People Called Romans They Go The House

I just read a really great make-your-writing-better blog entry here. Every point in there is exactly on-the-money as far as I can see, and it made me think a little bit about my own writing. Oh, and while I’m sending you elsewhere, I found that blog entry because I read Wil Wheaton’s blog. Wil is far more interesting than I am, and sometimes when I read my stuff after I read his, mine seems to take on a certain, well…sucky quality.

If you read my initial blog entry, you know that most of my motivation for writing in this blog is the writing itself. I’ve always wanted to write, so, umm…I’m, like, writing…and stuff. I’d like to be better at conveying ideas, coming up with interesting stories to tell, choosing words, and all the other things that it means to Write.

To that end, I do edit myself as I write, and once I finish a post, I go back and read it through, as a last-chance edit, then I post it. Once it’s posted, I won’t ever go back and edit except for mistakes like spelling and grammar, or factual errors. The idea is that I want to be able to see my progress (if any) over time. I hate reading bad writing, and I’d really hate to think I’m supplying more of same via my blogs, so I’m working on it.

Why am I telling you this?

If anyone would care to comment on my posts purely from a writing critique perspective, I’d greatly appreciate it. I have another blog here which is specific to my motorcycle racing hobby, and you should feel free to comment on my writing there too, if you like. Heck, let me know if there's something you'd like me to write about, and I'll do it. I think that would be a fun excercize. Hell, if nothing else you might save yourself from reading another post like this one.

Disclaimer: if you take a look at my racing blog, you might notice that I crashed last weekend. As a result, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in 6 days, but I’m making up for it by eating Vicodin as if its Good ‘n Plenty. Please excuse the mess.

Random Thought at 3am, the Night Before Leaving for the First Race of 2006

“It’s better to burn out than fade away.”

That’s what Neil Young told us, wasn’t it? Live fast, die young, etc. While the sentiment is well-placed, and resonates with most everyone at one time or another, it’s, well…not for everyone. The flame that burns twice as brightly may very well burn half as long, but there’s something to be said for burning twice as long, albeit with reduced intensity.

Then again, as the great Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “Being shot from a cannon will always be better than being squeezed from a tube.”

He was right. Fast is better.