Writing and Finding Your Voice: What do You STAND For?

in #writing6 years ago

For a change, let me start with the questions, rather than end the post with them:

What do you stand for, when you write? What does your content DO? What do you want it to do? 

Clover
Red Clover

Are you simply creating "word soup," or do you have a voice that stands for something; a voice that "represents?"

Do you have a voice that engages; that makes people think; that shocks people, even? Do people feel something when they read your words or watch your videos: Curiosity, empathy, anger, joy, disgust, rage, happiness?

Assuming that Steemit (and any of the other front ends we use!) means something more to you than just a place to mindlessly dump "something" in service of catching an upvote... what IS "Brand You?"

Do you even CARE what "Brand You" looks and sounds like? Was it even ever part of your plan? Or do you just want your two cent upvote, and move along?

And You Should Care... Because...?

We're often told — or sold the idea — that "The Blockchain Records Things Forever.

Flower
Calendula

If you're a writer, artist or musician... that can be a pretty nifty promise. But it's also a promise that passes a certain responsibility to you: When you commit something to a post here... how do you feel about someone reading it 20 years from now and going "Wow! Bob-Sue-Ivan-Cindy-Arjay-Svetlana-José wrote this, back in 2018!"

When you post something, did you ever stop to consider that possibility? Or is your brain perpetually on mindless autopilot?

No, I'm not trying to SHAME anyone here, but I am trying to wake you up and shake a little life into you!

We spend a lot of time sleepwalking through life — as a species — and it seems to be getting worse. 

Leaves
A contrast in leaves

Today, I watched a family of SIX — mom and dad, what I presumed to be an auntie, and three kids between 11 and 16 — wander through our little art gallery.

"Let's check the art store!" one of them said, from out in the hallway, so they came in. All six were carrying their "handheld devices." Here they were, in a store that was basically about being "a feast for the eyes" and AT NO TIME did any of the six look up from their screens for more than maybe two seconds... and then they left, after about a minute.

"Yeah, but that's pretty extreme!" you are probably thinking.

No, not really. It's actually pretty common.

So when I am asking whether your brain is on autopilot, I'm not trying to insult anyone, I'm just asking a question based on real-life observations. 

I am not a Representative Steemian!

Of course, I probably am not your average Steemit user, and I probably never will be. 

Jasmine
Summer jasmine

I actually care about you, your opinion, and your content. I don't just create content, I also consume it, and curate it. 

No, I'm not going to take some hoity-toity philosophical high road and ruminate about "not caring about the rewards." That would be totally disingenuous. 

But I also live by the core value of "reciprocity." Something for something. That's one of the things I stand for. That's part of my voice; part of my identity

I don't give a flying flip whether you write "quality" content, but I do care whether you added some kind of authentic value to my Steemit experience. That could be a sincere ulog, a beautiful photo of a flower, an insightful psychological essay, a video clip of your kittens.

Cairn
Beach cairn

What I care about is your VOICE, and whether your voice "represents" in your content.

Some mealy-mouthed generic regurgitation of "Why Smartphones Are Useful" that has already been shared 11,672 times has zero appeal to me. Who gives a flying flip? Who are YOU?

"Our Boy Terry," aka @surpassinggoogle is really onto something with these "ulogs." He's exactly right when he asserts that the web of information has already been done to death (not exactly his words, but the general message from reading quite a few posts), and we have an opportunity here to build a base of information around the more personal web.

So, once again, I ask: What do you STAND for? Leave a comment-- share your opinions and your authentic selves-- be part of the conversation! Let's — just for grins — see if we can create a post with 100's of comments! Or not... that's part of the beauty of a "voluntary" system!


Animated banner created by @zord189

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180711 23:50 PDT

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I have been trying to decide what I stand for in my writing for quite some time now. Thank you for the nudge to continue in that quest.

