Driving to work, I listen to audiobooks and podcasts. One of my favorites is The Lede Podcast from Copyblogger. During the January 27, 2015 episode, the two hosts, Jerod and Demian, were discussing “How to Learn from Your Mistakes”. And in their conversation about online marketing, Jerod makes this comment:
“Jerod: …the song that ends each one of these episodes by The Head and the Heart, says, “I wish I was a slave to an age-old trade,” and there’s a reason why that’s there, not just because the song sounds good. But because so much of what we do and what we teach, when it comes to online marketing it’s based on age-old principles and has been done before, and people have blazed that trail and shown how to do it, and so it’s so important.” (From: The Lede Podcast)
This really caught my attention. I listen frequently to the podcast, and have heard those words from the song. I thought they were pretty cool, but when I take time to reflect, I see that the same point being made is true with writing in general.
I read several blogs and many times it seems as if people are always looking for an easy way out. There is no easy way. There are skills we pick up along the way to make it easier—but there is no easy quick way to write well. Writing well comes from…writing. Writing practice and the development of those techniques is what sets one writer apart from another. Much like a concert pianist must practice to perfect so must the writing be practicing to improve.
People have been writing and improving their writing for several thousand years, the mechanics and the techniques to good writing are passed on because they don’t change. These techniques don’t change because they work. And they work because, at the core, people don’t change. Communication remains the sending and receiving of messages. One of the audiobooks I am listening to is Stephen King’s “On Writing” . He refers to “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk and E. B. White—the classic writing book a book that outlines classic writing techniques. The great writers became great through mastery of the age-old principles. And if I may be great that is the path I must choose.
I wish I was a slave to an age old trade…
(Photo: unsplash.com; Quote: The Head and The Heart)