Better blogging: wake the jester within

When I began trying to break into professional writing I was obsessed with writing “clean” copy. Grammatically correct? check. Everything spelled correctly? check. Thoroughly fact-checked? check. Boring? check. It was so clean I had scrubbed all the personality out of it. Lucky for me, an editor explained that creativity was much harder to come by than good grammar.

It took a while, but I learned to quiet my inner editor and let the words flow. Every passionate writer knows the ecstasy of hearing her “muse” whispering sweet nothings in her ear. I’d like to say my muse looks like Matt Damon, but I think of him as more of a court jester. Stay with me here.

Court jesters are known as the fools of the royal court, but they were often relied upon as trusted advisers for one reason: they spoke the truth. Their goofy clothes and wacky demeanor let them be uncommonly candid. Sometimes they lost their jobs for being too outspoken. The truth hurts. But the smartest leaders knew the value of from-the-gut commentary.

The thing is, it’s far more risky to put your jester’s words on the page than to censor yourself and put out something your high school English teacher would have approved of. But if you want your message to be heard let your inner jester be your zany accomplice. He’s got something to say. And he says it unlike anyone else in the world.

Photo credit: Ray Devlin via Flickr