March 25, 2004 | View Comments (28) | Category: Our Thoughts
Summary: Starting over again in the development of my skills.
When the archer misses the mark, he turns and looks for the fault within himself. Failure to hit the bull's eye is never the fault of the target. To improve your aim -- improve yourself.
-- Gilbert Arland
If you wish to achieve worthwhile things in your personal and career life, you must become a worthwhile person in your own self-development.
-- Brian Tracy
In anything in life we should strive for improvement or we begin to have a life not worth living. My professor once told me that the most important thing we can do in life is to learn. I have not taken my own time to either improve my skills or to learn in the past couple months and am left with an unsettling feeling.
Over the next two weeks there will probably only be two types of posts here at Whitespace. The first will involve Version 2 and its events and the second will involve questions asking for your constructive criticisms on some areas that I would like to improve.
This has nothing to do with burnout as I could write and enjoy writing every single day. However, I have come to the understanding that I do not enjoy reading what I myself write and that has become a problem.
I wanted to create a popular site and in all honesty I have found that it is not hard to do. My original values were lost along the way however and now is the time that I seek to bring them back into focus.
What is it that you like and do not like about my writing style? Does my style/voice give you the impression that I am someone that you could trust and possibly respect in the industry? Is the content always worth your time? This is not an ego-boost topic. Criticism is valued over compliments.
Feel free to communicate via email.
To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.
-- Henry David Thoreau
Trackback URL: http://9rules.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/187
1. What is this unsettling feeling?
2. What don't you like about your writing style?
3. What are the values you've lost?
4. This industry, possibly more than any other, has an ultra-wide variance in age. Given that, who's trust and respect are you trying to gain?
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
I don't know that I have any specific constructive criticism about your writing style, but everyone can use some improvement to their writing. I'm just finishing up a book that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to improve their writing. It's called "On Writing Well" and is written by William Zinsser. The other (practically required) writing text I'd recommend is "The Elements of Style" by Strunk & White. The first is more a collected set of examples and suggestions; the second is more like a style and grammar guide with rules. Both are easy to read, concise, and packed with information.
In terms of advice, I simply suggest that you take time to focus on the basics. Make sure to reread your writing several times before posting it. Check not only for simple grammar and spelling mistakes, but also consistency of style, tense, and usage. Read your sentences aloud and think through the flow of your thoughts. Have someone else read your writing if you can, because once you've written it, you no longer have an objective view. (Your mind will insert missing words or meanings that others, not having written it, will notice.)
Style comes with age and practice. As you focus and improve the basics so your thoughts come out the way you want them to, your style will come out as well.
Ste Grainer (http://www.wanderlost.org)
Sounds like something's missing, and you don't know what it is. If so, join the crowd.
BTW does this have something to do with you looking for a job? If any potential employer looks at your body of work and doesn't hire you then they are idiots. Then again, there are lot of idiotic businesses out there whose values probably differ than the rest of us. There isn't anything you can do about this. They have to want to learn themselves in order to evolve. You just stick to your beliefs and values and don't let anything or anyone shake them.
BTW learning in life doesn't always have to mean work-related technical learning. It just means learning.
Nollind Whachell (http://nollind.whachell.com/)
In all honesty this site is not just about you any more Paul. You are the co-ordinator, and the man that thinks up the topics. But I find the comments and conversation to be an equally important part of this site.
Your writing style suits that need very well, because you’re not an egotistical writer and you seem very open to other people opinions, thus opening the way for people to comment comfortably.
I would say don’t change a thing. If you need to take time out to catch up on some technologies - then that’s part of the job - but don't change the content and ideas you put forward in this site.
White space has become the place I come to, to encourage me to 'think outside the box’, and to remember the important stuff that we sometimes forget. I would hate to loose that inspiration that this site gives me.
phil baines (http://www.wubbleyew.com/blog/)
I haven't really thought about this, but seeing as you've brought it up, I'll scrape the barrel with the niggles that keep me from sitting at your site and mindlessly pressing F5 until I can't feel my fingers.
Allow me to quote the first paragraph of this post to illustrate a point.
In anything in life we should strive for improvement or we begin to have a life not worth living. My professor once told me that the most important thing we can do in life is to learn. I have not taken my own time to either improve my skills or to learn in the past couple months and am left with an unsettling feeling.Were I writing this, the chances are that more commas would have found their ways into the text. I also have a tendancy to string together sentances to make longer ones, naturally with a surplus of commas :) Had I written that paragraph, it'd be more like this:
In anything in life we should strive for improvement, or we begin to have a life not worth living. My professor once told me that the most important thing we can do in life is to learn, and I have not taken my own time to either improve my skills or to learn in the past couple months, and am left with an unsettling feeling.There is one remaining problem that I sometimes see in even the best of writers — rhetorical questions still need question marks. Example: 'We must adhere to standards otherwise what is the point of making sites in the first place.' That sort of thing needs a question mark at the end, and to me that makes quite a large difference in the ease of reading.
