即使没有读者，你应该写博客(You should blog even if you have no readers)

今天，想翻译一下Nathan Marz一篇博文(Nathan Marz是Storm创始人).

Spencer Fry wrote a great post on "Why entrepreneurs should write." I would further add that the benefits of writing are so extraordinary that you should write a blog even if you have no readers (and regardless of whether you're an entrepreneur).

I have over 50 unfinished drafts. Some of them are just a few ideas scribbled down arguing with myself. Most of them will never be published, yet I got value out of writing all of them.

Writing makes you a better reader

Blogging has changed how I read other people's writing.

In struggling to find the right ways to structure and present my posts, I am much more attuned to what makes a good argument and what makes a bad argument. I am better at seeing holes in other people's reasoning.

At the same time, when reading I am less likely to fall into the trap of discrediting a post with weak counterclaims. In most any post, there are likely to be counterclaims that are based on exceptional cases. Internet commenters love to point these out. However, these exceptional cases miss the main thrust of the post, and by understanding the implicit backdrop behind a post's argument, I get a lot more value out of reading.

I'm also more aware of the style of good writers. I mentally take note of the ways good writers phrase their ideas. I'd always enjoyed Paul Graham's writing, but now I really appreciate how he organizes his posts. He has an awesome ability to suck you into his world and show you what it looks like from his perspective. I've learned a lot about good writing from reading Bradford Cross's blog; his posts have a clear arc and make excellent use of short paragraphs to keep the posts flowing.

Writing makes you smarter

Writing reveals holes in your thinking. When your ideas are written and looking back at you, they're a lot less convincing than when they're just in your head. Writing forces you to mature your ideas by thinking through counterarguments.

Writing helps you organize your thoughts in a coherent way. This makes you a much better conversationalist when these topics come up. I can't count the number of times I've had deeper conversations with people because I had matured my ideas offline.

Consider anything else a side benefit

Everything else writing gives you -- personal branding, networking, inbound opportunities -- are just side benefits. They're potentially very large side benefits, but they are not the main reason you should write.

You should write because writing makes you a better person.

     斯宾塞.弗赖伊（Spencer Fry）写了一篇关于“为什么企业家应该写作”的好文章 。我愿意进一步添加一些写作的益处，它是如此特别以至于你即使没有读者也应该写博文(不管你是不是一个企业家)。       

     我有超过50篇没有完成的草稿，它们中的一些仅仅是几个抄下来与自己争论的观点而已，大部分将绝不会完成，原因是我曾经已经获得了写下它们的价值。

写作使你成为一位很好的读者

        博客已经改变了我阅读其他人写作的形式。

     在挣扎中找到正确的方式去构造和呈现我的帖子，我大多数受教于什么成就了一个好的辩论和什么造成一个糟糕的争论。我擅长在别人理由中洞察缺陷。

     然而，当阅读帖子的时候，我很少会陷入对一个帖子质疑的陷阱中，原因是自己的反驳的理由不充分。在大多数帖子中，有可能会基于特殊情况而进行反驳。因特网的评论者爱去指出这样的问题。尽管如此，这些特殊情况忽略了这篇帖子的主要层面，通过理解隐藏在帖子争论点的幕后背景，我获得了阅读之外的更多的价值。

     我也更多地意识到好作者的风格。在精神上，我注意到好作者叙述他们的观点的方式。我始终喜欢欣赏Paul Graham的写作。但是现在，我真的好佩服他是如何组织它的帖子的。他有一个极好的能力吸引你到他的世界，向你展示，他的观念中它该是什么样子。我已经从Bradford Cross的博客中学习到许多关于写好写作的技能；它的帖子有一个清晰的弧线，充分利用短的段落来保持帖子的灵动性。

写作能够使你更加聪明

     写作显露出你想法的缺陷。当你的观点被写下了，回顾你当时写时的想法，你会发现这些想法比起当初在你头脑中还要难让人信服。通过透彻地思考辩论，写作强制你去锤炼你的思想。

     写作帮助你以一致的方式来组织你的想法。当这些话题出现时，这使你变成一位特别健谈的人。我已经数不清有多少次我与人民深入交流，因为我在线下已经有很成熟的想法。

考虑事物其它方面的好处

          写作给你带来个人的烙印、人际网、国内的机会 ，这些都是方方面面的好处。它们潜藏着非常巨大的好处，但是，它们不是你应该写作的主要原因。

      你应该写作因为写作使你成为一位更好的人。