4 ms·

Mm. I agree in principle, but i have always thought that the "just do it" (for whatever value of "it" you choose) is a rather glib assertion. The process of do

Mm. I agree in principle, but i have always thought that the "just do it" (for whatever value of "it" you choose) is a rather glib assertion. The process of doing isn't sufficient in of itself to improve. The key to improvement is feedback and self-analysis with an eye towards better quality. Raganwald admits as much. Sure doing is a prerequisite to feedback, but the important part is how you learn from yourself and others, and how you go about that process.

raganwald 15y ago
Great comment, thanks! My assertion is rather glib, however underlying it is this suggestion: If you have a choice between writing blog post and thinking about a process for handling feedback and self-improvement, I say write the blog post first and work out what to do with teh feedback when you have it. When I started pro to-blogging in 2004 by publishing raw HTML on a web server, I did not have a process. I still don't if you compare me to people like Jeff Atwood who (used to) blog on a schedule and could easily articulate things like his market demographics. I suggest that while it's better to be Jeff than Reg, it's still better to be Reg than Unknown. Of course, we probably agree on this as well.
- knowtheory 15y ago
  Yep! I agree that it's always better to write something than nothing. But, sometimes it's not much more. You have to have some basic levels of quality and coherence of thought to get picked up to the point where you actually have readers. And until that point, you're out shopping your content around yourself, asking your friends what they think. That's a process i find challenging unless i'm proud (at some level) of what i have written. Perhaps another angle on this is, you see a lot of good writers saying that all that they needed to do is write more. I have to wonder if there's an element of self-selection in such statements. All that said, i need to spend more time writing both code and prose. ;)
- blasdel 15y ago
  It is not ever better to be Jeff — what poverty of thought! I've enjoyed your blog thoroughly for the last 6 years or so, but I would much rather you be Reg to a smaller audience and Unknown to me than be Jeff to the world.
- gnosis 15y ago
  "I suggest that while it's better to be Jeff than Reg, it's still better to be Reg than Unknown." That depends on what you have to say, and on what your goals are. If what you say is controversial enough, you could make more enemies than friends. Alternatively, you could just expose that what you have to say is worthless garbage, or that you're an idiot. (I'm not referring to you personally, of course, just to writers in general) Of course, some believe bad publicity is better than no publicity, but I'm not so sure that's true. It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. -- George Eliot If a young writer can refrain from writing, he shouldn't hesitate to do so. -- André Gide I occasionally play works by contemporary composers, and for two reasons. First, to discourage the composer from writing any more, and secondly to remind myself how much I appreciate Beethoven. -- Jascha Heifetz
  - raganwald 15y ago
    I don't know about controversy, but exposing yourself as an idiot is a very low risk, and has even lower likelihood of negative consequences. If I write something idiotic, and someone posts in on HN, it never makes it to the front page. This can happen 99 times in a row. AFAIK, there is no penalty for writing idiotic things, there is no ban applied to my blog. I think the kinds of things you are quoting are archaic. They belong to a world of books, where people write four or ten or at twenty books in a career, and each one is precious and carries with it much reputation. I don't see the same thing with blogging at all. Even if it was, so what? If you're young and make mistakes, who cares? Are you afraid that some day, someone will say "He's an experienced guy, but when he was nineteen he wrote a piece of garbage?" Self-censoring because you are an idiot or inexperienced makes no sense whatsoever: If you don't trust yourself to speak, how do you trust yourself to know whether what you have to say is interesting? Reputation is asymmetrical. People start companies and fail many times, but one success makes a career. While I was writing garbage in 2004, people told me that I had no idea what I was talking about, and then one day in 2005 I wrote a rant called "What I've Learned From Failure," and immediately everyone forgot the garbage. http://weblog.raganwald.com/2005/01/what-ive-learned-from-failure.html http://weblog.raganwald.com/2005/01/what-ive-learned-from-fa... Should I really have waited a year to write that? How would I know to write that piece but not to write "Are you a perfectionist?," which I wrote the week before? How would I know to write that one but not "Passionate Communication," which I wrote the following week?
- daniel71l 15y ago
  while the quotes are of very interesting people, my belief is different: http://design-to-last.com/2011/06/shut-up-and-write/ http://design-to-last.com/2011/06/shut-up-and-write/
Steko 15y ago
"The process of doing isn't sufficient in of itself to improve." Not always sufficient but it's certainly necessary and the barrier most people have is they don't "do" enough. Feedback and self analysis frequently follow from the doing and a lot of self-analysis occurs during the doing.

