Dustan Ingenthron

You’ve finally decided to join the blogosphere. You are ready to make your debut in the world of online self publication. But there is only one problem… the inaugural post. What idea should I try to communicate? What theme should I convey? The truth is, it doesn’t make a bit of difference.

The Almighty First Post

With so many ideas for posts and articles it seems strange that anyone would have trouble writing one. Yet, the trouble lies not in writing just “any post,” but rather in writing the almighty “First Post.” We seem to think that the first post will in some way define us and our blog. Of course rational thought will tell us nothing of the sort. Shakespeare didn’t write Hamlet the first time he took up the pen, nor did Tolkien create The Lord of the Rings the first time he imagined a fantasy world. The idea that your first post will become the defining post of your blogging career is rather absurd, doubly so if this is your first foray into writing.

Who reads the first post?

Be honest now. Of all the blogs I enjoy, and read faithfully. I can only think of one or two times that I have actually went back to read the initial post. In my experience most new users don’t look past the first couple pages of posts, and so, after the first few weeks or months, that initial post will be little more than a memory.

Start bad… it will free you up!

There is something terribly liberating about starting poorly. What I mean is that, if your first post is an unintelligible, convoluted pile of steaming goo, you have a very good chance of writing a second post that is better than the first. Once you realize this it will free you up to be less self-critical, and you can begin to enjoy writing. No one is perfect the first time they try their hand at something. Perfection takes skill, and skill comes only through practice.

Practice, practice, practice.

Practice makes perfect. It’s a cliché that is so over used most people visibly cringe to hear it. Yet, it continues to be used because it is the simple truth.

When a preschool child writes their name in large mismatched letters (some of which are backwards) we smile and tell them they did a beautiful job. We are not overly critical because everyone starts that way. However, if by the time they reach middle school, they are still writing in the same barely legible scribbles something is definitely wrong. The years of practice should make a significant difference.

The same holds true for writing. Your first attempts may be reminiscent of that preschoolers penmanship, but don’t be discouraged. With practice each post will get better. Even the greatest calligrapher wrote a few backwards letters at one time.

Write for the right reasons.

The heart of good writing is passion. Nothing is harder to read than a piece of writing with no passion. It is flat and dull, and uninspiring. But, when a writer is passionate about their subject they can make even a boring technical manual into an interesting and informative read. If you write something make it something you care about. Put your heart into it. Don’t just write what others want to read… make them want to read what you have written!