Some blogging tips

‘Go forth and blog’. Pope Benedict to his priests

Blogging is exciting. You have flexibility and total control over your blog. You can blog about anything, at any time, at any length. So, first, there are no rules on blogging. However, I would like to share some tips that I shared with a friend who was considering to start a blog:

1.    Don’t worry what you should blog about. Don’t worry if a thousand books have already been written on the topic you have in mind. No two people read the same book. No two people see the same thing.

2.    First sentence is so important. You can lose readers with a bad first line. OK, you witnessed a shootout on your way to college and you want to share it. If you start by saying how your day began, what clothes you were wearing that day, or what the definition of a ‘shootout’ is; you can make the gunfight seem boring. Instead, you can start with something like ‘Bang bang!’ (Writing a story doesn’t have to always start from the beginning). If you have read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the first sentence sets the tone for the entire novel.

3.    Write short sentences. A one word sentence can do wonders. If your readers have to catch their breath to complete your sentences, you will exhaust and lose them.

4.    Like a steady stream of water, let a sentence flow to the next. Maintain a flow and carry your readers along. Don’t lose them midway. Try to take them to the end.

5.    Never fall in love with your first draft. Edit, edit, edit. Sleep over it. Edit again.

6.    Don’t just write. Show people. Let readers see, visualize, imagine what you are saying.

7.    Don’t draw attention to yourself. Draw readers to what you are saying. Some writers can be self-centred and write for self gratification than care for the readers.

8.    Be interesting. But don’t try too hard. Trying too hard to be funny can take the life out of a good joke.

9.    Good writing is simple ABC: Accuracy, Brevity, Clarity, says Reader’s Digest. Oh yeah!

10.    Break the rules but after having learned the rules (of grammar/writing). Being too technical or formal, like a government policy document, wouldn’t work well in blogging. But too much slang/over-saturated urban dictionary stuffs will not be taken seriously or enjoyed.

11.    Don’t just present cold facts, for example, that book says that or this place is 1049.01 metres above sea level. Say what you think about them.

12.    But at the end of the day, you have to put it out. Editing can be tiring and you think you are still not ready to post it. Remember, there is no perfectly written piece. Blogs have the option to edit after posting articles.

13.    Post regularly. Readers visit your blog and find nothing new. Next week, no update, and the same the week after. Chances are they won’t visit again. The attraction of facebook is that each time you log in, you find something new.

14.    Have a focus. You can blog about anything under the sun but if you have a specialty or a direction, people will search you for that. A travel blog will be consulted for travel advice; a health blog will be sought for health issues; a fashion blog for the latest fashion trends; a politics blog for political analysis.

15.    You can opt to put advertisements and make money. Promote your blog. But don’t be a spammer.

Happy blogging

www.thatchhouse.blogspot.in