Why I Get Jacked Up Before I Post

42 | Posted In Blogging by David

This is a guest post by Nathan Hangen.

Ernest Hemingway once offered the following advice to writers:

“Write drunk, edit sober.”

It’s probably the best piece of advice I’ve ever received, and it’s served me very well over the past year.

The trials of a scared blogger

I used to be afraid to say what I really thought. I would blog about topics in an almost passive way…thinking that if I muted my tone I would be able to attract a wider audience.

The results were astounding…I didn’t have an audience.

So I started experimenting using a variety of other voices I “lifted.” None of them felt right…they just didn’t work.

So one day, after I’d had a few Blue Moons, I wrote a fiery post and posted it as a draft, thinking that if I still had the courage in the morning, that I would post it and see what happened.

Well, it’s probably a good thing I waited, because when I went back to re-read it, there were a variety of errors and ambiguities that needed corrected. The only problem though was that now I was afraid to post it…

“What will they say about me?”

“What if they don’t like it?”

“I’m probably the only one that thinks like this.”

The voices didn’t stop…but I didn’t have an audience anyway, so I figured why not…and hit publish. I was nervous as hell.

It was the most popular post I’ve ever written, but more than that…validation…sweet validation.

Nervous before every post

What I learned from that experience was that unless I’m nervous before I hit publish, then the post is going to suck. If I’m not reaching outside of my comfort zone, then I’m probably either boring, or lying to myself (readers too).

The hardest part of being a new blogger is trying to figure out how to write well without sounding like yourself.

The problem is that unless you sound like yourself, then you aren’t interesting or useful. Once you realize that and accept it, you’ll find that your writing will mature and your blog will blossom.

This is something I was talking about with Miss Cleavage (Kelly Diels) a few days ago…how it’s so hard to be nervous all the time, yet so vitally important.

There’s something about raw and exposed emotion that connects with people. If I’m not honest, how can I expect you to be?

So, as uncomfortable as it is, I don’t publish something unless I’m biting my nails as I write it. In fact, these days I don’t even give myself a chance to edit sober for fear of wimping out.

It’s publish or die

My advice to you

If you want to learn to write something that people enjoy reading, then don’t be afraid to say what you really think. If you’re waiting for the day when you’re not nervous anymore, I’ve got news for you:

It ain’t coming.

You don’t have to go the Blue Moon route, but you should find something that gets you jacked up…something that moves you so that you can get the emotion flowing.

I like to listen to music (Pandora is my best friend), and wait to write until I’ve got the blood pumping and the energy flowing. I also like writing after a great workout.

The point is that you need to find an energy source that gives you the courage to write with confidence. Once you can do that, then it’s simply a matter of closing your eyes and hitting the publish button.

I can almost guarantee that your audience will love you for it, and as your confidence grows, so will your business.

Nathan Hangen teaches people how to build digital empires, helps them rock through their workday, and works with small businesses to implement digital marketing campaigns.

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  • http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

    Yeah,

    But it's way easier to say then to actually implement it. I can see it definitely in your style, and I can only assume that you're sometimes scared yourself, especially when you criticize some one who's famous in the web galaxy.
    I found my true voice recently, and I've started to get more traffic and comments – because people tend to love authenticity and your stand.
    It takes daily commitment to only hear your voice, and to ignore the voices that want you to scare the crap out of you.

    thank heaven I'm not the only one ;)

  • http://hotblogtips.com/ Keith Bloemendaal

    I write my best posts when I am “on fire” about something! Sometimes with the help of a little bourbon, my courage to hit the publish button! My mistake is that I have to wake up in the morning to fix my errors after it was published!

    As you know, I usually tell it how I feel on my site, and am not afraid to make changes to it that may stir people up, I like it! And I think my audience does too….

  • http://www.kingaudio.co.uk/ Sarah King

    I really like this post and I will definitely try writing whilst under the influence very soon.

  • http://mariamcisse.com/ Mariam

    Mars, aren't those voices you hear that “want you to scare the crap out of you” YOUR voices too? I mean no one needs the permission of an other blogger to write an article. The only voice you hear is your own. Or have you ever heard someone saying:” No Mars, don't write that. That's too harsh!” before you hit the publish button?

