tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839584506001378073.post1232288558742730392..comments2023-10-30T22:39:14.941+11:00Comments on Jonathan Gould, Writer: Everyone is an expert - except meJonathan Gouldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06169533695637011148noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839584506001378073.post-27819901664100250642013-12-02T13:15:16.460+11:002013-12-02T13:15:16.460+11:00Hi Jim. Thanks for the tips. I like the idea about...Hi Jim. Thanks for the tips. I like the idea about the dots in the sentences - I might take it up.Jonathan Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06169533695637011148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839584506001378073.post-7783084521369330482013-12-02T05:21:39.357+11:002013-12-02T05:21:39.357+11:00It’s all about perception. I had a girlfriend once...It’s all about perception. I had a girlfriend once who, like me (although in a different school), was a member of the debating team. Whereas I used to sit at home with my encyclopaedias checking my facts—no Internet then—she would simply make stuff up. And she got away with it! Why? Because, she told me, as long as you present any piece of information with sufficient authority then no one will question you. Second example: I was once in the company of an old couple and (Christ knows how) I got round to telling them what the four Greek words for love were to which the wife said, “Oh, he knows Greek!” Er, no, I knew four words of Greek, maybe ten—tops, but people always assume that you’re dipping into a deep well of knowledge rather than throwing everything you know out there and praying no one asks you to elaborate. You’ve read my blogs—I certainly hope you’ve read them—and you’ll see that I come across as … well, just downright clever much of the time. I am clever which is how I can pull it off but I’m nowhere near as clever as I make myself sound. Not that I aim to come across as a know-it-all but the great thing about self-deprecation (which I do all the time) is that no one really believes you. They think its false modesty. This doesn’t mean that I don’t research my posts thoroughly—I’m not beyond spending a whole week on a single post—but everything I know goes in that post and within a week or two I’ve forgotten most of what I’ve said. I’ve just uploaded the second in a two-part post on privacy and I am not joking when I say I can remember nothing, zilch, bugger all of what’s in those two articles. But every week I sit down and start to research something new because my readers have come to expect a well-written, well-researched article or book review and that’s what they get. They in turn are supposed to think, <i>Oh this looks like a great writer; must immediately order his entire back catalogue</i> but that’s where the plan falls to pieces I’m afraid. <br /><br />You may not be an expert but that doesn’t mean you’re inexperienced. People are desperately interested in the experiences of others. It’s one of the reasons why we read books. So share them. That’s what unique about you. Most lists don’t vary much but life experiences do and opinions do. You could write a whole post about how hard it is to punctuate a sentence. There’s not one of us out there who hasn’t looked at something they’ve written and wondered if all the dots, dashes and squiggles are in the right places. You don’t have to have an answer. But it’s good to share.<br /><br />This list of <a href="http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/39-things-writers-can-blog-about.html" rel="nofollow">things writers can blog about</a> might help.<br />Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.com