Just because you’re bloggers doesn’t mean you’re good writers.
There. I said it. In writing so I can’t take it back.
For some reason, some bloggers are happy with that. “I write like I talk!” they say. “Haha! I’m really bad with grammar,” they laugh. Like good grammar is a negligible element of writing a blog.
I beg to differ. While yes, blogging is different than writing a novel, or even a magazine article, that is not a reason for not doing your very best to be a good writer. I don’t expect Jane Eyre, but I do expect you to try.
And of course, good writing is more than excellent grammar (though that’s certainly a good place to start!). Really great writing has a flow, and good writers can use their words to lead their readers through a wave of emotion.
I myself am not an English major. I hold no degrees that will give my words authority. I do my best, though, and I have learned over the years some things that can help you be a better writer.
Write. A lot
The more you write, the better you get, so try to write as often as you can. Ideally, set aside time to write almost every day. Good writing is a skill that can be learned and can improve with practice.
Jot down ideas as they come to you
Keep a pad or notebook handy and write down ideas the moment you think of them. It doesn’t matter how vague, write it down. Otherwise, and I know from experience, you will forget that great idea you had. I use Evernote, which I love because it syncs with my phone, tablet, and laptop. Always at my fingertips.
Read great writing
Have you ever noticed that there are some people out there that can write about paint drying and make it interesting? Those are the writers worth studying. How do they do that? Storytelling, humor, insight, a combination of those things. Take notice of what the writers that you love are doing to keep you reading and coming back. Don’t copy them, of course, but learn from them.
Don’t write too much
For a change, I’m not talking about what Google likes or search engine optimization. I’m talking about how long your post should be so that it is engaging and informative without being drawn out and boring. Be concise, not wordy. If you have a lot of information to share, your post may be long. That’s okay. But if you have just a little to share, it makes sense that your post should be shorter. Don’t use words as filler.
Brainstorm and plan
While sitting down and just writing in an excellent exercise, spending time on the planning stage will help you write clearly and concisely. If you have an idea of what you want to say before you begin to write, your writing will flow. If it helps you, you can even sketch out an outline of key points that you want to write about.
Find a quiet place
For this one, I should take my own advice as I often write at my dining room table with the television going in the background. It can be…distracting. If you can, find a space where you can focus on your words. Turn off the television, email, phone, etc. It’s harder to turn off the kids and the dogs, but if you can, that is helpful too.
Grammar, grammar, grammar
If you didn’t learn them in school, please learn some basic grammar skills. As a published writer, which is what you are as a blogger, you should know the difference between your and you’re; there, their, and they’re; etc. Grammarly is an excellent tool that can catch many grammar errors. I use the free version and it is constantly reminding me when to use a comma (or not), it catches my spelling and grammar mistakes, and generally behaves like a cranky high school English teacher. Which is a good thing. Here are some of the most frequent grammar mistakes that I find.
Be Conversational, but…
Yes, blogging is more relaxed and conversational than, say, a magazine article. You may feel like you’re talking to friends, which is true to a certain extent. That doesn’t mean that friends don’t have standards and expectations for decent writing, though. Casual, yes. Sloppy, no.
Tell a story
If you can tell a story, you can use those skills for any type of writing. Whether you are discussing weight loss (remember that time when you put those 10 pounds back on?), fashion (fashion failures make the successes much more interesting), or parenting (that is an easy one), storytelling skills will carry you.
Proofread. Out loud.
Reading your writing out loud will help you catch mistakes. Reading it to someone else is great, as is having someone read it to you. This will help you get a feel for the flow of your writing. Does it sound stilted? Is it overly wordy? Reading aloud will also help you catch overused words, as well as spelling and grammar mistakes.
Edit and revise
After proofreading, go back and edit out your mistakes. Revise your wording as necessary, trim it down, clean it up. Then…
Proofread again
By the time I publish a post, I’ve usually proofread it three or four times. And I will still find a mistake occasionally after I’ve published it. Always take one last read-through before hitting that publish button. Sometimes even the process of editing may have left another error.
Becoming a good writer isn’t easy. It takes work, practice, and patience. But with all of that, it is possible to improve your writing and to become the best writer that you can be.
What have you done to improve your writing? Do you have tips to share?
