Writing Good Blogs
By Jesse S. Somer
There’s a lot of blogs out there on the Web,
most of which don’t entice one to go back regularly to read
updates. What is missing from these on-line journals that would essentially
make them ‘good’ blogs?
Well, the answers in life usually come down to simplicities.
So let’s look at the problem like we were children. Children
don’t complicate life with miscellaneous information, and when
they speak they tell you straight to the point exactly how they feel
and think about a subject.
First of all, we should ask the questions,"Why do blogs exist?
And what are they here for?"
Well, in an ideal world ‘good’ blogs would
help people connect, sharing knowledge and feelings about issues in
life. As they are journals written by individuals we would hope that
they’d be readable and open to comment by all other people,
not just a select group of friends.
The key is speaking in a way that is understandable
by the masses, get rid of acronyms and local slang that only few will
comprehend. Keep the sentences grammatically simple and generally
short and concise.
Try to write in your blog as often as possible because if people enjoy
reading your thoughts and ideas they’ll want to communicate
or at least be filled in regularly on ‘your world’.
Ask questions, comment on other blogs of similar content,
start communities with others you’ve never met, based on your
interests.
Keep focused; if your blog is about thoughts on war
and peace, keep your thoughts on the latest movie and how hungry you
are for somewhere else. The idea is to incite intelligent communication
so that in time our collective stockpile of knowledge and wisdom will
gradually grow like a tree in fertile soil.
I think of most importance is the fact that you want this journal
to be ‘good’ reading. Of course we all have ideas about
what genres and styles we like, but writing from your heart and soul
is imperative for the connection with others that you’re looking
for.
Share yourself; don’t hide behind walls of fear
of ridicule and judgment. In real life relationships trust, respect,
intimacy, and unity are all necessary for a bond to form. It’s
the same in the ‘virtual’ world; people want to hear from
real people-not just one-sided, highly opinionated arguments from
egos that don’t want to hear the ‘other side of the coin’.
Now, in my last article I really tore apart most writers out there,
and here I’m giving some pretty complex ideas on how to fix
the problem of ‘bad’ writing. In my next article I’ll
attempt to go back to the simple basics of how to write for beginners.
I hope I haven’t come across as too judgmental,
I just truly believe the ‘blog world’ could become a real
asset to humanity, and at the moment it’s missing the mark.
Ideas about sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, using a thesaurus
(varying terms used so as not to sound repetitive), whether or not
your blog is suitable for a personal or professional approach, are
all important to creating a simple and enjoyable read for the blogging
visitor. If you are a beginner, please check out my next article on
the basics.
Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net
Jesse S. Somer is a writer hoping to help potential bloggers to write
interesting and informative on-line journals.
