’t fulfill it – don’t run and hide and hope no one else will notice. Always own up to it.

Own whatever it is you do – the successes, and even more so the failures. Everyone knows what it’s like to fall short. You will get a lot more respect from people when they know you have nothing to hide.

Takeaway: Own everything you do, whether it’s positive or negative.

8. Failure is never failure

Failure by itself never really happens. It is only when you accept that something failed, is it ever failure in reality. You can just as easily look at what opportunities present themselves from the wake of that which you didn’t accomplish. Wired recently ran a whole series of stories about failures that later turned into huge opportunities for many famous actors, politicians, and thought leaders.

Action begets opportunity. Even action that “fails” ends up opening more possibilities and opportunities that present themselves.

Takeaway: Always keep moving, embrace failure, and see where you end up.

9. You Never Know Where it Will End Up

Part of the fun of launching a project is that you never know where it will end up. Be open to that – give up control and see where that ride takes you – and most importantly – enjoy it along the way.

One of the great things that came out of this entire series is this post itself – the one you are reading right now. I got connected to Mary and we discussed writing this very post.

Here I am – a while later – writing this post on a very prominent website, sharing what I learned. Did I know this would happen along the way? No, but it’s wonderful.

Takeaway: Keep your mind open and embrace the opportunities that present themselves along the way. Embrace new directions.

10. Don’t Take it All So Seriously

At some point throughout this whole process (especially when I ended the challenge and changed direction) I found myself worried about what it will all look like.

Then I took a a step back and remembered why I was doing any of this in the first place. I want to have fun and create a life of freedom for myself, where blogging is just one aspect of my own self-expression. I want to help people out – and that’s exactly what I ended up doing.

It’s important to step back and keep it all in perspective. Why are you blogging? Why are you writing? What got you into this in the first place. By all means, come through on your promises to people and keep true to your word, but remember to have fun along the way.

Takeaway: Win or lose, have fun and remember why you’re doing this in the first place. Don’t take it all so seriously.

Markus Urban is a lifestyle designer, travel show host, cat herder, and entrepreneur who can’t keep still (except when meditating). He runs a series of sites about blogging, technology, photography, and unconventional living. Follow his lifestyle adventures on Twitter.

Don’t let blogging overwhelm you.

By Leo Babauta

Blogging can be a mighty confusing endeavor for newcomers.

And yet, in my experience, it’s one of the most rewarding, life-changing things you can do, from the comfort of your own home.

If you’re just starting out as a blogger, or contemplating making the leap, don’t let the technical side of blogging, or all the confusing options, hold you back. I remember how overwhelming everything was at the beginning, but several years and 160K readers later, I’ve learned a ton and I’m ridiculously happy I stuck with it.

So take heart, new bloggers … the learning is fun and the experience is delicious. As always, if I can help, I will … and in that spirit, I’m going to give you some brief, concise answers to the most common beginner blogging questions.

1. What’s the best blogging platform?

A: There isn’t one best platform. There are many excellent ones, and each has its strengths. One of the most popular, and a great choice for a professional blog, is Wordpress, but others love other platforms, such as Movable Type. For the less technically inclined, I’d recommend Tumblr over Blogger (which I started on) or Posterous.

2. How do you create a blog?

A: The easy way is to sign up for a hosted blog service, such as Wordpress.com, Tumblr, Posterous, Blogger, Typepad, or one of the many others available. It’s usually free, and all you need to sign up is an email address. Give your blog a name, and you get assigned a “subdomain” (such as zenhabits.blogspot.com).

You can also sign up for a web host, such as Dreahost or Bluehost or MediaTemple, for a fee. They usually have popular blog software available for easy install through their online control panels, which aren’t hard to figure out. If you go this route, you’ll need to buy your own domain, through your webhost or via a service that sells domains (Godaddy or Namecheap or others).

3. How do you make a blog skin or design?

A: Most of the above-mentioned blog software comes installed with “themes” or designs that you can choose from, for free. Often you’ll be able to customize the themes if you play around with the options in the blogging software.

There are also thousands upon thousands of free (and paid) themes available on the web, for any of the popular blogging software platforms.

4. How do I choose a good niche or name?

A: Pick a topic that a) you know a lot about and b) you’re passionate about. Don’t pick it just because you think it’ll be popular.

As for picking a name, I suggest brainstorming all kinds of names and words associated with your topic until you find one that reflects your main message and is memorable. And also that has a domain available.