I hope some of these things you may agree with, keep in mind that they work for me but I've never attempted to find out what other people think; they are simply personal opinions.
David House
Paul -
Is your concern the technical aspects of your writing or the content?
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
David, well-used commas are a very good aid to reading, but I fail to see how concatenating sentences is any good. I'm not sure either that you were suggesting it, but just in case...
Normally, I'd go for splitting everything into small, digestible chunks. When you have a bunch of small phrases the reading process is like, read, compute, read, compute, read, compute... when reading a bunch of nested sentences, it's more like, read, read, read more, see if everything stills in mind, read back, read again, try to glue it all together, read again, try to make sense... you see where this is going...
So I say small, to-the-point, not overly barroque phrases are a better fit for the web.
Caio Chassot (http://v2studio.com/k/)
I will be honest and say that I see one of the problems is how I am trying to be perceived. I know in many respects that a lot of you see me as a professional (which I am) and it is great to hear that you think people should be jumping at the gun to hire me (I have been getting offers by the way).
I know that others who may have more experience than I (or believe they do) possibly look at my writings as amateurish.
I know one thing that helps this community is that I have an openness about my abilities. I am not afraid to share my faults and at times my insecurities. However, on more than one occassion I have been told that I should stop this approach because of the perception that it builds. When it comes to writing I guess this is one of the balances that I am trying to find.
Zeldman, Bowman, and Shea are ones that are greatly respected, but to be honest are never ones that I would think I would approach to ask a question because in a sense they never show their faults. I believe this is one of the reasons why many people place them in god-status.
I am not worried about learning technicially, even though I do need to get back on the ball, but learning more about finding my place so to speak. The interesting thing about this post is that I KNOW that I have some potential employers reading this site and this is the sort of post that raises doubts. Maybe it is the people who read through this that I wish to work for.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
I really enjoy reading whitespace because your writing is easy to read. Good writing should be transparent. It should be like you're communicating without words, like the ideas are being sent directly brain-to-brain. Unless you're writing poetry, it's not the words and individuality of style that are important - it's the communication. It seems a lot of people get too caught up in the style of their writing, and it just makes their words end up sounding self-conscious and awkward.
Jennifer Grucza (http://jennifergrucza.com)
However, on more than one occassion I have been told that I should stop this approach because of the perception that it builds. When it comes to writing I guess this is one of the balances that I am trying to find.
Don't listen to that. Unless you want god-like status someday. But since you talk a lot about building a community, I don't think that is what you want.
I don't know lots of stuff, which may be more obvious than I realize, but I think you can talk about what you don't know as long as you don't apologize for it.
I have a bad habit when I cook of talking about all the things I am unhappy with in the food (too little such-and-such, etc.) before my guests even take a bite. And they always thing it's wonderful (except for that time in '83.)
If you don't know something, say so and do it unapologetically. Then, if it is important to you to learn about what you don't know, do it. Otherwise continue to build on the strengths you know you have.
Matthew Oliphant (http://usabilityworks.typepad.com)
Personally, I think the writing has been fine. You aren't writing epic poetry, so the fact that I can read, understand, then comment on your posts shows that your writing is fine. There's no need here for superfluous description or ten dollar words.
Chris Vincent (http://dris.dyndns.org:8080/)
Remember, you're trying to wear many hats. You want to be the best designer, the best technician and the best writer, that might take some time!
Hasan (http://hasan.gopages.net/)
I have found your writing consistently readable for some time. You strength is honesty, but it is true that it is possible to be too honest. One has to suit the material to the audience. There are things you wouldn't want to say in a job interview, for instance, such as 'I'm easily bored and soon like to move on to other things'. It's honest, but it's too honest for the situation.
Similarly here. I feel you come across neither as a professional nor as an amateur, but as someone who is too keen to be seen in a certain way. Your honesty reveals this. And to be honest I find it quite charming, but it does reveal a fundamental insecurity that you may in time choose not to reveal.
Yet this very thing has helped you, I suspect, in building this site. So really you shouldn't worry about it too much. Just be yourself. I was 23 when I decided I wanted to take writing seriously. I read in a book that you shouldn't try to get anything published before you are 30. I took this as good advice and tried to stick to it and held off till I was 28. Just practising. I didn't count journalism in that, which to me was throwaway stuff. Tell a 23-year-old these days not to consider publishing before 30 and they will think you're being condescending towards youth. They probably had a blog by 14.
