I'm just some guy on the internet
I was reviewing a post I had drafted about markdown (of all things), when I noticed the following line:
I want to stress that using these features is not wrong. All that matters is keeping track of which additional syntax you used, and which concept it emulates. For example, admonitions are a common addition, but are handled differently by most platforms.
As I sat back and thought about it, I noticed the absurdity of “is not wrong”. What I really mean to say is that I don’t think it’s incorrect. It’s my opinion, and yet I was stating it as if it were a fact. Reflecting on the way I write (and speak) more generally has been on my mind lately, so picking up this thought felt timely. Why did I write it that way, and what could I focus on improving moving forward?
What is the worth of reading opinion
I believe that for technical topics many people are seeking out content to answer a particular question. “How do I hook up a database to a Django application?”, or in the case of this blog, a lot of people seem interested in the question “What is the best way to setup a notetaking system?”. I try to be as efficient and direct as possible in communicating the way that I have done something, as this is the only way I feel I can write from a place of expertise. There is a sea of content, what is the worth of reading something that says “this is maybe correct, I don’t really have a clue”.
Many professional communication classes will teach students about reducing the use of qualifiers, especially in the workplace. Qualifiers make you sound less professional, less competent, and less likely to be asked again. Yet, the more I reflect on the nature of professionals in my life that I respect, the more I recognize the importance of providing a level of confidence alongside your opinion of the correct decision. A doctor will have a diagnosis (their decision), but I would also like to know if they are extremely confident or were almost swayed by another idea.
Over-qualifying can be its own problem
When writing, I use the words “I think” or “I believe” more times than I can bear to admit[1]. When speaking, I probably begin 30% of my sentences with “I think”, and I really wish I had more variety in my repertoire. For whatever reason, it just feels natural. I have a thought, it’s just my thought, and by presenting it as such, it is automatically qualified.
This also plays into active versus passive voice. I write and speak in the passive voice consistently, and am unsure how I feel about it. It is almost as if I am a character in a novel that I am writing, the voice in my head dictating the next line in the plot while my hands type it out.
I’m just some guy, on the internet
I want to keep this brief, because the message that I am trying to convey is simple. I’m just some guy, on the internet. I know some things, but not everything (not even everything about one thing), and I think (there it is) this could be better reflected in the way I write. I’ve also learned through this blog that it is difficult to write well. Especially when you get into the nitty-gritty (does nitty gritty have a -, or is it two words?)[2] of grammatical rules. Perhaps similar to coding, there is a way to write that is passable, and then there is writing that follows best-practices.
If you also write (in any capacity), I’m curious how you feel about your own writing? Do you notice styles or patterns? Maybe you have a particular phase that you always seem to fall back to. How do you feel about writing more broadly?