Patty – Writing like you talk is something an old English teacher of mine preached often. I always thought he was a great teacher. We had a rule in class, you could say anything you wanted in your writing (referring mostly to bad language), but if called out for it, you had to justify why you used those particular words. It was always an interesting exercise when someone did use some choice words.

Brandie – Thanks. If I wasn’t thirsty to learn as much as I could, I probably would have never wound up here.

Joshua – I started my commenting career right here. Soon after, I found myself writing here. Talk about perks!

The perks that come with that extra bit of effort are priceless!

Brandie

Doug – You’ve got a great point too…comments make the author feel good. They help them feel like they’re not talking to themselves, which in turn encourages them to continue. Don’t you all wish you had never commented on my stuff now?

Bill – Just wait until I’m two! As I say (all the time), it’s thanks to people like who were there long before me that stepped up, welcomed me, and never said no when I said “do you have a minute?” Thanks.

Ken – I think you just solved next weeks writing problem. Thanks!

It’d be interesting to hear what you thoughts are about your very first posts. How your style, structure, approach, etc. has evolved. I’m saying you should write a post about it, I’m saying it’s crazy to look back at what you wrote a year ago and think about how you’d write it now.

Good stuff.