But it really depends what you mean by "writing style". Your style, in all honesty, is a little bland, but it is nonetheless readable. You write simply, which is good. The way you write here is well-suited to the forum. If this is as far as you want to progress in writing, then your style is fine, although you could tighten up a few points of grammar.
But it's true you aren't really setting yourself a very big challenge. How is your descriptive prose, for instance? How well do you write dialogue? Do you want to write these kinds of things? I can't judge your ability to write descriptively, or your ability to pull off narrative, from what you write here. It is all at a level. You may not have much of an interest in writing beyond that level. That's what you need to decide, the range of your writing style.
At present, you're not extending yourself as a writer. But you may not want to. You do succeed though in representing what you want to talk about. And I have not tired of reading you because you write about things that interest me. Your fault is simultaneously your virtue, being too honest.
Certainly it's true that you're too honest if you wish to be taken as a professional, what you do is "talk up" yourself too much, only to let the cat out the bag later. For instance, when I read what you wrote on your main 9rules site about information design and architecture all I saw was someone talking up what they do, trying to sound professional. It doesn't fool me, I know that it's just some guy trying to pass himself off as a professional. It sounds like what you might try to bluff yourself over with at a job interview. You're writing as you think you have to, but it's not working. Then I come here and see what I suspect reading that confirmed, yeah, it's just some guy, knowledgeable, likeable, but just some guy. But the thing is, so is everyone else. Who cares?
Bottom-line advice: just don't try to be seen any particular way, and how you're seen will take care of itself. And write something different in private, like a short story, if you want to see whether you have a writer inside of you. It wasn't clear to me, though, that you are interested in your writing style from the point of view of being good at the art of writing, it seems you may be more concerned about pulling off a degree of presentation. Well be aware that this is dishonest writing, it's what happens in copywriting and ad agencies. That's not hard, it just involves lying and not feeling bad about it or letting the cat out of the bag, that's the art of the salesman. Decide what you want to use writing for. It would be a pity to lose your honesty. You don't have to, but appropriate restraint too is one of the skills of a writer as well as gushing honesty.
Probably you feel an internal dilemma because you have discovered, as all of us with any integrity do, that the expected facade of the professional sucks. You're expected to "fit in", outsiderish honesty is not desired in corporations, it is distrusted, you're seen as a potential loose cannon. But there are two types of prefessional, those who forge their own way and those who graze with the herd.
Joel (http://biroco.com/)
Joel -
Amen.
Paul -
Take serious heed to that post - Joel is dead on the money with it.
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
Good writes explore and learn the subject matter they are or will write about. They learn the rules and follow them accordingly. Great writers learn the rules just the same, but where they differ is when they ask "why?"
One of the things that drew me to your writings is and has always been your fundamental approach to a subject. You don't assume anything. You don't even assume the rules that are in place are correct to begin with. You always ask why and I think that is important. Even the best industry writers out there have forgotten to not just follow, but ask why.
As for creditability, I don't think you have anything to worry about. To use an analogy, some of the best musicians I have ever known were, well, unknown. Status means nothing, skill means everything. You have skill, Paul, don't give up now.
Nick Finck (http://www.digital-web.com)
I second .. or third, since Mark already seconded... Joel's comments.
I oughtta add there is one sort of honesty that does OK in corporate structure -- very blunt honesty. Might not make you loved by the phonier areas (eg, HR and Marketing), but people will know that you'll give them the straight answer, good or bad, and not waste their time with hedging. Probably not your style, though, you're too nice to be blunt. :-)
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
There's a difference between being "blunt" and being "crass." You should never be afraid to tell the truth, but yes, there are better ways to present it.
Also, JC, even though I work as a graphic and web designer, I am considered part of the Marketing team at the company I work for. We're pretty honest here. Ha ha. The real people who you tend to be more scared about bluntness are the Execs...
Lea (http://xox.lealea.net/)
I don't know. You can try putting more
passion in the way you write. You definitely do not sound show-off or whiny. The effort you put in trying to generate interest is very obvious. Like some previous comments, you are approachable.
Funny, because today was professor evaluation day. Haha. ^0^
Ooooooh, I know what you can do. Use Asian emoticons like me! Hehehe (^_^) It can spice up your prose. -.- You can check out this link on emoticons for more information. Some vary in meaning depending on who uses them.
