I think this is good advice for people whose posts regularly get over 100 karma.
I think that people who struggle to post don’t need extra hoops to jump through. I find this forum hard enough to post on as it is.
I’m not saying you’re wrong but I think it’s good advice for a certain group.
Likewise I think different media require different tones. Twitter is much better for summaries. This is good for dense long form. Should articles here have more pictures? I don’t know.
I think we have chosen to make this forum stark and dense. If we want content to be more charming, I suggest we should think about the colour scheme or profile pictures. Perhaps there should be a second forum optimised for friendlier more externally sharable content. Certainly the current style is a choice.
I agree with both points. I think that we don’t want to add more barriers to writing. There’s a risk that this post could do this.
I agree also, though, that writing more engagingly can actually encourage people to write more. For two main reasons:
It’s more fun to write fun things. When you write, you’re also reading what you write. So if it’s fun to read, it’s fun to write it too! I find myself much more likely to write if I allow myself to have fun with it.
It’s motivating for your post to have more engagement, see the point above. It feels way more exciting to write if you have more engagement from the community, which is more likely if it’s . . . well, if it’s engaging :P
Also totally agree with your point that this advice isn’t for everybody. The law of equal and opposite advice definitely applies.
As someone with little writing experience, and a plan to write more—I found this post motivating and useful! The “stop trying to be serious and respectable” point hit the nail on the head for me. I don’t have a strong background in writing, and when I do write something I set a high internal bar for what is “serious and useful enough”.
Personally, I don’t see aiming to have engaging writing as an extra hoop. I find it decreases the resistance because I feel like I can write with a more authentic & natural tone. I’m more of a speaker than I am a writer, which I think tends to cause my writing to be overly verbose (as I just write what I would say).
But this post had really useful tips for where I’m at—I’m sure I’ll be referring to this several times in the near future. Thanks Kat!
I think making EA content more entertaining/engaging (or having content that achieves this e.g. submissions to the Creative Writing Contest) is a great way to spread EA ideas. The same goes for YouTube videos and other forms of media. Generally speaking, more entertaining = more engaging = more likely to spread. Not to mention that people are more likely to act when emotionally engaged rather than merely intellectually.
I find I really like this comment. I don’t really know exactly why and don’t have time to spend figuring that out, but I figured I’d put that out there. (I suppose if you’re looking for encouragement to write more, there it is. )
Also, +1 to “people are more likely to act when emotionally engaged rather than merely intellectually.”
I think this is good advice for people whose posts regularly get over 100 karma.
I think that people who struggle to post don’t need extra hoops to jump through. I find this forum hard enough to post on as it is.
I’m not saying you’re wrong but I think it’s good advice for a certain group.
Likewise I think different media require different tones. Twitter is much better for summaries. This is good for dense long form. Should articles here have more pictures? I don’t know.
I think we have chosen to make this forum stark and dense. If we want content to be more charming, I suggest we should think about the colour scheme or profile pictures. Perhaps there should be a second forum optimised for friendlier more externally sharable content. Certainly the current style is a choice.
If you are struggling to post, maybe getting more upvotes and views would help motivate you?
I personally am more motivated to write things people will actually see and get value from.
If I write things that are more interesting, more people on average will see them.
I agree with both points. I think that we don’t want to add more barriers to writing. There’s a risk that this post could do this.
I agree also, though, that writing more engagingly can actually encourage people to write more. For two main reasons:
It’s more fun to write fun things. When you write, you’re also reading what you write. So if it’s fun to read, it’s fun to write it too! I find myself much more likely to write if I allow myself to have fun with it.
It’s motivating for your post to have more engagement, see the point above. It feels way more exciting to write if you have more engagement from the community, which is more likely if it’s . . . well, if it’s engaging :P
Also totally agree with your point that this advice isn’t for everybody. The law of equal and opposite advice definitely applies.
As someone with little writing experience, and a plan to write more—I found this post motivating and useful! The “stop trying to be serious and respectable” point hit the nail on the head for me. I don’t have a strong background in writing, and when I do write something I set a high internal bar for what is “serious and useful enough”.
Personally, I don’t see aiming to have engaging writing as an extra hoop. I find it decreases the resistance because I feel like I can write with a more authentic & natural tone. I’m more of a speaker than I am a writer, which I think tends to cause my writing to be overly verbose (as I just write what I would say).
But this post had really useful tips for where I’m at—I’m sure I’ll be referring to this several times in the near future. Thanks Kat!
I think making EA content more entertaining/engaging (or having content that achieves this e.g. submissions to the Creative Writing Contest) is a great way to spread EA ideas. The same goes for YouTube videos and other forms of media. Generally speaking, more entertaining = more engaging = more likely to spread. Not to mention that people are more likely to act when emotionally engaged rather than merely intellectually.
I find I really like this comment. I don’t really know exactly why and don’t have time to spend figuring that out, but I figured I’d put that out there. (I suppose if you’re looking for encouragement to write more, there it is. )
Also, +1 to “people are more likely to act when emotionally engaged rather than merely intellectually.”