You passionately want to be a “real” writer.

A writer whose work is an authentic expression of your true self.

The problem is, you feel disconnected from everything you write. It’s like you’re the ghostwriter on a project nobody commissioned.

And sometimes you wonder if you should just give up on the idea of starting a blog.

After all, if you were destined to be a writer, it wouldn’t be this hard, would it?

But in truth, it just means you haven’t found your groove.

More specifically, you haven’t decided what kind of writer you want to be.

The firebrand? The storyteller? The visionary? The guru?

Successful templates abound, but you’re unsure which (if any) is authentically you.

And you’re making a mistake if you believe that question can be answered by careful thought alone.

In fact, if you’re serious about finding your stride as a writer, the answer is a little unexpected.

You must immerse yourself in the writing of others.
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You choose your audience.

You choose your topic.

You choose your theme, your plugins, your widgets.

You choose when to write, what to write, and how to write it.

You decide all of those things because you’re the boss, and you answer to nobody.

But let’s face it; few endeavors are as independent-spirited as blogging.

And that’s why, as the holiday weekend approaches in the US, we’re delighted to showcase a collection of outstanding posts created by bloggers who truly embrace that spirit of independence by sharing their ideas, on their terms, with a waiting world.

Some have just started a blog and are tentatively taking their first steps; others are experienced bloggers who continue to hone their craft.

But regardless of where you’d place yourself on that spectrum – or even if you’re only now thinking of launching a blog – you’ll find plenty here to motivate and inspire you.
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Give yourself credit.

You’re a solid writer with good ideas.

But… you feel like you’ve reached a plateau.

People like your writing, but they don’t love it.

They find your content useful, but not essential.

Even your best ideas never seem to catch fire.

And you can’t help wondering why.

Maybe you just have to be patient and wait for your audience to come around.

But then again, maybe it’s not that. Maybe your writing is missing something.

Because when you read the work of your favorite writers, their ideas are so clear, so vivid, so damn easy-to-understand that they light up your brain.

And while you hope your readers feel the same about your writing, you secretly suspect they don’t.

Here’s the difficult truth – you’re probably right. Your writing is missing something.

And it could well be this…
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“Am I getting better at this?”

It may be the most important question you can ask yourself as a writer.

If  you’ve never thought to ask it before, go ahead and do it now.

And be honest. Are you a better writer than you were three months ago? A year ago? Three years ago?

If the answer’s “No” (or even “Yes, but not by much”) then you face a serious problem.

Because your skill as a writer is key to your success as a blogger.

Sure, skillful writing won’t guarantee your success, but a lack of skill will sure as hell hinder it.

But if your writing isn’t improving fast enough, there’s some good news…

It doesn’t mean you’re a slow learner.

It just means you’re not engineering enough opportunities to improve.

Let’s find out how, shall we?
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It’s a deeply troubling thought, isn’t it?

That even your best ideas might be a little… ordinary.

Particularly if you dream of online success. The Internet hates ordinary.

Actually, scratch that; the Internet totally ignores ordinary. It doesn’t even register on the chart.

So naturally, you feel envious when other writers get noticed with ideas that aren’t ordinary at all.

Your jealousy is tinged with admiration, and you can’t help but wonder how they do it.

How come their ideas are so great when the ones that pop into your head are so damn average?

Newsflash – these people are not fundamentally more creative than you.

They just understand something about the nature of ideas that nobody told you yet.
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