Zelnox
Paul, stop trying to be what other people want you to be and be who you want to be. Yes, it means you'll go thru shit and doors may not open for you but a lot of times when you get thru those doors, you'll wonder what the big deal was afterwards.
As for god status, ya whatever. Everyone makes mistakes. That's how we learn and evolve. I've worked with some of the biggest computer gaming publishers in the world in helping them to build their product sites and you'd be surprised how, a lot of the times, these execs are flying by the seat of their pants without a clue. I mean sometimes we knew more about their products than they did (because we listened to their customers very closely) and they even admitted to it on occasion.
Hell, before I got hired by my last employer, I wasn't even sure of my own abilities at the time. I thought I was good but I wasn't 100% sure. When I got inside thru the front door of the company though, I realized I was not only as good as they were but I was much much better than I thought I was. I started out as just a junior web developer but within a month I was setting standards and within a year I was the senior web developer (evolving to the unofficial usability, branding, community, and whatever-else-I-had-my-hands into guy).
I'm guessing that you don't think you are "good enough" yet but, as I said before, you've got the ability. Trust yourself and your beliefs. As for "finding your place", I'm still trying to figure out what you exactly mean by this but just let things happen. Often times, if you just let things happen, time itself will reveal things to you. If an employer likes you and hires you, you'd be surprised how quickly you can evolve and grow by just being in that new environment.
I constantly surprised my previous employer with my abilities when I got hired. I remember one time when they had laid off their programmers (who had done all their java/javascript work) and they needed a script to do something. Well, I saw the need and whipped up a script (as I had had some programming experience in the past but hadn't done any javascript before). They asked me when I had learned javascript and I had said that morning. They were stunned. To me, I just saw the need and learned what I needed. Eventually people started coming to me for help on a variety of different things (i.e. marketing, branding, community building, etc) and not just web design. The environment I was in allowed me to do that though. I think the same thing will happen to you once you get inside that new environment.
Oh, and one last thing. During the entire time that I worked at this firm I really never thought of myself as a "professional" (even though I guess I was one as I felt those that I worked with were). From my point of view though, I was just some guy who enjoyed helping people.
Nollind Whachell (http://nollind.whachell.com/)
Paul, you write in your follow-up comment that mentioning your faults here might create an unfavourable picture.
I think that it is only very smart and professional people who have enough self-confidence to be open about their limits and faults. And no-one can expect anyone to be without those. Even the most professional professional is sure to have only limited knowledge and that there are things they cannot do or haven't yet learned.
I remember that Dunstan mentioned a while ago that he wants to learn JavaScript this year. That encouraged me a lot. I had been assuming silently that he knows "all" about webdesign, and that revelation of his showed me that I am not that "small".
Concerning your site, I was very surprised to see your portraits you put up recently because I had imagined you much older. This was because your writing gave me the impression of wide knowledge and experience. And your mentioning some faults and insecurities (e.g. about talking to clients etc.) only showed me that nobody's perfect. It didn't reduce a bit my esteem of your contributions.
So, keep doing it your way. I assume that potential employers are more impressed with what you have put together here than they could be made doubtful by the occasional revelation on your part.
I come here often and I like coming here because your content is virutally always worth my time. Keep going!
andreas (http://www.andreas-kalt.de/blog/)
I don't know you (even though I've seen your photo's). But I respect, trust and admire you.
Why?
Because of your work. Because of your seemingly limitless energy. But mostly because of your writing.
I have only been visiting White Space for a few weeks and I enjoy the site tremendously. I think your articles are relevant to my work and in sympathy with my hobbies and interests.
You write clearly and with humour. There doesn't appear to be any ego in your articles, unlike so many similar sites.
In short, it is worth my time to visit your website, it is worth my time to search the archives, it is worth my time to contribute to your discussions.
If you're not happy then you need to change that which is causing your discomfort. But, rest assured, your content is fine - it's appreciated.
Thank you for the effort.
DarkBlue (http://urbanmainframe.com/)
The fact that people come back here (me included) means that you're doing something right...
And the most important thing you're doing right is the subject matter, this site is about stuff that interests me. The writing style is perfect for that at the moment because it doesn't get in the way of the facts and opinions. Facts and opinions matter because without them there's no discussion.
Jadwigo
Paul,
I don't know how many of us have met you in person (a few, if at all, I assume), but if you read the posts, you would think that all these people were your close friends.
If you ask me, that's powerful and the result of creating not just a cool site but a destination where we can learn more about what we are passionate about and communicate with others who feel the same.
You're writing is perfect for this because you do create an atmosphere where people feel they know you. That's a skill I envy. Not only do you have a great writing style, but you're able to churn articles, opinions, etc. out at a phenomenal rate.
