"Like weightlifting for bloviators"

"Blogging is like weightlifting for bloviators," writes Baldilocks:

I was kind of thrilled to find out that I could research and write a 600-word paper in three hours.

Here's a thought. Journalism schools* -- and other writing programs -- should have students maintain a blog as part of their training in good writing (probably some already do).  As our best English teachers always said, the way to become a good writer is to read good writing and write, write, write. Professors and fellow students -- and others in the blogosphere at large -- could engage the blogging students in the comments, exchanging opinions and insights in the marketplace of ideas.

*Just remembered.  New York University journalism/politics student Marina Sanchez-McEvoy was required to maintain a blog for her Digital Journalism class last spring.  The assignment was to keep an eye on Bush and Kerry official sites and blogging supporters plus interview a handful of bloggers -- including us -- from both sides of the aisle.  Not exactly the model we're thinking of, but it's a start.

Update:  InstaLanche!

Comments

[Abigail]

Too bad I can't get a Master's Degree or something simply for maintaining my blog.

[Sissy Willis]

Who knows, maybe someday? :)

[CGHill]

I've written close to 500,000 words in 8.9 years online, and I'd be hard-pressed to argue that it's improved the quality of my writing.

[Bubba]

it shore have impove my brain pire!

[A.M. Mora y Leon]

I agree.

[Kenneth Greenlee]

My suspicion is that a lot of people can write well if given "unlimited" time. What I have found for myself (which I suspect can be generalized) is that you learn how to write well quickly by blogging.

This is not an insignificant achievement. Look at Instapundit. I am sure many people think they could do what Glenn does: lots of short posts with little commentary. That's easy, right? Yes, Glenn does do a lot of that. But what Glenn is a master at (and why he is the undisputed blogfather) is he can cogently organize disparate opinions on a topic, providing many relevant links, put it all into a extremely well-written three paragraph post, all in a few minutes. That's talent.