5. What are the benefits of or best reasons for blogging?

A: Too many to fully name, but just to get you started, you’ll:

• Be able to express yourself, and share what you know and think with the world.
• Interact with smart and interesting people around the world.
• Learn a tremendous amount about yourself.
• Learn a lot about anything you’re interested in.
• Perhaps make a career out of it.
• Have a helluva time.

6. How do I get my first readers?

A: You’ve written a few posts but no one even knows you exist. You’ll need to connect with others, somehow, to share your posts with them. Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, along with email, and commenting on other blogs (but not spamming them with lots of links to your posts) are great ways to connect with others and share the best of what you have on your blog. As you connect with more people, they’ll naturally start checking out your blog.

7. How do I get more readers or subscribers?

A: OK, you have a few readers, but you want more. Hundreds upon hundreds, thousands and thousands! Well, take it easy. Blogs don’t just explode overnight.

The best answer is just to provide useful and/or really interesting content on a regular basis — daily, weekly, or somewhere in between. As you continue to provide amazing content, your readers will share what you have, and others will start to find you. It’s slow growth, but better than spamming people.

8. I have readers but no one comments — how do I encourage comments?

A: Write posts worth talking about. Interesting, thought-provoking, bold posts. And ask for your reader’s opinions.

9. Should I hire a professional designer?

A: In the beginning, it’s usually not necessary. The basic themes that come with your blogging software are enough for now. And you can find thousands of free ones on the net. Writing great content is more important than the perfect design.

Later, when you have thousands of subscribers and a modest income, you might consider paying for a professional design.

10. Where do I get topics to write about?

A: From your life, and what you know and love. On my blogs, I write about what I’ve learned through actual experience over the years, through experimentation and research and reading and talking to others and finding out what works and doesn’t.

If you use your life, and what you know and love, as your source of topics, you’ll never run out of things to write about.

11. How do you make money blogging?

A: Mostly you don’t. Most bloggers don’t make a dime, or at least not much more than a dime. If you build up a good-sized readership over time, by consistently producing good content, you can make some money — a part-time job, perhaps, or even a full-time job eventually.

Usually bloggers make money though ads, selling ebooks, affiliate links (recommending products and getting a percentage of sales for the referral), and by selling their consulting or freelance services.

12. I’ve read the blogging is dying – is that true? Would I be wasting my time blogging?

A: Those articles are written just to be controversial. Obviously blogging isn’t dying — more and more people are discovering blogging every day, both as bloggers and as readers. My own blogs continue to grow in readership despite minimal promotion on my part, simply because more people keep discovering me. Blogging is growing rapidly, and should continue to do so for awhile.

Of course, it will also change. In 5 or 10 years, it’s not going to be exactly the same as it is now, just as it isn’t the same now as it was 10 years ago. Microblogging services such as Tumblr and Twitter will change blogging, and what results will be something a bit different.

But sharing thoughts and information, having a global conversation in a form that’s much like blogging … that’s going to continue in some form for awhile, and now is as good a time as any to get into it.

13. What’s the most important blogging question I’m not asking?

A: You should be asking, “How can I most help my reader?” Bloggers get caught up in technical things, like blog platforms and widgets and themes and plugins … or in numbers, like visitors and pageviews and subscribers and comments and ad revenues … but this is the wrong mindset.

Focus instead on how you can help people. Make your reader the center of your blog, and find ways to help your reader succeed (at whatever you’re teaching). The rest — stats and money and all that — will come later.

—
Beginner bloggers: We’re in the closing hours of the signup for my A-List Blogging Bootcamp, “Blogging 101 – How to Create a Blog that Rocks.”

It’s aimed at complete beginners, and will teach you the basics to start a fantastic blog that will grow as your blogging skills grow. Deadline to sign up is 12:00 NOON, EST, on Feb. 13, 2010 … so sign up now!

A Guest Post by David Turnbull of Adventures of a Barefoot Geek

I feel writing should be effortless. To some that may sound ridiculous, and a few months ago I may have agreed with you, because syphoning thoughts from your brain into a coherent structure is mighty difficult, but alas, I love writing too much for me to be content with its inherent difficulty.

This desire for effortless writing encourage me sit down one day, a green tea by my side and write everything down that I felt could make the process itself effortless. 2 hours later, with only a short 5-10 minute break because my fingers were tired, I’d written about 4000 words containing the most flowing, yet actionable set of ideas in a single piece of writing I’d ever written. There was no strain, or stress, or over thinking about how a particular sentence should be structured. It was writing bliss.