Its one thing to write something great once, but its another thing entirely to do it consistently.
Thank you for being an inspiration to me and all the rest of us!
cm (http://telerana.f2o.org)
I come here often and I like coming here because your content is virutally always worth my time.
I think that sums the whole thing up very well. You get the traffic that you do because people enjoy your work, enjoy your writing, and feel like it is worth their time and energy to spend time on multiple pages of your site. They feel like they are learning or that they are getting information they can use.
Paul, I think your 23, right? or something like that. I find your writing very professional, and I too, thought you were much older.
Don't worry about what other people perceive of you. I mean, obviously you are going to care about certain issues, but keep being yourself. That is what makes you unique. We don't need another Zeldman, Bowman, etc.. That is why they are who they are. If you want God like status, then by being yourself, writing what you feel, and keep making a difference in the web community, then when people hear the name PAUL, they will know its Paul from whitespace. In fact, at least at Sitepoint and other peoples blogs, your name is already in that state. Separate yourself from Zeldman, Bowman, etc...
Every since I have visited whitespace, I have been intrigued. I love coming here. I find myself every single day coming here just to see whats on your mind. You speak your mind, you express your feelings on issues, you allow your faults to show, yet that just makes you human and that allows you to relate to everybody. I understand you are worried about letting too much information out in the open, and that is fine, there are some things that shouldn't be expressed to your community, and whatever you choose to post is your decision and everyone should respect that. I would be sad if you stopped writing the way you do, in fact, I would be sad if this site ever goes away, because I feel like its an integral part of my web experience now. If I don't get my dose of PAUL everyday, I break out in hives :) (ok, I don't break out in hives).
Too be honest, I wasn't expecting a post to come out of right field saying you aren't happy with your current situation. I have actually watched this site grow. I believe I visited it the day I saw a posting from you (one of your fist postings I believe) on Sitepoint Forums (where I congratulated you on your writing style, not sure if you remember that) and I thought, Damn, this guy is cool, I am drawn into what he is saying.
I soon will be starting my own blog called Juicedthoughts or freshmindset where I can create a bullshit free environment in the topics I post. I like reality, responsibility, and people who don't sugar coat things and I have ideas I want to talk about. I will probably throw some web discussion topics on there, but I doubt that is the readership I will necessarily be getting. Who knows, but point is, I want to have the same impact you have had on the web design community. I want my site to fall on other peoples sites where they say, "Damn, you need to go to Bryans Juiced Thoughts site, there is some good shit on there". That will make me feel good, because I feel like I am making a difference in peoples lives and touching issues that might be going on in their lives.
That is what you do here, you have touched many peoples lives in the web community because they take what they read from your site and use it on their sites or use the information to better themselves.
Stay who you are, I like you, I respect you, and I find you very professional
just my 2 cents on this issue.
Bryan (http://www.gamecubecheats.info)
Does my style/voice give you the impression that I am someone that you could trust and possibly respect in the industry?
I think so, yes. You write very conversationally, which to me engenders nuff respect and trust. I appreciate the candidness that you offer on this site as well, as I can relate to many of the issues you bring up and explore. Nice one...now big up ya self.
Dont Try To Change My Plan...Understand (http://www.submunition.com)
I would like to thank everyone who has commented here and emailed me privately. Sometimes it is easy to get lost when you no longer see the forest before the trees, but I think I have found what I was looking for. Funny thing was, that it was never gone.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Late to the party, as usual. ;)
Part of the reason I find I like this site is because you, Paul, *don't* come off as a "god". Being new to this design stuff, the sites of people like Shea and Zeldman are useful and interesting, but a little intimidating sometimes. Sometimes a little too much "jargon", that's not always fully explained, and "Of course, we all know it should be done *this* way", when I don't, and solutions to things I didn't even realize were problems, etc.
But you write very plainly and to-the-point, you don't usually assume a given knowledge level, and you're willing to explore your own problems and how you solved/learned from them. It's a lot easier to learn when you can realize the people you're learning from were once newbies like yourself, and they were able to learn. :)
Liz Calkins (http://alienharmony.com/)
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#1
"I have not taken my own time to either improve my skills or to learn in the past couple months"
Are you sure about this? I've only been here awhile, (blogspace & whitespace), but there has not only been a lot of good conversation on this site, but by building what you have you most certainly must have learned something.
Perhaps you just don't see it yet, maybe you are focussing on tangibles when you say this? What about intangible assets?
Just ideas...
Mike P. (http://www.fiftyfoureleven.com.com/sandbox/weblog/)