Read:
The Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide
In the comments, please leave a response with your response to the article. Do you agree with all eight points?
Read:
Read:
5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang
Practise
what you read in Brian Clark’s article and craft an opening to a blog post (on
your own blog). Leave a link to your blog post in the comments.
In “The Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide” Dean Rieck makes some good points, and I agree with most of them. The intended reader should always be the target for all writing, and writing should be organized, clear, specific and concise.
ReplyDeleteAs for simplicity and style, I believe that depends on the target reader. For some readers, a simple and conversational style may be considered unprofessional and may deter the reader.
It is important to know who your intended reader is to be able to put the reader first, as Dean suggests.
Dianna I think you're right - we have to write for the reader (and the platform). Sometimes a conversational style may deter the reader but I think the arenas in which that kind of style is accepted is growing.
DeleteRegarding The Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide, I agree with all the points. I think points 3,4,5 and 6, using short paragraphs, short sentences with simple words, and being specific is critical for blogging. Most people move through information quickly, and if we want to grab their attention, we need to make it easy for them to engage with our writing.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to my blog: http://lynnestechcomm.blogspot.com/2013/04/did-you-know-highest-town-in-canada-is.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Lynne!
DeleteDean Rieck's writing tips in The Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide are intuitive and well stated. Blogging is an art form and as with any activity the more we practice it the more clarified our writing will become. I agree that it is important to tailor your writing based on your targeted audience and to use simple words whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of his points - although I felt some of them overlapped.
ReplyDeleteFrom previous training and my last career, my editors always said it best - keep it simple and write for the guy in the green pickup truck. Space is expensive, write short.
In that, I think he could have made his blog shorter and simpler. But that's just me. He is getting out the information people need. I've seen too many blogs which ramble on as if the writer is having a conversation with him/herself.
Tracy, I've been re-reading your comment and I think, on one hand, your editors were right: to keep things clear and concise. On the other hand, what I am wondering about is the metaphor of the "guy in the green pickup truck". Does that metaphor hold for today's tweet and blog readers? And, does it hold across all types of content? Context must still have a place, right? What would a metaphor be for today's online 140 character dissemination? Is there one?
DeleteThe "write for the guy in the green pickup truck" metaphor is in reference to the rural areas I lived in. It was a play on "don't use $64,000 words". As Rieck said, write "use" instead of "utilize".
DeleteThe metaphor absolutely holds true for today's tweeters and bloggers. In most cases, the most simple version of a word is the shorter version of the word, which works well within the confines of our 140-character world.
I find I have a mixed response to the advise in Dean Rieck’s Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide. Some points are hard to dispute - who could argue with a call for persuasive, organized, clear communication? But other points could be sub-titled “Dumb it Down” or “Keep it Simple Stupid”. The emphasis on short paragraphs, short sentences, and simple words may be appropriate for some audiences and for some purposes, but in many cases this advise would be inappropriate and would get in the way of effective communication. It all depends on the blog’s intended audience and the blog’s content. Clearly, a blog about the latest blockbuster movie will call for quite a different style than one about the latest developments in the search for the Higgs boson.
ReplyDeleteBlogging, like all writing has a signalling function built into it. The writer’s style is a signal to the reader about the likely content of the writing, and the depth of analysis that could be expected to be encountered. An excessively simple style may turn away some readers, just as an excessively complex style may turn away others.
I have recently done some analysis on Amazon books in the sub-category Science Fiction/Romance (it’s the category in which my wife writes, so I have a particular interest in trying to understand what makes those readers tick). The metrics used in the analysis are some standard ones that relate to word length, sentence length and paragraph length - precisely those elements that Dean Rieck mentions in his blog.
I found that the complexity of a book blurb is significantly correlated with the complexity of the reviews of that book. That is to say, blurbs that scored high on measures of writing complexity tended to have reviews associated with them that also scored high on these measures. The converse was true for books that scored low on these measures. It appears that people used the complexity of the blurb as a signal to the likely complexity of the book, and people purchased books accordingly, choosing a book with an implied literacy level similar to their own .