I told my wife once that I wanted my articles to be pieces of work that were “a pleasure” to read, the same way that some other author’s work just grabs me and sucks me in. I don’t necessarily think that means I want to write to entertain, although a little humor never hurts. I like to inform, to ruminate, to ponder, to educate. I guess sometimes I want to be all things to all people and I suppose my next step should really be to start to narrow down my focus.

As always, thank you for the thoughtful and thought-provoking post. You certainly add value to my day 🙂

Appreciate the thoughtful comment @dollarsandsense!

Much of the time, I have no idea what I am writing. I grasp a fleeting idea and start creating something... and then my mind tends to go a-wandering, and sometimes I get 100 words in and realize that I just "forked" my own post because a "shiny object" flew through the cavern that is my mind.

In the end, my ambition is merely to "speak authentically" and if that results in moving a few people respond with something deeper than a "nice post" or a "nice photography," then perhaps I have succeeded in some small way... not that external success is really that important. In many ways, the point of "success" was the moment I clicked the "POST" button.

Maybe I just want people to STOP for long enough to stop thinking about their shopping list or the next text they need to reply to...

That's a wonderful Awakening. A post with an intention creates strong effects in the minds of those reading it than a post that people stop reading after the first paragraph. But, quality posts don't usually get more attention in steemit. Very few quality posts make it to the trending pages. Spending time to write something interesting with nobody giving a f**k sometime is quite frustrating.

Being a newcomer on Steemit is often frustrating; I remember well working hours on a post and then "setting it free," only to end up with 7 upvotes worth 2 cents. And this at a time when Steem was priced at 8 cents...

I believe — and have for a long time — that Steemit has been somewhat mismarketed, in the sense that people tend to arrive here with "golden dollar signs in their eyes" based on having read a post by some large scale popular contributor here.

The voting bots are not helping the New comers in any way because they prevent people from going through interesting posts. New comers with interesting contents will stand a higher chance of getting seen if the voting bots are taken out of the way or their usage limited.

Do you have a voice that engages; that makes people think; that shocks people, even? Do people feel something when they read your words or watch your videos: Curiosity, empathy, anger, joy, disgust, rage, happiness?

Oh! @denmarkguy. Now, I am a little disappointed & sad that you forgot to include 'my specialty' among those cool characteristics in that paragraph above...

What do I STAND for? What's my BRAND?

...like for example, even when this 'feature' has not been and isn't really on purpose. I think you forgot that there are ones here in steemit who are exceedingly successful and authentic fiends at the time of creating the utmost painful mutism and loudest SILENCE through their posts within the entire steemit's engagement blogosphere. };)

Word Soup - a new way of saying drivel... spam posts! LOVE IT!

What DO I stand for? What voice do I have here?
Interesting questions...

I am in the process of building up my homestead, gardening, medicinal skills and learning new skills to become more self-reliant... so I stand for teaching myself new ways of surviving and becoming more independent.
I share my ideas with other like-minded people, and hopefully some new followers, in my adventure to reaching my goal(s).

I like your content @goldendawne, precisely because it is typically experiential, and of course personal and original. Your many curation involvements also speak to a broader interest in building community, which I happen to believe is a very important part of building the future of Steemit.

I liked that term as well!

People have been asking me what I write about since I started and I still say it is in the eyes of the observer to interpret in their own way what they see.
I used to write about the ineffable sadness of being; and then I went on to write about the joy that can be mined for inside of us all; now I write stream of consciousness, mystical satire, beat writing, Gothic humour, noir, practical enlightenment tendencies, coffee Zen, quotes, vignettes, existentialism, tales of largess, spirit in heart-based frequencies and, well, you get the idea...

I get it. You basic personal, eclectic, experiential blog. Or — in essence — what "social blogging" was all about before there was a MySpace and a Facebook to make people's minds go a few degrees more vapid.

To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.

The roses are really very beautiful
Well done publishing
Nice article I liked

Hello @denmarkguy, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!

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