  • http://www.marsdorian.com/ Mars Dorian

    No, it's not my voice. It's the artificial thinking of fear that society taught me – not the true voice that's inside of me and wants to create the real art. I didn't have that voice when I was 7 years, and I got it big time when I entered school.

    But that's thanks to my increased intuition, it's slowly fading away.

  • http://mariamcisse.com/ Mariam

    Ok, if you look at it that way, I agree with you. We didn't enter this world with fear but have been taught to have such feelings, right. However, you have adopted this feeling as yours. Or is society talking to you in your thoughts?

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    At worst, it's incredibly fun :D

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    You and I have a lot in common there, but sounds like you're missing the 2nd part – edit sober :)

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    You're right, it's not easy, but it's essential.

    Oddly enough, I've found that the more nervous I am when I post…the better the post is received.

  • aaronmielke

    Excellent stuff Nathan.

    Knowing now the scenario and mindset you place yourself in while you explains so much. I've really connected with your voice – much like this blog's owner, you are a no B.S. guy and not afraid to throw punches.

    I've found myself hesitant to hit that “publish” buttons on a few occasions as well…good to hear that's par for the course even for the guys with a much bigger audience.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    Oh yeah man, I'm nervous on most occasions. Come to think of it, blogging has me as some sort of nervous wreck! lol

  • http://virginbloggernotes.com/ virginbloggernotes

    I've worked with clients, both print and online, for so many years and have had to twist and package my words to fit their publications. Now that I can totally, 100% be myself with my words, I'm still working on shaking those editorial restrictions. Guess a little alcohol might not be a bad idea :)

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    I've gotta say, I get a little tingly seeing everyone talk about alcohol in such a fine light :)

    Maybe I should rename my blog to “The Drunk Blogger.”

  • http://virginbloggernotes.com/ virginbloggernotes

    Now that's a niche I can live with :)

  • sytaylor

    You know what bugs me though? I can write a rant really easily, or when its commenting on someone else's post, it just flows. Then it comes to writing my own stuff, and it's like pulling teeth. It never quite makes sense, or clicks. I edit so ruthlessly that I end up publishing once a week.

    Getting over the hump is tough yo. Any hacks for writing flow you can suggest on top of music? They get me up for it, and scouring copyblogger helps me edit… but how do you know when you have quality? Sometimes you feel it, but I find my mood is often what prevents me, rather than the quality. Who knows, maybe it's just “Push the button, take action” fear of success.

    But then, historically, I've always been, just do it, and publish a turd.

    Gah

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    Well, part of it comes with publishing turds over and over again. Look at my blog archives and you'll see plenty of that :)

    Comes with time I think.

    You could consider finding a buddy with an objective viewpoint and have him/her critique for you.

    Unfortunately, you don't really know quality until someone comments and says “hell yes!”

    So I suggest that you just write from the gut, edit only grammar/spelling stuff, and let it fly.

  • http://www.sytaylor.net sytaylor

    Fair point, I mean I guess Action > No Action in this context.

    Being brutally honest, I like it when my stuff is liked, or retweeted so much, that I want it all to be like that. I want to skip to the end and already have an audience. As a result when something is retweeted quite a bit, as happened recently (*blush*), it feels like I have to top it before I dare publish anything else.

    At least I can name the problem now, before it was just unfocussed frustration, compounded with a little laziness and a sense of melancholy.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    That's something I was talking to Kelly Diels about last week. Once you hit a home run, you want every post to be a home run, and when they're not, you start to get worried.

    Sadly, I don't think it's possible, so we have to let ourselves off the hook a bit.

  • http://justinsbrainpan.com/ Justin Matthews

    Dave Doolin has a publish then polish idea to posting that is great for getting things out there. I find the more tired I am I get better rants. Then I can post them on my other blog where that is expected. I find myself always publishing instead of saving. some day that is going to get me into trouble.