raganwald 15y ago

Great comment, thanks! My assertion is rather glib, however underlying it is this suggestion: If you have a choice between writing blog post and thinking about a process for handling feedback and self-improvement, I say write the blog post first and work out what to do with teh feedback when you have it. When I started pro to-blogging in 2004 by publishing raw HTML on a web server, I did not have a process. I still don't if you compare me to people like Jeff Atwood who (used to) blog on a schedule and could easily articulate things like his market demographics. I suggest that while it's better to be Jeff than Reg, it's still better to be Reg than Unknown. Of course, we probably agree on this as well.

knowtheory 15y ago
Yep! I agree that it's always better to write something than nothing. But, sometimes it's not much more. You have to have some basic levels of quality and coherence of thought to get picked up to the point where you actually have readers. And until that point, you're out shopping your content around yourself, asking your friends what they think. That's a process i find challenging unless i'm proud (at some level) of what i have written. Perhaps another angle on this is, you see a lot of good writers saying that all that they needed to do is write more. I have to wonder if there's an element of self-selection in such statements. All that said, i need to spend more time writing both code and prose. ;)
blasdel 15y ago
It is not ever better to be Jeff — what poverty of thought! I've enjoyed your blog thoroughly for the last 6 years or so, but I would much rather you be Reg to a smaller audience and Unknown to me than be Jeff to the world.
gnosis 15y ago
"I suggest that while it's better to be Jeff than Reg, it's still better to be Reg than Unknown." That depends on what you have to say, and on what your goals are. If what you say is controversial enough, you could make more enemies than friends. Alternatively, you could just expose that what you have to say is worthless garbage, or that you're an idiot. (I'm not referring to you personally, of course, just to writers in general) Of course, some believe bad publicity is better than no publicity, but I'm not so sure that's true. It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. -- George Eliot If a young writer can refrain from writing, he shouldn't hesitate to do so. -- André Gide I occasionally play works by contemporary composers, and for two reasons. First, to discourage the composer from writing any more, and secondly to remind myself how much I appreciate Beethoven. -- Jascha Heifetz
- raganwald 15y ago
  I don't know about controversy, but exposing yourself as an idiot is a very low risk, and has even lower likelihood of negative consequences. If I write something idiotic, and someone posts in on HN, it never makes it to the front page. This can happen 99 times in a row. AFAIK, there is no penalty for writing idiotic things, there is no ban applied to my blog. I think the kinds of things you are quoting are archaic. They belong to a world of books, where people write four or ten or at twenty books in a career, and each one is precious and carries with it much reputation. I don't see the same thing with blogging at all. Even if it was, so what? If you're young and make mistakes, who cares? Are you afraid that some day, someone will say "He's an experienced guy, but when he was nineteen he wrote a piece of garbage?" Self-censoring because you are an idiot or inexperienced makes no sense whatsoever: If you don't trust yourself to speak, how do you trust yourself to know whether what you have to say is interesting? Reputation is asymmetrical. People start companies and fail many times, but one success makes a career. While I was writing garbage in 2004, people told me that I had no idea what I was talking about, and then one day in 2005 I wrote a rant called "What I've Learned From Failure," and immediately everyone forgot the garbage. http://weblog.raganwald.com/2005/01/what-ive-learned-from-failure.html http://weblog.raganwald.com/2005/01/what-ive-learned-from-fa... Should I really have waited a year to write that? How would I know to write that piece but not to write "Are you a perfectionist?," which I wrote the week before? How would I know to write that one but not "Passionate Communication," which I wrote the following week?
daniel71l 15y ago
while the quotes are of very interesting people, my belief is different: http://design-to-last.com/2011/06/shut-up-and-write/ http://design-to-last.com/2011/06/shut-up-and-write/

Steko 15y ago

"The process of doing isn't sufficient in of itself to improve." Not always sufficient but it's certainly necessary and the barrier most people have is they don't "do" enough. Feedback and self analysis frequently follow from the doing and a lot of self-analysis occurs during the doing.