Adding VALUE: How to Be a Great Writer Without Needing Great Talent or Skill

These days there seems to be quite a lot of "chatter" around Steemit on the topic of writing and creating content. With 2000+ new accounts created daily, it's not surprising that lots of newcomers are asking questions and want to know how to get seen and develop a following.

I often think about those same questions.... and how everything is supposed to work out where an "uncensored" and "everything is allowed" policy is also going to work in the context of having a site with "Quality Content."

A Few Thoughts About Quality Content-- Our Contributions Matter!

During my coffee time this morning, I was thinking some more about the whole "Quality Content" thing... and how people often worry that they are not "talented" writers, as a result of which they-- somehow-- might be seen as "second class citizens." 

Sometimes that feeling is heightened a bit by a handful (and they really ARE just "a handful") of purists who believe that "if you can't write, you don't belong here." 

I won't get into a long exploration of what that means, on a deeper level... I do understand the concerns that if Steemit ends up clogged with mainly "garbage posts" that serve no greater purpose than "being SOMEthing that might get an upvote" the site will eventually perish because nobody wants to read garbage. 

Basically, "we" are only as good as the contributions we make. Yesterday, I read an excellent post by @papa-pepper very much along those lines... well worth a read.

Quality and Value-- Not Always What You Think

That said, I also believe that people sometimes get a little overzealous in their definitions of "quality content." So I wanted to share a story from my college days, when I was taking creative writing courses.

In my third year at university, I took a number of courses that eventually became a minor in English. Among them, an article and short story class.

Naturally, the class was full of "aspiring Hemingways" who believed-- or had been told-- that they were "talented writers." I wasn't really part of that group... I was mostly there because I really enjoyed writing and had made good grades in my English classes, during my first couple of years. But that had been "boring" English, not "creative/expressive" English.

Anyway, the class met for three hours, twice a week... and we'd inevitably spend at least one hour per session simply "discussing" writing. the professor was very open to the idea that the best creative writing was "born" out of brainstorming, discussion and debate. 

Inevitably, the question of "what it takes" to become a published author and a "great" writer was brought up. Our professor (who was a "published author") dodged the question a few times, he eventually gave us a "straight talk" on the matter. 

The answer wasn't exactly what the students expected...

I think most of the 20-somethings present expected to hear about "natural talent" or a "gift for storytelling," or perhaps "extensive vocabulary" or "superior command of the English language."

Instead, our Professor shared that "what it takes" is largely the ability, discipline and determination to sit down and string together 75,000 words (in this case, we were talking about novels) in some semblance of decent order, and then market the hell out of yourself till someone agrees to publish your manuscript. 

When applied to articles and short stories, the "rules" were also simple: "Take an idea, work it out, put down the words, clean it up, send it in."

Writing is More About Practice than Skill

But.... wait... what about "talent" and "beautiful prose" and "superior knowledge of English?"

The Professor pointed out that when you go to a bookstore, MAYBE 1% of the titles on the shelves qualify as what might be regarded as "literature." Everything else is basically pulp grade... serviceable English written by average people. In the field of article writing, most major newspapers are written to be understood at a 7th grade level. Nothing "fancy" or "talented" about it.

A couple of the students were so disappointed (or perhaps they were angry...) with his answer that they dropped the course and were never seen again.

Meanwhile, Back on Steemit...

So let's return to the Streemit universe and look at how this applies to all of us-- and perhaps make a little more sense out of the debate of what is-- and is not-- "quality content" and "good enough," and what adds value, and so forth. 

First of all, we can be "great writers" without having perfect English, formal training... or even being native English speakers (confession: English is NOT my first language!). 

Even if we see ourselves as "mediocre" writers with only a basic command of English, we can still follow my creative writing professor's basic ideas. 

Where do We Begin?

After 35 years of writing, I like to use "take PRIDE in your work," as a starting point. 

Even if you are just here to "make posts to get paid," you can still take pride in what you do, and give it your best.

Let's dress up that idea a bit. On a web site like Steemit, your words; your posts are your "presentation," your "face" you put forward to the world. How do you want to be seen? As a slob who doesn't care, or as someone who's doing their best with whatever they have?

Just like you probably wouldn't walk into a restaurant (a "public" place) in your underwear and a broken pair of flip-flops, don't put your words on this site (a "public" place) until you've taken time to "clean them up."

The Basics

Learn to use paragraphs and punctuation. Use the spell checker on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Make the post "look nice" by adding a photo or several... if you don't have your own photos, there are lots of "public domain" photos on the web-- just remember to attribute them properly. 

If you are quoting a news story or article from the web, or sharing a YouTube clip, remember to link back to it... AND add a couple of sentences of your own, just to share why you thought it was interesting.

Even if you change none of your actual written content, simply "making it look pretty" shows the world that you care about what you're doing... and the strange thing? You already look like a better writer! So simple.

Good writing-- and even great writing-- isn't about creating some huge complicated mess filled with "$10 words" (you know, those really long words you have to look up in a dictionary). 

Great writing is about taking an idea, deciding what you want to share about it, writing out that idea fully... then tidying up what you wrote so that it looks "nice" (just like you--most likely-- "tidy up" yourself, before you go out in public), and then publishing it. And remember, you can always come back and make edits and changes, afterwards.

A Few Words About Quality... and Adding Value... and the Future of Steemit

I have read a number of posts on the topic of posts "Adding Value" to Steemit. A few have been critical of the idea, citing that "value" wasn't part of the original White Paper, and that it seems "exclusionary" to emphasize quality because it's a form of "soft censorship" against casual social media users who just want to post whatever they want.

I can only respond from my personal perspective.

The reason I have been quite ready to leave Farcebook for several years is that I am tired of the ocean of vacuous garbage that constitutes most posts. It's also the reason I was not particularly thrilled with Facebook, in the first place. The reason I never "got into" Reddit was precisely that it struck me as a cesspool of junk and petty infighting among cliques. 

Conversely, the reason I-- and many others-- are on Steemit is precisely that it offers a deeper and more intelligent level of discourse and sharing.

Why does that matter? Couple of reasons:

One, if we are truly going to thrive as "an alternative to Facebook," we need to focus on remaining an alternative to Facebook... not just "Facebook with rewards." 

Two, let's consider the long term growth and health of the Steemit platform. Let's assume we want to attract new users 2, 3, 5 years from now. Is someone off a Google search more likely to want to join a unique and engaging global community with unique content... or or a site with a bunch of "trash posts" that looks like a 1990's web message board full of dank memes?

I'm neither "right" or "wrong," by the way.

If what you care about is "getting a reward TODAY," quality is meaningless... because whether you'll still be able to collect rewards five years from now is simply not important to you.

On the other hand, if you care about the long term health of Steemit, then quality does matter. 

And that's the reason I'll keep arguing for adding value, and doing your best... but nobody expects everyone to be the next Hemingway!

How about YOU? What's your stance on the debate on our posts adding "value?" Does quality content matter? Do you feel an emphasis on quality and value "excludes" some users? Do you feel that "content with value" will help Steemit's long term success? Or does it not matter? Are you concerned with the quality of your own writing? Do you try to do your best, or do you just care about "anything that will earn a reward?" Leave a comment-- share your experiences and feedback-- be part of the conversation!

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Published 20170706 16:05 PDT