"Write to Learn" Indeed

Chapters - 13, 14, 15, 18

Fowler – 1 & 4

I find it interesting that Murray tells us in Chapter 13 to stop focusing on writing in order to write better. These most recent chapters have built upon his “just write” philosophy. First he had explained to us that the most important thing was beginning to write and then keeping it up. Now he informs us of how to refine this process of writing. This is good insight on his part, since all the writing advice in the world doesn't make any difference whatsoever unless the individual puts them into practice on a regular basis.

Perhaps coincidentally, I'd reached an identical conclusion a mere several days prior to reading this in the course text, but in a different field entirely. To prepare for a future business partnership with a certain associate of mine, I've instantiated a drawing-a-day policy in order to always have improvement of some sort. This regular progress is absolutely critical to developing proper work skills; not just in the area where it is being practised, in in all. Perhaps also coincidentally, this same theme is being covered in HKIN 190 regarding exercise (“Anything is better than nothing”, but eventually work your up to a moderate level afterwards).

Personally, I have found the only area where I've had difficulty implementing this to be the writing of these blogs. Having been incubated in the depths of the Internet Hate Machine, I learned to despise USI (Unwarranted Self-Importance) to the same degree that the ancient Greeks despised hubris. One will notice, however, that those things aren't unrelated, but rather nigh identical in definition (which relates to my opinion that this 'Internet Hate Machine' is actually the pinnacle of philosophy in the modern era). There is a general understanding that most online publication of material (with credit to the author by name, OR pseudonym) outside of academic/journalistic circles is an attempt to garner undeserved attention to oneself, and that it manifests mostly in blogs. This is the sin of 'name-faggotry', and is deeply despised. In so peculiar a culture, the 'Anonymous Legion', where racial tension has very much disappeared (the sin of 'race-faggotry'), new discriminatory notions have become as engrained in the minds of this subculture as those old notions were (and often still are) in the crusty 'old-fags' (old-timers) of real-life.

It is perhaps worth mentioning that this subculture has been practising the idea of “regular/constant updates no matter what” in various forms for a good number of years, and has led to a number of things. As would be expected, low-quality material became commonplace (known as 'the cancer'), but high-quality material would still appear at irregular intervals. Regardless of the amount of quality material produced, the members of this subculture grew extremely adept at recognizing low-quality material, to the point where they can thumb their collective nose at something on a wim (and very shortly after original publication) and some time afterwards be joined by the masses in condemning said something. This demonstrates the win-win nature of constant practice/production; either you will produce larger amount of usable material (the more likely result), or you will become an expert at spotting things which could stand improvement and what those improvements should be.

Bite the bullet! One way or another, we all will benefit by sucking-it-up and just pumping out material of one sort or another. It is best we initiate this practice while we are yet young. As we go along we can incorporate the advice of the more experienced around us, and learn to identify the creme-de-la-creme of our ideas (Murray's "focus lines"). Opportunity knocks!