... they can't all be the best.
There have been columns that when started I was sure were going to be excellent yet somehow didn't bloom into the expected flower, didn't sculpt into the desired shape. On the other hand, there have been columns that start out with very few expectations, or with a feeling of "let's get this over with" yet somehow took wing and soared to become some of my favorites. (And sometimes metaphors got so mixed that I began to wonder why I even clicked "save" for the page that they're on.) Some columns are good because of their content, others perhaps despite it. Some succeed in being playful, others seem overly forced. Some even venture dangerously close to trying to seem profound, but I hope I've nipped the vast majority of those in the bud.
When what turns out to be only a passable (or worse) column gets posted I can console myself with the claim that the Boidem isn't simply a single column, but a collection of columns that's constantly taking shape and constructing a whole by which it can be judged.
Go to: How to write a Boidem column.