Editing 2023-12-09 A wiki supports writing as a operator

[2023-12-09 Sat 09:26] Related: OddmuWiki BlogPublished OddmuseWiki SocialOutreach MentalModels MyCommentary PublishingOnline [[2023-07-16 More thoughts on this website and oddmuse|A previous post]] talks about my journey to oddmuse and the fact that I like the idea of the wiki as an 'open writing' experience and as a place of 'public but flexible' growth. This flexibility is as opposed to a 'static' website which is necessarily in a 'published' state. These thoughts have extended to considering what writing meant to me, and whether I could actually ever write anything of value and quality without dedicating myself to writing full time. WillLarson talks about [https://readwise.io/reader/shared/01hh5nthfec5mtfzawdfp0f4ka writing as an operator] versus writing full time and I found that I resonated with his thoughts, atleast as of today. Writing as an operator can enable one to be closer to the 'actual problem' as opposed to being close to the 'art of writing' itself or the community of opinionated writers and critics. This is crucial to generate insight, as well as mull on potential solutions without a constant stream of opinionated distractions. As a craft and an art - a deliberate practice including publishing content, reviews and soliciting feedback should result in improvement - hopefully at a sufficient rate though this particular aspect may happen at a slower rate than when one is focused full time on writing. The slower rate may even be more 'wholesome' instead of being unhealthily obsessed. See my old post on the movie [[2017-08-11 Notes on the movie Whiplash| Whiplash]] I think another important aspect to consider distinguish here that WillLarson has already published books that were (probably) reasonably well received. Reaching that point by itself, consistently, is a challenge even without considering the financial implications of the process and profession. I think the vast majority of full time writers are not exactly 'flush with money' sourced only from their writing. The need for more money would necessitate writing 'commercially' and catering to things that 'people want to read about' as opposed to engaging with a problem of interest, and finding a solution. However, this is not a question of going 'all in. There is a balance to be looked at, and I suspect it is a dynamically shifting balance shaped by current needs and perspective. > Hoffman admitted that he sometimes appeared in big-budget studio films for the money, but said, "ultimately my main goal is to do good work. If it doesn't pay well, so be it." - [Philip Seymour Hoffman - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Seymour_Hoffman) [2023-12-26 Tue] It felt like the paragraphs above did not talk about the benefits of the wiki style of approach as much as I had intended to. The 'flexible' part of a wiki, wherein 'nothing is truly complete' and will always be improved is in my opinion a significant accelerator of 'writing'. It relieves the excessive pressure of needing to write too well, while getting things out there - since as an operator - you are busy with many other things, and the goal with a blog or my ZettelkastenNotes is more about sharing thoughts and inviting feedback rather than producing 'complete work'. Interestingly, I was reflecting that I tend to re-read and tweaked my published wiki notes far more than the ones languishing in my local notes. The search based paradigm of grouping notes based on the occurrence of a keyword or any word enables older notes to pop up easier. Being a wiki - I no longer have to actively note where and when I create updates, and anybody revisiting an article can understand the recent history, without needing to delve into git. The number of days major changes are kept can be adjusted, keeping in mind CommunityWiki:ForgiveAndForget . That is a separate topic where I hope to talk more about how I see this wiki shaping up.

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