Since I started publishing online, my writing has improved.
Conventional advice tells us to write as if no one is watching. One of the principles from Andy Matuschak’s public notebook is to write for yourself and not an audience.
However, that’s only useful for getting your first words down. If you’re trying to improve consistently, you need a forcing function. For me, knowing there’s an audience makes me want to write better.
I know this is my ego talking, but it’s effective. It leads to good reading for my audience and commitment from myself.
We all do our best work when we see someone watching.
This is true on a macro level as well. Cities build differently for expos. It’s also evident in The buildings we decide to keep.
When people are watching, we act how we want to be seen.