Blogging 101: Don’t Let Fear Kill Creativity

by Rick on June 11, 2008

Are you as a blogger playing it safe? And by playing it safe I mean do you edit your content or write in a style that filters your thoughts with the fear of offending a reader? If so then you are successfully killing your creativity. Remember this and set yourself free:

You will always offend somebody.

It’s true. I probably did already just by writing that. Also…

There is always someone who will disagree with what you’ve written.

You will never please everybody nor should you want to. Whether your goal as a blogger is to share your thoughts, teach, or even to create traffic, you are communicating with the world. I looked at the location of some of the readers of my blog. Some are from Australia, China, Brazil and a place I’d never heard of and had to Google. Do I think that what I have to say pleases everyone? Of course not. Am I honest and respectful in my posts? I pray that I am. That is my only filter. But if I approached my blogs with a fear of offending I would slip into mediocrity and sooner or later I would slip off the radar into oblivion.

So in short:

  • Don’t be afraid to take risks in your writing
  • Be honest
  • Be respectful

And welcome criticism. Even from yourself.

Image by cool colonia4711

 

 

Please Share This Post:
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Google] [MySpace] [Newsvine] [Reddit] [StumbleUpon] [Technorati] [Email] More »

{ 1 trackback }

Blogging 101: Learn From Howard Stern
06.26.08 at 7:35 am

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Laurie 06.11.08 at 9:52 am

This not only makes good sense for writing but it also makes good sense for life. How many times do we give up being who we are to fit in or not offend? Then we end up loosing our way and feeling unsatisfied with our lives wondering what happened.

I am taking your advice with my new business. It is one of the reasons I am so excited about it. I feel free to be me. I am not trying to fit into anyone’s mold of who I should be. It is refreshing and fulfilling. I hope it can pay the bills! :O)

alapoet 06.11.08 at 12:55 pm

Excellent advice!

If I worried about offending people, I’d have to nix 95% of my content.

Besides, it’d be an awfully boring blog. :-)

Rick 06.11.08 at 2:19 pm

Laurie - I never thought of it that way (as being applied to life in general)but you are right. Too often we hold back from living due to the opinion of others. Thank you for pointing that out!

alapoet - I have the same thought at times. If being politically correct wasn’t held in such importance these days, imagine the amazing amount of literature and art we’d have to appreciate (or be offended by)? We’re in danger of becoming a culture of mediocrity.

Slevi 06.20.08 at 6:58 pm

Your honest offends me :(, hehe. Nah, more seriously I wholeheartedly agree.

But what fun would it be if everybody just shared the same views and nobody would ever get offended by certain views, it’d make the world a terribly boring place.

Of course there’s a difference between offending people through what you write and writing simply to offend people :P. I must say there are some self proclaimed controversial bloggers out there which haven’t really grasped that difference :P.