how bearblog makes me a better writer
I believe consistent Bearblogging has made me a better writer, but not in the way you might think. I don't mean it has drastically perked my English grammar or refined my sentence structure (though these have definitely been a bonus). Instead, it makes me write more, and, subjectively, that is my definition of a good writer: someone who writes.
Before Bearblog, I had a penchant for perfectionism with writing, which made me avoid it for years. For my first blogpost, I was rusty from the lack of practice, and I faced difficulty expressing my internal chaos of thoughts & ideas into coherent phrasing. I was practically forcing out words. That paid off, though, because regular Bearblogging has made my words come more naturally now. I easily phrase whatever crosses my mind, writing as I go along. I am no longer intimidated. I maintain a simple, conversational tone, like a public diary, like I am talking to a friend.
Bearblogging also makes me think with more clarity, makes me scrutinize my surroundings more mindfully. Whenever I read a compelling excerpt or engage in an interesting conversation with a friend, for example, I take immediate note to share it in a blogpost. I observantly take notes of my environment, of my thoughts, my feelings, of the interesting and the mundane. In a way, I begin the process of blogging in that present moment. Living in my head, my days were one giant blur, but consistent writing has been excellent practice to feel more present in my life.
It also makes me develop more ideas, which leads me to write even more, making me a better writer. As I write this, I thought of another blogpost - how about I explore more of what makes a good writer? See - it is like this. As I discussed in a previous post, I am a firm believer that great ideas, as writers, don't form magically on a whim, but they are a result of multiple existing ideas that happen to interconnect at the perfect time. In other words, one writing idea leads to an even grander one.
My biggest takeaway from regular blogging is that proficiency in writing is less about innate ability and perfect grammar, and more about the persistent practice of putting pen to paper (or in our case, fingers to keyboard). It takes courage to write despite our fears. To everyone on Bearblog, my advice to you is to keep writing. Forever.