How original thought makes your writing grow
The following is a guest post from Alice Elliott:
One important factor about writing a book is to make it different from all the others within the same subject. Especially with a topic like blogging. But how does this relate to original thought?
There are so many books about blogging, just look on Amazon. This means it can be difficult to make your book stand out.
You could avoid the most obvious titles. Or find a slant nobody has tackled which is what Jean and Ute did with their book “Distinctive Voice”. But remember a book which doesn’t resonate with its readers isn’t going to be read. Thus said, it isn’t worth repeating what others have written, even if it is in your own words. There is so much repetition flying about already, especially since the advent of AI.
Original thought in small doses
I have been attending some workshops given by Debbie Jenkins recently. She advocates writing small books, eg not long, but concentrated with facts, points of view, and most importantly, original thought.
The concept of original thought not only will set you apart from the other blog writers, who churn out a book because they think they can, it also sets you apart from those who use AI or similar techniques to make their contributions ‘more worthy’.
Original thought, or finding a new slant nobody else as contemplated before, is not easy. Otherwise everybody will be doing it and its speciality will evaporate. It is, of course, what makes us human, and allows us to write specifically for humans. This is important in a world of technology, when so much can be, and is, automated to an inch of its life.
Think if it as a challenge
Focusing on original thought is a challenge, and challenges can enable growth. This forces us to look outside the box, analyse the situation carefully and in a way which may not be obvious. This certainly isn’t easy, as we may be crying out for a shortcut, to make things easier for us, by using what others have said/written about the subject. But this is where things start to fall down and disintegrate.
Avoid being like everybody else, by taking the easiest route. This won’t allow your writing to grow. Growth is important, because in a world of sameness, copying and churning out something just of the sake of it will not result in growth, both for you and your readers.
Allowing your original thought to set you apart, and reveal you as a thought-leader for your chosen subject, will help increase your reputation. This certainly won’t happen overnight. It has taken me 20 years to get to this point, to feel that I have enough original thought about the topic of blogging, to write a book which is different from all the others available on Amazon.
Original thought develops over time
Twenty years is a long time cultivate original thought into growth. Yet I feel it is necessary. So many would-be blogger experts, some barely emerged from their writing eggs, think that because they’ve successfully maintained a blog for a couple of years, this makes them an expert.
What can be expressed as expertise would be 20 years of continuous blogging, experimenting, exploring and trying new things, and sitting back to allow original thought to rise up from these observations and analytics.
Looking, watching, ‘lurking and learning’ from other bloggers will pay dividends. Ask yourself: how are they successful? Are they actually succeeding? What is their secret sauce? Do you want to create the same thing? Would this be suitable for your readers? Do you think you’d be able to accomplish it?
Certainly you can learn from other successful bloggers and writers; but what is necessary is to adapt what you’ve gleaned into your own processes. Look at your data and information carefully: do you agree with it? Would you do it yourself? Is it really successful? What could you do better?
How is your original thought relevant?
All bloggers are individuals, thank goodness. And we all have our own loyal readers. We all have our own subject matter, writing style, presentation, original thought processes, manner of speech and delivery. No blog is the same. Therefore no book about blogging should be the same.
Applying original thought, albeit individual, is vital for books and blogging alike. As I said earlier, we live in a world of repetition, plagiarism and regurgitation of facts. How this is done determines how it is consumed, appreciated, comprehended and implemented. But not all of the content churned out gets this far.
Original thought stimulates growth in the individual. Taking the time to step aside, view from a different slant, add your own point of view, make your own ah-ha moments, and create your own versions, can make or break your transition as a thought-leader in your chosen subject. Which is therefore when you can safely say you have grown, due to your original thought processes.
Conclusion?
This post was the result of participating in Ute and Jean’s Writing Hour. I thoroughly recommend you join it. I wrote this post freehand, pencil on paper, within 45 minutes. Taking me away from the keyboard allowed a different frame of thought, aka original thought, as there were no online distractions, access to the internet or even time to procrastinate.
Hand writing has a different power to typing straight into a blog post. The process is slower, allowing your brain to catch up, or even speed on ahead. Even the idea of crossing out your mistakes gives you time to regather your thoughts, repurpose your objectives, and the chance to change your mind. Your fingers find their own rhythm which is different to typing.
Thus to generate more original thought, it may be necessary to avoid technology. There is so much content available, and yet how do you know how original it is? Sometimes our own brain has everything that is needed to do the job, and sometimes much better as well.
