I just returned from teaching at the Speak Up Conference in Grand Rapids. It was a wonderful event, and I hope to be back next year. This conference started as one for speakers, but because speakers often need to write and writers often need to speak, they’ve added a writing …
Tag: Blogging
How Novelists Can Blog
There are mixed opinions about whether blogging is any good for novelists. As Caprice Hokstad noted on my post “Why You Should Be Blogging,” this kind of writing is nonfiction and doesn’t come easily to fiction writers. I myself struggled to blog consistently over at my other blog before I …
Why You Need a Picture with Your Blog Post
You may have noticed that almost every blog post you read has at least one picture with it. Often, the picture isn’t strictly necessary to understanding the topic. In fact, sometimes the images have a tenuous connection to the actual content. Nevertheless, you are well advised to include one with …
Choose Your Style Guide
I wrote before about three of the most common style books: The Chicago Manual of Style, The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style, and the Associated Press Stylebook. Two others are worth considering if you do most of your work online. The Yahoo! Style Guide is a huge compendium that not …
Grammar and Spelling Resources
Last time, we looked at the first two parts of PUGS, Punctuation and Usage. Today we’ll look at the others. Grammar In common speech, we often use “grammar” to encompass all parts of writing, including spelling and punctuation. But grammar really refers specifically to the way we assemble words into …
Don’t neglect punctuation and usage on your blog
Back in the day, amateur bloggers could often get away with sloppy craft. The novelty of the medium meant readers were very forgiving. Even today, the readers of someone’s personal blog may not care about slips such as using intrical to mean integral. But the more professional your blog is, …
Three Elements of a Good Blog Post
When writing your blog post, keep these three elements in mind. Attention-getting headlines are a must. Write your headlines with your reader in mind. Think about what sort of terms people would use on Google to find the subject you’re writing about. Put that term in your headline. Back in …
Do Your Research, but Not Too Much
Research can be a great source of ideas. It can also be a huge time sink. If you’re doing research solely for a single blog post, set a limit on your time. Decide when you will stop researching and start writing. For most blog posts, an hour or two should …
Introduce Your Readers to Someone New
Writing a feature about someone in your business can be good for almost any blogger. Nonfiction bloggers can feature industry experts, and fiction writers can highlight other authors whose readership is similar to the one you want to reach. There are several different ways to do a personality story: Profile—This …
Types of Articles You Can Write for Your Blog
In my last post, I alluded to some different types of articles you might write for your blog. Every blog post doesn’t need to be instructional or inspirational, although those are two of the most popular types. Depending on your blog’s purpose and audience, you may want to specialize in …