Looking for more writing tips? Check out:
“Workout” is Not a Verb. And Other Grammar Gripes
5 Tips to be a Better Storyteller (and how it will improve your blog)
13 Tips to Help You Overcome Blogger’s Block
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Sunday Blog Hop with Jenn
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Anything Goes with Marilyn
Bonnie, the Pin Junkie
Tip Tuesday with Debbie in Shape
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Michelle, Sarah, and Angelena Marie
Wednesday Wisdom with Nanna’s Wisdom
The Blogger’s Pit Stop with Kathleen
Let’s Get Real with Karen.
Friday Fitness with Jill
Fitness Friday with Miranda
my biggggest tip would be WRITE, PUT AWAY FOR AT LEAST A DAY, and then EDIT EDIT EDIT
the sentences you love? the perfect little darlings? they may need to go too
Ha! That’s so true. And putting it aside for a while is a great idea. Otherwise, I find I see what I think I wrote (if that makes sense
).
YES YES YES!! your first sentence made me LOL
and GRAMMAR IS SO IMPORTANT!!!!!! poor grammar drives me nuts!!
Me too. I always get a good response from teacher and English majors when I write about grammar :-).
I do love this so much! As a former journalism major, I cringe sometimes at what I read…
And please people! Do not use an apostrophe for a plural. Just don’t.
Apostrophes. The most misused punctuation in the English language :-).
I like to think that I am a pretty good writer, but I have a tendency towards run on sentences. Always have.
And I have a tendency to use too many parentheses (always have
). None of us are perfect, but we try.
Yes to all of this! Bad grammar and types drive me crazy when reading other blogs. We all make mistakes sometimes of course but proof reading is so important. I would rather post less often and have something meaningful to say than create a post just to post.
A lot of bloggers need to learn your second point. Seriously, people need to stop publishing a post just to fill space. I’d rather read one good post a week than 4 empty ones.
Absolutely wonderful post Debbie!
I have a degree in English and I make mistakes (particularly when it comes to spell checking) . I don’t proofread enough.
Thank you! I always think that last read through before publishing is so important. I almost always find one more error.
Such a great post, pinned it! Nothing drives me away from a blog faster than stream of consciousness rambling that’s published, as if it wasn’t possible for the blogger to go back and edit first?
I agree! It feels sometimes like some bloggers don’t even read through their work even once! Because if they did they might notice at least a few of their misspellings. Or the fact that they repeated themselves multiple times.
Thanks for the tips !This is literally the worst part of updating my website for me!!! Having to actually think of something to say!
Lol. Check my post about Blogger’s Block (the link is toward the bottom of this post). There are a few tips that can help you think of what to say.
I went to journalism school. They taught me how to write professionally. But I feel like blog writing is FAR different. I like to speak the way I talk. It’s far more conversational. My fiance always makes fun of my blog writing style because he says when he reads it (how sweet of him to read my blog, lol) he hears me talking!
I totally agree! Blogging is different. That’s why I use so many parentheses. I feel like that is how I talk :-).
All I use are “…” HA HA HA!
If it helps, I am an English major, and I found everything you said to be immensely profound and resonated well with me. Thank you for sharing this Debbie!
My favorite topic you highlighted was the call to read great writing. As a novelist myself, I find that the more I’m reading, the better I am at writing. The range of vocabulary I use increases, and I’m not stuck using the same mundane and repetitive phrases.
Great article!!
Thank you. Whenever I write a post about how to be a good writer, or how to use proper grammar I’m scared to death that an English major will come along and point out all my mistakes! Because I know that I make them. But I do try.
These are some awesome tips and great reminders. I believe practice, practice, practice is the key as well as proofreading a number of times before the published button is hit! Thanks for sharing!
I agree about practice. Just like with anything, we all improve with practice. Of course, while you practice you need to try to write well. Or it’s kind of pointless :-).
Thank you for the advice.
You’re welcome! I hope you found something useful.
Oh boy oh boy…do I ever struggle!! I’m the full-time pharmacy employee, on the side personal trainer, and marathon busy mother runner so I KNOW my blogging grammar leaves much to be desired. I enjoy blogging very much. It’s just the time I have to devote is like this: oh! I have a thought. Type. Click. Post! Ha! I have cut it back to one or two posts a week so that I have a chance to edit throughout the week. Kind of.
thank you for these super tips. I’m headed over to that grammar website you’ve suggested!
