Stanisław Jerzy Lec (1909-1966) was a poet who is “mentioned among the greatest writers of post-WW2 Poland,” according to Wikipedia. Lec was anti-Communist and anti-Fascist. He was anti-Totalitarian, period. His writings caused him problems with the various “authorities” he dealt with. Being both Polish and Jewish, Lec was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, eventually escaping and returning to his writing career. Some of his works include Notatnik polowy, a book of poems, and Unkempt Thoughts (Myśli nieuczesane), a collection of aphorisms. His quote:
"Advice to writers: Sometimes you just have to stop writing. Even before you begin."
Lec’s advice may seem cryptic--how do you stop doing something that you haven’t even started? Well, I think his statement is an example of an aphorism, but the point I think he’s making is that sometimes you’re better off not writing anything at all. Unless you have to write something because you’re on deadline or you truly have something valuable to say, perhaps you shouldn’t write for awhile, even if you want to or think you should.
This advice goes for novice writers as well as extensively published authors. James Chartrand of Men with Pens goes on a “chart-rant” today against PLR (private label rights) articles, saying they’re part of the “constant churned-out content that fills up the Internet…making it hard for people to sort out the good and the accurate from the ugly.” I don’t want to get too technical here, but these are articles that are generally worthless filler, from what I understand. Why contribute to that?
That Means You Too, Bloggers
On a more personal note, I’ve begun blog posts that I thought would be great, but several paragraphs into them, I realized they weren’t unique or interesting, nor did I really have much to say about the subject--so I stopped writing. I ditched the post and left the blog alone until I had something more intriguing to say. It’s a good habit to develop--knowing when to keep writing and when to stop.
Maki at Dosh Dosh has an excellent related post up, entitled, What You Don’t Publish, Defines Your Site.
He writes, “I didn’t write any articles in the last few days on Dosh Dosh because I didn’t feel that I had anything interesting to say. It’s not entirely self-censorship: I just don’t like to write when there’s no way to inject a new perspective on any topic.”
Maki contrasts his approach with that of a lot of other bloggers:
“Many will publish content regularly because they feel a necessity to generate pageviews and maintain site freshness. Some fear that their subscribers will go away if they don’t update their site.
They don’t mind repeating the ideas of others and writing variations of the same topic again and again. Some will tirelessly create resource lists every week for links.”
Then he says something you really need to get:
“Know one thing for sure: what you put on your site allows visitors to form judgments about your personal and business brand….What you do not publish will define your site. The absence of specific content positions your site against another competitor and allows it to develop an identity among others.”
Just Take a Break
Sometimes, it’s a lot better to stop writing even before you begin.
If you won’t listen to me, then heed the collective wisdom of Lec, Chartrand, and Dosh Dosh, which you probably heard from your mother anyway:
If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.
You’ll save your reputation and do your part to contribute to an elevated approach in information creation and consumption.
I've Moved--Please Read
My new blog is Robust Writing, at robustwriting.com/blogSign up for the new feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/RobustWriting
Related
Writing Advice from the Greats Series: William Faulkner
Writing Advice from the Greats Series: Ray Bradbury
6 comments:
Jesse, the blogging world needs to read this. I dropped a note on DIGG for you.
Hey Jesse, thanks for a great post. I'm glad to see you have the same stance as I do on this - and thanks for coming over to contribute on my blog. Stay in the discussion; I think you have valuable insight to add.
Cheers!
anon--thanks for the Digg. I appreciate it.
James--Glad you enjoyed the post. Your post today on PLR articles and related comments on them elsewhere were a big part of the inspiration for my post.
Ah - good reminder, Jesse.
Question: How do we know when to stop and when to proceed?
For me, passion is the best indicator. When my passion is stirred by a theme, then I think I'm on the right track.
I think James Chartrand (aka full time commenter) should stop writing so much...especially his comments...his really is everywhere, whether he admits to it or not!
Mary,
Passion is a good indicator.
I think stepping back from whatever you're writing and trying to read it as though you were one of your intended readers--reading your work as an objective reader and not a subjective author--is a great way of determining if you should proceed as well.
If you think what you're writing is valuable, original, and interesting to read, then you're on a good track.
But, a lot of writers will just write because they think they have to--better to wait (to publish at least; you can write in private) until you have something worth publishing to the world.
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