Of course, with any creative pursuit you can’t bottle up all the relevant advice in a single article, or without continual thought, so these are some of the ideas I wanted to expand upon and hadn’t isolated previously to make writing an effortless process.

1. Ease the pressure. One common tactic recommended by many veteran writers is to get up in the morning, sit at the computer at 9 o’clock and then not move until the clock strikes 5. The idea is that forcing yourself in to that situation will somehow release your creativity and let your words flow. And then there’s the twist on that exercise in conforming to a high word count, such as 1000-2000 words per day, no matter what.

But while these exercises may encourage you to write a high quantity of words, you’ll be sacrificing the fulfilment that can be released from your words, and the state of effortlessness which I feel is worthy of cultivation.

Therefore, instead of trying to attain high quotas each day, do the opposite. Lower your quotas to ease the pressure. Tell yourself before your fingers strike the keys:

After 10 minutes of solid writing I will be satisfied.

…or…

When I’ve written 200 words I will be satisfied.

This completely shifts your mood, from one of dread and uncertainty, to one of possibility and control. But what I feel the main draw of this practice is the way in which it helps you focus on the present moment, on what you’re writing now.

Looking ahead at large quotas and burdens distracts you from the current task at hand – the writing itself – and thus makes the process more difficult. When there’s less of a hurdle to jump over, your mind focus less on the chance of impending difficulty, and more on completing the point it’s currently tackling.

2. Write only what matters. One of the constant struggles I, and I expect many other writers face is the constant desire to make each paragraph better than the last, to be a beacon of continuous improvement and to say only what matters. In many ways this desire is a burden – in any craft there will always be plateaus that are reached – but in other, more important ways, this mindset is a gift, because when you feel your writing actually matters, that it will potentially make a difference in someone’s life, the words will flow effortlessly.

In the words of the Stoic philosopher Seneca:

“…do not go to listen to people who are more concerned about the quantity than the quality of what they say…”

And in that same way, do not be one of those people who are more concerned about quantity rather than quality. Writing less is a positive trait, embrace it, and don’t give into the allure of writing for the sake of writing.

Before writing anything, ask yourself, “Does this matter?” You can never truly be sure before a piece of writing is complete, but if there’s a slight pang of uncertainty then don’t attempt to work with that feeling. Take the time to polish the concept of what you plan to write, and then write.

3. Negate the need for will power. The act of writing often requires a considerable amount of will power. There are distractions on the internet, the sudden urge to procrastinate in the “real world” and a thousand and one other reasons why the timing isn’t write to put pen to paper or finger to keys. But while developing a high level of self discipline is certainly a noble cause, there’s little need of it if you take the time to shape your circumstances which, in turn, shapes your results.

Block distractions on the internet by using the fantastic LeechBlock extension for Firefox. If you’re not a Firefox user then it’s worth making the switch simply to use this extension (that’s exactly what I did). For the stubborn folk out there an app such as SelfControl will do fine, although it’s not automated and as feature rich. And if you have money to burn, or want access to fancy metrics, then check out the premium version of RescueTime.

Procrastination in general can be overcome with a few simple steps:

• Outline what you plan to write the day before you plan to write it, and don’t overwhelm this list with irrelevance. Never list more than 3 tasks, and stick with just 1 important task if possible. This appears to be an act of will power, to conform to your to do list, but you’ll be surprised about how psychologically powerful a simple plan is over your actions, especially if it’s carefully planned hours in advance.
• Write at a time conducive to being free from distractions. There’s no “right” time to write, but there are better times to write, and those specific times depend on the person. One increasingly popular method is to write late at night, often after midnight. This is something I’ve experimented with and it’s surprisingly powerful, yet I still shy away from it because I worry about the affects of being on the computer so close to sleep.
• Separate your writing environment from leisure. This is a change I made in the past few weeks and has resulted in an enormous change in the way I can either turn on or shut off the part of me that is focused on writing. With this, the times when you’re in your writing environment are heightened, undiluted by the activities of the day, allowing you to truly lose yourself in a flow of effortlessness.

Writing doesn’t need to be difficult. Or tedious. Or stressful. It can be effortless. And while I obviously haven’t covered every aspect of finding flow when writing, my intention with this article wasn’t to provide you with a definitive guide, but open you up to the possibility of what writing can be.