Thanks Jess. I get you. I also have a lot of irons in my fire and sometimes I feel like I just need to get the dang post published. Of course, whenever I do that, I’ll go back later, find several errors, not to mention links that don’t work.
I have been working to cut back my posts per week too, and that does help, though I find that I spend more time marketing my posts than actually writing them!
Sometimes my husband reads my posts for me to help edit, since I have a tendency to read things the way I THINK I wrote them.
I do the same thing! I really have to slow myself down and read each word. You’re lucky that your husband is helpful.
Hi Debbie! Thanks for making me sit back and think more about my writing. I feel my style isn’t bad however we can tend to fall into bad habits. Stopping by from Sunday Blog Hops
I enjoy your writing. I notice that when I read a blog, I don’t always notice good writing. I just read along, enjoying what I’m reading without thinking about it. But when the writing is bad, or there are a lot of errors, my brain rebels!
Great tips, and something to focus on as I get more serious about blogging. I will be checking out grammarly for sure!
Grammarly is very helpful. It can be annoying because it picks out every error, but I keep it because it’s better than the alternative (of making too many grammar errors).
Thanks for sharing this informative link with us at Over the Moon, Debbie I’m sure it is most appreciated by all bloggers.
Thanks Sue!
I admit my weakness is with proofreading. I usually proof it 3 times and 5 out 10 times as soon as I post it and re-read it, I find something small that I just hadn’t seen. I am getting better, it used to be 8 out of 10 times, so I know I need to keep working on this. Thanks for the tips. Found you on the #SundayBlogHop Because I’m Cheap.
It’s so easy to let things slip by, even when you’re doing your best! I know it happens to me all too frequently.
I love how you say ” Casual, yes. Sloppy, no.” That is too funny. I find that I do best when I am out of the house at a cafe when I need to really focus. I tend to write too much, but notice that when I am reading blogs, I really like posts that have sparse, broken-up text for the most part.
Thank you. I also tend to run on. When I proofread I cut a lot of stuff out of my posts. And break up the paragraphs more than I would with regular writing. It feels sort of wrong, but it looks and reads better in the end.
Great tips. I know my blog is lacking in grammer. I really bothers me. I will have to check out gramarly. Thanks.
Grammarly is very helpful. I also find reading out loud helps too. It’s easier to hear the mistakes than to read them sometimes.
These are all really good tips. I sometimes go back and read some of my earliest posts and cringe a little. The more you write, and the more you read, the better you will become
I almost always find an error in previous posts. I guess that’s why it’s a good idea to go back and “clean them up!”
Hi Debbie,
When I first started blogging I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Me learning how to blog was one thing but the comments people would leave about my poor grammer was another and at first made me feel attacked.
Then my lovely wife sat me down and told me how serious it is.
I started to study and pratice writing. Mostly I read a lot of books. Now no matter what I read I see it from a writer’s perspective.
I still have a long way to go but now I understand why it’s so important…it’s just the right thing to do.
Thanks
Vernon
I must admit, I may be guilty.
HI Debbie,
I agree with all your tips. I wish I could be better at telling stories. I don’t know if blogging tips always allows for it. Thanks for bringing it to Pit Stop.
Janice, Your Pit Stop Crew
All really great tips!
This is so true! Maybe it’s because I spent several years of my life teaching English, but it drives me NUTS when people have lots of typos in their blog posts. I understand one error here or there–I do that too–but I think our attention to details says something about the value we place on our own writing (and the readers who will see it). Your ideas for improving are great, especially not writing too much. That’s one I am always working on, because I tend to be a bit verbose (can you tell?).
Finding quality work is the key. By seeing what works for others, you can be on the road to writing success.
I fully endorse the read it out loud. I did that for every bit of writing I did in school and got good grades. I have not done that enough due to trying to fit my writing in between things during 12 to 14 hour days. Over the summer, that is one thing I am going to work on.
Yes, writing a lot is essential. After all, Practice makes you perfect. Good grammar skills are equally essential.
I have been ignoring Reading, but feel that is important as well. Exploring Medium and connecting with writers there. Hope that helps me as well.
THANK YOU! I am so thankful you put this out there! I am dyslexic and still strive to do my best and wish others would too. There is nothing worst then seeing a great blog title then the content of the blog be written poorly.