Jerry Springer. Everyone knows the name though no one will admit to watching the show. It’s been on for decades and yet the show’s host, Jerry Springer, admits he doesn’t watch it. Why? In an article published on the Huffington Post, the talk show host said “I don’t watch the show, but it’s not aimed at 66-year-old men. If I were in college, I would watch. I enjoy doing it. It’s a lot of fun.”
I’d wager there are several (hundred) writers that don’t read what they write. Whether it is a blog post, column or article, many writers finish the piece, edit it, send it and forget it. Those that do miss an important opportunity to grow. I know, because I used to be one of them.
It seems ridiculous to spend so much time on something only to abandon it once it has been published. In my mind I was staying on the fast track – write the piece and hit the next project. The opportunity to learn from myself was lost.
When you reread your own work after it has been published you get to see things you have done well and you also see areas where you can improve. Self-assessment is an important step to growing as a writer. This self-assessment, however, must be tempered by reality. I know writers who agonize over every missed turn of phrase or comma and completely by-pass what worked well in the article.
You’ll always be able to find something you could have done better. What you want to find are the trends that affect your writing. Are your conclusions consistently weak? Do you have trouble with transitions? Are you following a staid writing pattern: paragraph, quote, fact, paragraph, quote…?
Identify your success patterns and the patterns that are in need of improvement. Pay closer attention to these patterns when you write your next piece. If you apply what you learn about yourself consistently, you’ll become a better writer and a better editor. Read what you write. You may just be surprised.
Do you read your own work? Are you consistent or sporadic?
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