This week’s She Said, He Said topic focuses on writing vs. blogging. Tune in tonight at 8 p.m. CST on Twitter for the live discussion. Use the hashtag #shehechat to join.
Confession: It’s not hard for me to respond to Jim’s point of view from yesterday. The hard part is to focus on his published post and not the unedited one or the five related discussions we had over the last few days.
Do you want to be known as a writer? Make a difference with your writing. Start conversations. Pick a topic in an industry in which you’re knowledgeable. Be creative. Tell your story in a relevant manner. You don’t have to be paid. You don’t have to be a New York Times Best Seller. Most importantly, don’t get caught up in the romanticism of writing because it only exists in your mind.
I’m a journalist at heart even if I’m not in newsrooms anymore. Yes, I consider myself a writer. In the last week, I’ve debated writing vs. blogging in a Twitter chat, to myself and, yes, with Jim. What I’ve learned is that writing is not black and white; not like the typed word on a blank screen.
First, let’s forget the foolishness
Admittedly, there are different types of writing, but to say that writing a business proposal is no different than an investigative journalist writing a 1,500-word piece on the economy or health care is just plain laughable. What’s next? Will you believe that this three-page document is also on the same level as a book on the New York Times Best Sellers list?
As much as I would love to segue into a diatribe about the value of journalism and describe the courses I took to learn AP style and tell actual stories in an ethical manner, this isn’t the topic and it’s not the place.
Writing romanticized
The post by Tom Chambers that Jim referenced in his post yesterday was shared with me by a former newspaper colleague. I turned around and shared it with Jim because it coincidentally and humorously touched upon writing and what it means. The quote Jim chose to pull out from that post was actually the one which resonated with me the most.
Don’t be surprised if we’re not impressed when you say, “I’m a writer, too.” No, you are not. The fact that you sit in a coffee shop wearing black while scribbling in your journal does not make you a writer. Nor does the fact that you “wrote some poems in high school” or that one day you want to pen “the great American novel.”
I kept journals consistently from middle school through college. By the time I reached college, the place to find me between 1 and 4 a.m. was in a coffee shop near Ball State University drinking coffee, wearing black and writing in my journal. Even though I was taking a heavy load of journalism courses at the time, at no point did I consider my highly-caffeinated 3 a.m. journal scribbles to be writing. This was about me romanticizing writing.
The art of writing has been romanticized throughout the ages. Whether you profess to write poetry, short essays, screenplays, books or – these days – blog posts, it sounds fascinating to those who don’t write at all. Yet we have to remember that writing in itself is an art form in whatever format we choose to do it in.
Writing is … and isn’t
From my experiences, the recent Twitter chat, conversations and debates, here is what I believe writing to be and not to be.
Writing is sharing facts, thoughts and feelings with others who have similar interests.
Writing is not purely about being paid.
Writing is creative.
Writing is not completely self-serving.
Writing is accurate, abstract and/or thought-provoking.
Writing is not romantic. It’s hard work.
Writing is about quality and flow. (This is a perfect quote from the aforementioned Twitter chat.)
What’s the verdict?
So what about bloggers? I’d like to call them all into a conference room one by one and ask them individually, “Are you a blogger or a writer?” just to see what they’d say. I don’t have the privilege or the time to dissect it that way though.
The real answer is that bloggers can be writers if they aren’t just posting blog posts in coffee shops at 3 a.m. while wearing all black with the idea that only family and friends will read them.
One thing I will give Jim credit for: Writing is communication. That’s probably the biggest “is” that there is.
“I think writing is really a process of communication. … It’s the sense of being in contact with people who are part of a particular audience that really makes a difference to me in writing.” – Sherley Anne Williams, poet
Boy you’re right about writing: it is hard work. And it’s pros like you who care about the art and craft that really make a difference. I’ve seen your hand in the work that Jim’s been doing in the last year. He’s embraced the writer inside and you’re helping him find his voice and express himself as experienced writers can. Good for both of you.
Randy, thank you. I appreciate the compliment. I may have walked away from journalism as a profession but when you’ve done something for the better part of your life, it sticks with you. Still, editing for Jim has been a process for me too. While I can easily clean up grammar, spelling and contextual errors, writing a blog is just a different type of writing. I had to learn to be able to edit without editing out Jim’s voice. He’s allowed to have an opinion in his writing (even if I don’t agree with it wholeheartedly). The same applies to me in my writing. Unlike my former profession, I’m allowed to let my opinion be heard on this blog too. I won’t say it’s like teaching the journalist how to write all over again, but it is teaching her to write differently while keeping those basic journalistic skills intact.
She’s been a huge help in growing my skills of written expression. I’ve learned a lot.
This might be the first time I have commented on one of our She Said, He Said posts, but I can’t let this go without responding:
“but to say that writing a business proposal is no different than an investigative journalist writing a 1,500-word piece on the economy or health care is just plain laughable.”
I guess when I look at it, the issue is the amount of work put into the piece. I have read “hit pieces” by investigative journalists in which I had inside information about the situation. In cases like this where the Journalist gets a “tip” and then decides to write the piece based upon the position of the tipster, because it will sell papers….that’s wrong. As this particular writer researched the other side of the issue he simply ignored facts that should have been included in the piece. And this gentleman is an award winning journalist. Is that good writing? I think we can both agree the answer is no.
Just as a one page whipped together business proposal does not a writer make. Even if said same proposal generates millions of dollars in sales. On the other hand, a 12 page proposal crafted ove 2 weeks. Written, re-written, edited, proofread, and researched. I think that can and should be consider writing and the author should be considered a writer.
My 2 cents for what it’s worth.
Jim, I know the story in question and you’re right. However, that’s bad ethics in journalism… Not necessarily bad writing. I bet that story was written well, but leaned toward a particular side. I don’t like biased journalism but we both know it happens all the time. Why would newspapers have editorial boards otherwise?
Also, I do think that writing a business proposal is as difficult and long as you describe. I consider it writing as well. But it is a different kind of writing.
Perhaps we are just hung up on the word “laughable” that I used. Honestly, I used it because it accurately described what I did when I read about you comparing a proposal to investigative journalism. I’m sorry, but I laughed.
My real point is that there are different types of writing. You do it yourself all the time. That proposal you wrote doesn’t look or sound anything like one of your blog posts, right? But both are examples of writing.
(I should get bonus points for thumb typing this all out while traveling by the way.)
My opinion is that you are a “writer” when you are tasked by a publication other than your own to write a piece on a topic of their choosing. When you have an editor & deadlines & (by default)….get paid. When you are a bona fide writer your words have the opportunity to be read by a vast audience because they are published alongside a variety of different subjects. A writer can be edited and molded into what that particular publication is desiring.
A “blogger” is someone who is self published on their own site and they can write when they want about whatever they want. A blogger’s readers are people who share similar interests with the blog owner. A blogger answers to no one above them except for their readership.
I had blogs for years & years…about anything and everything, one about weight loss, one about cooking and now I’m focused on one about couponing. However, I only felt I could legit call myself a “writer” after I was asked to write for others. It may sound snobby…but at this point, after being a paid writer consistently for over a year now, I no longer write for free. My own blog must be a revenue source as well. I know now that my words have value and I can take that to the bank all day long.