I was never much a writer,
I can't say that writing was what I wanted to do since I was little. In fact the non cliche young boy ambition I had was being a geologist, and even then it was not out of passion but of the propaganda thrown at me by my Oil and Gas Industry elders around me. The only time I tried to write something when I was young was trying to world-build a lore for a post-apocalyptic world where it was so bad that guns were a lost technology, think Middle ages with skyscraper ruins. Even then the book wasn't finished because I got stopped by people around me. "Don't waste your time! they said".
My first ever intentionally long post was here on Steemit.com titled "How to excel in a world where everyone seems to be better than you", That post took me 4 days to draft and write. Ever since then i've been writing stuff ever other 4th-5th on average. Way more than the people around me physically, way less than I wanted.
I still don't think I'm a good writer, heck I don't even dare to call myself a "writer" in the ways normal writers would call themselves writers. I'm nowhere near there. But I have noticed the benefits and the changes that I went through as I write write write and write. I believe everyone should start writing something anywhere on the internet (and not just leaving comments on social media), any long form posts for the benefits which I have experienced.
These are the reasons why you should write, even if you suck at writing.
1. Writing as a means of expression
Every form of writing is a form of expression. From scientific journals to express a scientific finding, to a daily as an expression of the days thoughts and memories, all the way to lewd graffiti on the toilet walls as an expression of latest meme. Incidentally, do you know that a big part how archeologist can get a glimpse into Ancient Pompeiian culture is due in part to the the grafitti found in the ruins? There's even a whole website dedicated to the records of of all the grafitti found so far. And there's A LOT of them! Everyone wants to be heard, that is the truth of being human. But to be heard, you need to first express yourself. And do so eloquently, that takes practice and deliberation. Ultimately, consistently writing down your thoughts makes you arrange them better, and makes you an overall better presenter of your ideas.
Writing down your thoughts and opinions lets you review what's in your mind and over time, refine how you express.
2. Writing as a means of Erudition (learning).
The bulk of the extra knowledge and information I've gained since I started writing on Steemit was through researching for information and getting my facts right so that I don't make a fool out of myself. While writing itself is a learning process, It also serves as the best from of learning a new knowledge; teaching.
As you are writing and publishing your posts to the blockchain for the world to see, you are in essence teaching the world what you know. We've all known the famous study done by The Washington University published in the US National Library of Medicine that learning something with the expectation that you will teach it makes you retain more of the information you've learnt as compared to rote memorization.
Publishing your articles and thoughts are a way to influence, teach your audience of your knowledge. And in tandem makes you learn better.
3. Writing to build upon your ideas.
Let's face it, none of our ideas are original. It is an endless meme of inspiration and improvement from previous iteration that makes the world go round. When was the last time you read someone else's writing purely for the ideas within? My guess is rarely.. You follow your favorite authors (on steemit or anywhere else) because you like the way they write their post,
You like your favorite author's writing not because of their ideas, but how they present them.
Don't be discouraged when you "don't have the ideas". There's always ideas in your head. We humans think about 50,000-70,000 thoughts a day. Writing is a process of refining your words, the ideas matter little in the long run.
Conclusion
Writing should be something that I honestly think should be done by everyone, even just as a self-development activity. Since you are reading this post here it only pays more to write more consistently and magnify the effects. The world needs more content creators and less consumers, you wont grow online if all you do is lurk online.
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Kristian Kho [Ian] is a 24 year old freelancer with a passion for steem and a deep desire to be a better person in every aspect. I aim to express any and all my thoughts on things that I find interesting as well as using this platform as a self-development log.
I am a part of #Teammalaysia, a decentralized community initiative that aims to empower local creatives and content creators specifically in Malaysia to create content through the Steem Blockchain.
If you want to stalk me, check out my other social media accounts too!