It’s easy to fall into the mindset that inducing insanity is simply an aspect of being a writer you need to deal with. Don’t let yourself believe that fallacy any longer though. Imagine what the state of perfect effortless writing would feel like, and then strive for that using both these suggestions and your own creativity.

David Turnbull is some kid who just likes to write about stuff at Adventures of a Barefoot Geek, a blog about life, technology and simplicity. Subscribe to the blog now and follow him on Twitter.

A heads-up for WTD readers
Leo and Mary will run the next A-list Blogging Bootcamp, How to Create a Blog that Rocks from 13-17 February. Everyone had a blast last time! We’ll be emailing some great articles on blogging. Get yourself on the mailing list by clicking on Leo’s report in the sidebar.

A guest post by Srinivas Rao

One of the things I’ve noticed between somebody who has been blogging for 6 months versus 6 weeks is the distinct difference in the way they write. I even noticed this with my own blog posts as a I looked back at many posts that I had written when I started my blog.

During the early days of my blog, I was trying really hard to fit the mold of what makes a good blog post. I did things like use bold titles, bullet points, and italics. I still do all of those things, but in those days I filtered my writing and I held back on what I was thinking. As I got further away from that I noticed a dramatic difference in the way my content was being received by my audience. They started to become much more engaged with my content. I started to write about all the things that might be a bit questionable or viewed as violating the “too much information rule.”

The moment you find your voice

Finding your voice is something that takes time. It really comes down to writing every single day. While you don’t have to post every day, if you write every day, you will eventually get better at it, and it will flow naturally. The other thing that happens by doing it every single day is that you will continually stimulate your creative thinking. I often will read somebody’s blog a handful of times before I decide to start commenting on their posts. Then, I will find them doing something really unique or interesting and that ends up making me want to read their blog more.

A Few examples of finding a voice:

• Steven@Human Explosion started to draw caricatures of all the bloggers he knew. I loved that and now I actually will be reading his blog much more. He found his voice.

• Alex@Unleash Reality started to go off the beaten path a bit when he wrote a really interesting article titled Buddhist Butchers and Adventures of Change
  
• Kelly Diels found her voice in this post on More On Mommy Blogging (or: Moron Mommy-Blogging)

It’s not uncommon for bloggers to tell you that there was one special post that catapulted them stardom, and in that moment I think they have truly found their voice.

Authenticity and Removing Filters

When I wrote about the importance of authenticity at the World’s Strongest Librarian, one of the tips I included was that people should write as if nobody was ever going to read what they wrote. If you approach your writing that way you’ll find that there are no limits to how off the wall you can get with your ideas. If your post seems like you’ve really lost your damn mind, then I’m willing to bet, that’s one where you want to push publish. It’s those posts where I’m thinking “I can’t believe I’m going to publish this” where I get a ton of comments and engagement from my reader base.

Ask for Help

Our egos often prevent us from getting feedback from people. Having your masterpiece torn to shreds by another blogger is not exactly what you are hoping for. But what’s amazing is that getting it torn to shreds and having it reassembled sometimes completely changes the post for the better. The other thing that is amazing is how much people are willing to help. The more help you ask for, the more quickly you’ll be able to find your voice.

Once you find your voice you’ll start to see a whole different level of engagement from your reader base.

Srinivas Rao is a personal development blogger at The Skool of Life, where he explores self improvement, spirituality and navigating through the waters of life by spending as much time as possible surfing.

A guest post by Eric Cummings of On Violence

I learned what I consider the “Golden Rule of Writing” – the only rule that can help every writer – in the first creative writing class I ever took. Of course, I didn’t learn the rule immediately, or even in the first class. My classmates and I first had to learn how different we were from one another as writers.

Our teacher, an old bald Caribbean man with missing front teeth and a stoop, began by asking the class, “How do you write?”

Some students wrote on computers, others in journals; I wrote long hand on legal pads. Some wrote in the morning at their home, others at night with friends; I wrote by myself at the library in the afternoon. Our professor wrote memoir fiction about his sexual escapades in the Caribbean standing at a lectern a la Hemingway. We wrote literary fiction, memoirs, and detective stories; newspaper articles, editorials, and e-mails. We were men and women, young and old, lazy and prolific, borderline illiterate and consummate professionals. Some of us needed two drafts, others needed dozens. We were a microcosm of the rest of the writing universe: no two writers write the same way.

