Does my writing suck?

[Zach]

I was struggling whether to put this in "Character & Contribution" and this forum, and I chose this one. If it's in the wrong one, please feel free to move it.

I don't mean to spam my blog, I just need to know if my writing is OK or if I should stop now. I haven't received many comments on the articles I've written, so I'm questioning if my writing sucks.

I started this blog with two main objectives:

#1. To help people by sharing my experiences and giving (hopefully) useful advice and information.

#2. To someday earn an income to fund future mission trips to foreign countries to help people (India, Africa, South America, and "less fortunate" countries), and also to financially help people in my community and elsewhere. I'm not in it for personal financial gain.

This is my blog. If you'd be willing to take a moment, scan over some of the content and let me know if I should keep going or not, I'd greatly appreciate it. Should I keep on with it, or am I just wasting time and money?

Thanks in advance.

[ABlix]

I think it's beautiful. You just seem to write in between the lines, I have that problem too being not a native born American speaker.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Zach

If you'd be willing to take a moment, scan over some of the content and let me know if I should keep going or not, I'd greatly appreciate it. Should I keep on with it, or am I just wasting time and money?

I would question your question.

You seem to be assuming that, if your writing isn't any good at the moment that pursuing writing is a waste of time and money. (I'm not commenting on its quality one way or the other, BTW).

If this is what you want to do, then you can always learn the required skills.

To an extent, it doesn't matter whether your writing 'sucks' or not. Either way, your goal will be to improve your craft...

[ahimel]

It definitly doesn't suck. You understand the concept of punctuation, and whatever the size of your vocabulary, you have the sense not to use words of which you don't know the meaning. Whether I agree with your point or not, I am always able to determine what your point is.

You do need to use those skills to write worthwhile content. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell what you do best, and what people want from you. Steve can measure it by revenue; you probably don't have the consistancy of traffic and revenue to use that method. So you might see if you can find a group of dedicated friends who would be willing to read all your posts and give you feedback. Or you might see if you can put a "rate this post" on the bottom of each post on your blog. Then, as you look at your numbers, you can get a feel for what your readers like and what they are relatively indifferent to.

There's definitely no reason to give up. You're not so good that within hours of your first post, news of your blog had travelled around the world and everyone subscribed. (No one to date is that good). That's different from sucking. If you enjoy it -- and your "No Longer In It For The Money" post says you do -- by all means keep it up. You'll improve as you go, as long as you bother to try, so that in a few years you'll be even better than you are now.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Your writing is a medium, and your message is more important. You need to articulate what your message is, but by living your message and not being so concerned with the medium, your writing will take care of itself. It's not bad writing, but it's not the calibur of Brent Easton Mills. I throw in that name because I just purchased one of his books and wish to see if he really is the great writer people say he is. But I wish I had the time to read your blog in its entirety, but I have a previous engagement to go to the Ripley's Aquarium. But if you ever need someone to critque your writing, just let me know. Although I don't usually do that, I can help if help is needed.

[Jill]

Ok, here's my opinion (and I just might not be your target audience)...

I thought your writing itself was fine. But the topics and what you were saying just didn't seem interesting for some reason. They were plain vanilla stuff that I can read about anywhere.

Where's your voice?

[MartialDev]

The title or opening paragraph must give the reader a compelling reason to continue. Some of your posts do not pass this test.

Even if it doesn't make any money, there are other reasons to continue blogging. For example:
Why Write About Martial Arts?

[Zach]

I see. Thanks much for all of your reviews and constructive criticism. I'll work harder at it.

[Jan]

Zach,

You write well and I find your thoughts interesting. You are so young and you should be VERY proud of yourself. I think you haven't had comments merely because people have not found your blog. I don't know how bloggers attract audiences. I actually have only found blogs by chance...links thru other sites/blogs like this one. I'm glad I found yours. Keep up with your personal development journey and write about it on your blog. Regardless of whether you find a big audience or not for your blog you will do VERY well in life because of your attitude and awareness of PD at such a young age. Well done.

Jan

[Nneka]

Hi Zach,

Do you read Copyblogger? He provides some great tips on writing for an audience.

To answer your question, your writing does not suck. The more you write the more effective, persuasive, engaging, and inspirational you will become. Just keep at it.

Nneka

[Wanderer]

Your writing looks good, just keep at it, your ideas seem fairly insightful, and I think it is more a question of perseverance than anything else