Much of what I want to say deals with being bombarded by outside information.  It does deal with technology to some degree, personal frustrations, nichelessness, and other such things which make me want to sometimes scream in pure frustration.  I may utilize several pieces I have been keeping in my hard drive to reflect this philosophy of writing, life, and other things, but until it happens, I make no promises.

It is in my opinion that a writer must make their writing something of their own and not let the dictates of peers, authorities, nor of the general collective hinder the writer from his cutting his own path.

All too often, by being bombarded by outside input, a writer falls into the trap of mimicking the style, the content, the genre, the voice, and the expectations of others.

While it is important to give and receive feedback, too often it seems that over exposure of the writings of others can subliminally cause one to hold back on their manner of expression and so miss out on contributing a work to society which truly speaks of an individual's true experience, expertise, and true gifts that he could otherwise extend to the world.

Or perhaps I am merely generalizing my own frustrations as a writer. Or perhaps I am making further excuses for my own lack of courage to look away from what appears to be the mainstream in regards to content seeing as I know it hinders me in even wanting to try writing what I believe I would be happiest writing while also best capturing the attention of my prospective audience. After all, people are not stupid. If what you are writing is a mere imitation, most people will be able to sense that while also being able to sense that the lackluster content of your piece is a result of, on some level, of your unwillingness to explore your niche, your experience, and your passion.

All of my life I have been told what the right thing is to do. When I say 'right' I don't mean 'right' in the sense of moral right, but rather 'right' in terms of what the proper thing is. Basically, 'right' comes down to going by what other people do and have established as the standard.

While those telling me, basically, to not think for myself and to censor myself and my gifts when they were not in line with the standard, had good intentions, in the long run, I feel that by listening to them like the servile idiot I am, I failed to expound on some of my innate abilities due to my own sense of fear and apprehension. Don't get me wrong, I lay blame on myself, but this awakens me to the danger of too much labeling and categorizing and subsequent criticizing of that which does not fit into those molds.

Criticizing does not have to come directly. I know that, being hyper-critical, I fail to expound on an idea because it seems too far off the beaten track. And so I fall victim to my own innate nature to conform.

So what is my point? My point is to say that everyone has his own way of doing things. A quality product is a quality product, but to dictate how one arrives to the destination of quality is to do far more harm than good, as far as I am concerned.