The problem with learning the “rules” for writing is that none of them apply to everyone.

How can any rule possibly apply to everyone? I co-write my blog with my twin brother, and we don’t write the same way. What rule can cover journalism and blogging, poetry and prose; authors like James Joyce, who struggled to write seven words a day, or Nora Roberts, who writes multiple books a year? If a golden rule exists, it needs to unite all writers.

I learned the Golden Rule of Writing on my second day in class, as my story about a farmer and a mule was read aloud. I had spent some time writing it, one day rewriting it, and another afternoon editing it. I was nervous but confident. It was a good story.

The story began, “Light barely flooded into the room.”

“Wait.” Less than a sentence in, the Professor stopped the student reading my story. He turned to me, “Eric, what do you mean, ‘Light barely flooded into the room.’?”

“Well, it is sunrise, and the sun is coming up.” I said.

“But how can light ‘barely flood’ in? Do you mean the word flood?”

Light could either barely trickle in, or flood in, but it couldn’t do both. The lesson wasn’t that I needed to be clearer and more precise with my language–though I did–it was that I didn’t know what my words meant. I didn’t own the words on the page. The questions the professor asked us over the course of the quarter were always the same, “What do you mean?” “What did you intend here?” or “Why did you use this word?”

What is my Golden Rule of Writing? It’s this:

Intend every word you write.

Be aware of what your words mean, and make sure that the meaning aligns with what you are trying to say. Writing is communication; don’t we all want to communicate as accurately as possible?

(I hear the guy in the back saying, what if I want my writing to be confusing? Then be confusing, but do it intentionally.)

Notice how my professor coached me on my writing. He didn’t tell me what words to use, he didn’t tell me my mistake. He asked questions. Perhaps I meant to put the words together, as a poetic statement. Or perhaps the idea or the image I meant to convey wasn’t being conveyed. He made me aware of what my words meant. The lesson was clear: these were my words, dammit, and I needed to own them.

As my above example shows, the Golden Rule of Writing is not an easy one, especially when you write for readers. Your intention needs to jibe with what you want them take away from you work. (Perhaps you write only in your journal. You follow the Golden Rule every time you write, because you express what you mean every time you write, because you are writing for yourself.)

Below, I have seven tips for implementing intentionality behind your writing, to better convey what you want to say.

1. When you revise your work ask yourself, “Does this convey what I want to convey?” Ask yourself this question after every line, especially when writing fiction.

2. Think about your reader. Who is your intended audience? If you’re writing your church newsletter, then you probably aren’t going to want to include any swear words. Think about your reader, and write to them, being aware of how they will react to your words.

3. Think about the meaning of every word you write. James Joyce spent whole days writing just a handful of words, spending hours thinking about them and their meaning. Now, I hear you saying, “Whoa, I don’t have that much time.” True. But you can ask yourself, “Do I really know what this word means?” “Am I using it correctly?” “Will my intended audience get what I am trying to say?” Spend more time on longer sentences and bigger words.

4. Look out for especially “arty writing” The best writing is unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. But I’m not F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce or Cormac McCarthy, and neither are you. So when you write something especially clever, unique or “arty,” double check it to make sure it makes sense. I learned this rule from personal experience.

5. Use a dictionary. Check it to see if that word means what you think it means.

6. Listen to podcasts about grammar, and read books and blogs about it. Did you know that non-plussed means confused, or bewildered? Do you know what a gerund is? Neither did I, until I started educating myself. I recommend the podcasts Grammar Grater and Grammar Girl, the books Writing With Style By Trimble and The Writer’s Reference. If you are revising your work and something strikes you as strange, look it up. It will add to your overall knowledge of grammar, usage and the written word.

7. Read. This is the single best way to add to your vocabulary and your knowledge of language and writing.

Ultimately, the Golden Rule of Writing is not about conformity, but freedom. Do you dislike semi-colons? Don’t use them. Do you want to start sentences with “and,” “but,” or “because?” Then go ahead, it’s your writing. If you want to use a word incorrectly, go ahead. But use it incorrectly on purpose, knowing the implications of that misuse.

With the Golden Rule of Writing, you are free to convey whatever idea, thought or image you want. You are free to tell whatever story, write whatever essay, or compose any poem you want. But write it with intention.

Eric Cummings writes for On Violence, a blog on counter-insurgency warfare, military and foreign affairs, art, and violence, written by two brothers–one a soldier and the other a pacifist.