  • http://www.OptimisticJourney.com/ Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey

    I heard that when writing a blog post it's often not such a good idea to publish it right away. It's best to wait until later when you're 'sober' to post. I disagree. I find that I should hit the publish button with the same emotions as I had when I wrote the post. Just like you said, Nathan, If I wait until I 'sober' up then I end up changing things around, rewording, or even worse chickening out.

  • http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin

    Expressing emotion can be difficult. But it's what drives good writing, and what connects best with readers.

    I can definitely relate to much of this, because writing with emotional openness is not something people are usually trained for. Just the opposite in fact: people are trained to remove emotion from their writing.

  • http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin

    I try to solve this problem by posting articles I want to rank for, like technical articles on WordPress. I don't expect those articles to get comments.

    Sometimes though, I post a really good article that falls completely flat, and I don't know why.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    I hate when that happens…same thing occurs frequently on my end, and I can't figure it out.

  • http://www.sytaylor.net sytaylor

    I'm finding commenting on other blogs, and setting Disqus to notify me for every reply, not just replies to me… unlocks my conversational brain. Once that's going, editing is easier.

  • http://www.sytaylor.net sytaylor

    Checked out your site though, pretty neat. Personality in a neat space has a likeable incongruence. Like the business man who has some banter, or the hobo that knows SEO (*want to make a jibe about Brogan here but I'll side step it*).

  • http://www.sytaylor.net sytaylor

    Copyblogger teaches you how to reach out to the everyman, and be effective. Your soul says be convoluted, verbose and articulate. I guess it's one of those “Know your audience” scenarios.

  • http://bloging4dollars.blogspot.com David

    I like it dude… I'll write drunk and then edit sober and will send you my post :)

  • http://janebradbury.com/ Jane Bradbury

    Well, I can't drink so it will have to be drugs!

  • http://www.videoizle18.org porno

    Expressing emotion can be difficult. But it's what drives good writing, and what connects best with readers.

  • http://evengrounds.com/blog Julius

    I agree that a song or two gets us jacked up for writing. Nine Inch Nails is my favorite band to listen to when I need some fire. A good night's sleep also helps a lot in having energy.

  • http://SourcesOfInsight.com J.D. Meier

    Now that's a sticky piece of advice, and I like the one-liner — “write drunk, edit sober.”

    That's the key — find something that moves you. After all, it's an edutainment world.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    Didn't hear the line until I saw Brian Clark mention it on Twitter, but it stuck with me ever since :)

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    Ah, sleep. I can't seem to get enough of that these days.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    haha, whatever works!

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    Yep, but it seems that it's emotion that people want. The problem is finding the right emotions to express.

  • http://nathanhangen.com/blog Nathan Hangen

    These days, I just write, edit on the fly, and then hit publish. Editing is for hacks :)

  • http://www.financiallydigital.com Nunzio Bruno

    I think that's where I am right now. I kind of nervous about losing an audience that I'm not really capturing one by sounding kind of muted. I liked the quote and have to think of way to honor that spirit minus the drinking during the day – have to watch those calories..and drive :) . Thanks for the perspective, looks like I have to find the edge of my comfort zone.

  • http://www.websitebegin.com Joe Boyle

    Great point, David!

    After reading this blog post, I am realizing that I do infact spend a long while on my posts, probably because I sit there trying to make everything professional. But hey, like you said, I'm new, have minimal audience, if any, and shouldn't have much to worry about. Thanks for some support, David! :D

  • http://TrafficCafe.TV/traffictactics Jonathan Gunson

    Yes Sir. Getting jacked up prior to posting is the only way to summon the muse! I always do that, always have.

    BUT … sometimes it makes my posts a little over the top, but I'm NEVER boring :)

    Jonathan Gunson
    http://TrafficCafe.TV/traffictactics

  • http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin

    Failure is a social construct.

  • http://www.searchengineoptimization.co.uk Mike

    For me, i have to spend good amount of time in writing, my niche is SEO so i have to read it two times before i final post on my blog….

  • Brad

    This is like the best workout. I do the same thing, only I usually reply all so that the sender is appropriately embarrassed.