I think a book blurb has many similarities to a blog. In both, there is an intention to quickly rouse a reader’s interest, and persuade them to stick around for some further reading. In one case, it is to buy a book, in the other it is to attain a regular blog readership. So, the blogger should write in a style that is consistent with his intended audience and his subject of interest, rather than automatically focus on short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
I second Dale in maintaining that writing is context and target specific. While I realize the importance of writing concise and succinct sentences/paragraphs, I would also like to indulge in long, winding sentences in order to explore the beauty of language. I follow the thumb rule ‘Cut to the chase’ only when writing hard news stories like in newspaper reports. But what about blogs on art, culture, travel, or literature? One would like to take liberty with language and draw the readers into his/her world of imagination. And that’s where those fancy words fill in to set the tone for the topic/theme. People who are interested in learning new writing styles or poetic expressions, will obviously be drawn towards the blogs that satiate their hunger for extensive writing.
DeleteI agree with the term "write for the driver in the green pick-up truck" and that ones writing should be conversational. But it's situation specific as the writer may want to cater to the interest of those with literary leanings.
Trina
Here's a link to my blog post for part 2. The blogging software has been a bit buggy with my netbook so I don't know how it will turn out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6813164721310054143#allposts/src=dashboard
Here is my first blog attempt: http://nakuspcreations.blogspot.ca/
ReplyDeleteGood work. Beautiful furniture!
DeleteThat's very nice stuff.
DeleteHi Dianna! The furniture is beautiful. Thanks for posting.
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ReplyDeleteHere's another travel post attempt:
ReplyDeletehttp://lynnestechcomm.blogspot.ca/
Thanks for posting about Skoki Lodge. This hidden gem has been on my bucket list for years.
DeleteAnd I know I'm a bit late with this (blame heat exhaustion, a sick toddler, etc.), but here is my blog post...
ReplyDeletehttp://tracystrialsandtribulations.blogspot.ca/2013/05/a-note-to-all-first-time-and-expectant.html
Nice blog. We had those books when my wife was pregnant. We laughed about it later.
DeleteAh yes..I remember the days...many years ago...
DeleteThanks for giving me a chuckle Tracy....
Ah yes the dreaded pregnancy/child rearing books. I too fell victim to such nonsense and soon realized that they are a guide, a resource, and something to entertain you. My ah-ha was that I just needed common sense and faith that generations upon generations of woman and children had experienced and endured much greater odds than what I would/could do. So far...this seems to be true, knock on wood.
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ReplyDeleteHi! I personally like the eight points mentioned in the Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide. As a former editor of a community newspaper I always appreciate articles that were clear and concise, organized and written to evoke a connection with the reader. I think a blog is like a community newspaper in that it doesn't have to conform to rigid styles and rather tries to connect with like-minded individuals. I also agree with Dianna in saying that this may not always be the case and that writers should connect to their reader and use language that is appropriate to what they service or good they are providing.
ReplyDeletewtm, thanks for your feedback. Interesting that you liken a blog to a community newspaper. That is quite a departure from the oft-used idea that bloggers just post about cats (that's what FB is for!). I think you're right, and that blogging has really acquired more of a news-sharing identity. just look at this stat: 81& of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs.
DeleteThanks for the push on getting me started on blogging. It is something I have always considered but never knew how/where to begin. The exercises, articles, and videos have started the juices running. Here is my blog and what I would write about in future blog posts.
ReplyDeletehttp://wtm-thejourney.blogspot.ca
Great work so far! Thanks for sharing with us.
DeleteSome interesting future topics on your blog. I particularly liked "Optimist is someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha." (Robert Bault)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Here is my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://letztlkleadership.blogspot.ca/
Hope you enjoy reading it.
Trina
Here is my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://letztlkleadership.blogspot.ca/
Hope you enjoy reading it.
Trina