My first reaction was to be angry, then depressed. It seemed to be saying that I wasn't a very good writer. And that hurts. I will admit to thinking that writing is among my gifts and to confess that I even carry a little bit of pride about the quality of what I create.
Apparently I was wrong.
Then I went back and looked at what the site said it tested. It says "What level of education is required to understand your blog?". It doesn't show anywhere what the standards are for that classification. Is that I don't use big words? Is it passing judgment on the quality of the ideas or the style of writing? Don't know. Doesn't say.
It didn't make it any easier when I checked back at Mimi's and discovered I was the ONLY person to score at the elementary school level. Mimi assures me that I can keep visiting her place despite my low score.
As I thought about it more I realized how much my pride was involved. What difference did it make that some site, using God only knows what standards has put this rating on me? Is it really desirable to have a blog that requires a "Genius" level to understand it? More importantly am I unhappy with what I've written? What kind of response have I gotten from those of you who stop by?
The answer is I'm quite happy with what I've written. I'm not trying for deathless prose (trying for it invariably means you fail. It either happens or it doesn't). I've been deeply flattered through the years with the mostly kind comments I've received from my readers. I don't think I've embarrassed myself or my ministry with my writing here.
So I'll keep doing what I'm doing, glad that my writing is accessible to virtually anyone. I'll keep trying to write well without any attempt to writing pretension.
I'm a simple guy using simple words to talk about a simple walk in faith.
And that's OK.
Peace
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4 comments:
JP....I don't care WHAT the test says. You are a GREAT writer. I mean it. I was just thinking the last time was reading your blog that you are a wonderful writer.
I feel like you give a lot of thought to what you say and how you say it.
I'm not sure why you were evaluated at the elementary level. I bet if elementary school kids tried to read your blog, they might not understand all of it.
Besides...I am soooo not into this pseudo-smart thing. When people start using really big words just to sound smart, I get turned off. Just speak the plain and simple truth.
You do all that beautifully. Keep on writin' my dear. I enjoy reading your blog.
Kim
DaYouthGuy, don't take this nonsense to heart. It's not about big words, because folks who use words that I have to look up to know the meaning of scored lower than I did. Anyone can read one or two of my posts and quickly discern that one would not need to be a genius to understand them.
This is not a test that you can play around with and give different answers to try to figure out what triggers a certain response, because it takes the material directly from the blog.
Can you imagine the sins of pride that I will have to confess, even though I know that the contest is pure foolishness? It's not worth it.
Cheer up, my friend. At least you got 100% on Pittsburgh
And on the positive side, I seem to remember something about the general population reading at or below an 8th grade level. Consequently, you have the chance to be read by more people.
See how that works ... :-)
You have a kindred spirit in Michael. At least people can understand what you write. That's a plus even if it doesn't feel like it at the moment. After all, you're working with kids.
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