6+1 Traits of Effective Blog Writing

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Things Kids Know that We Don’t

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I’m writing a writing program again. Writing programs are like other products. They have their individual nuances. They offer particular features and benefits, but all solid writing programs offer certain things in common. The engine of any well-built writing program is the 6+1 Traits of Writing.

If you’re reading this post, it’s unlikely that you encountered the 6+1 Traits as a student. You could find plenty about them on the Web now. Unfortunately, what you found would take the form of lessons and research for teaching school children. Why should school kids and their teachers be the only ones with direct access to the information and the rest of us have to adust our thinking?

I’ve decided a simple action is in order. Read more

Don’t Fear the Blank Screen — Be a Miner

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Staring at a Blank Screen

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Staring at a blank screen does nothing for me. In fact, I recommend against it. In my way of thinking, blank things encourage more blank things. When I want my head filled with information and ideas, not with blank, emptiness I do this. Read more

Editing: Just Some of My Very Different Thoughts

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Power Editing

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Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very”; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
– Mark Twain

In the Successful Blog Cafe last week Rob at Jamdo’s article offered advice on how to strip out excess words in your posts to increase keyword density. That’s good editing advice. In fact, much of editing is taking out ALL of the words that you don’t need.

Words that Writers Don’t Need

As bloggers, we write in a conversational tone, but conversation moves fast and easy. We can correct if someone doesn’t understand what we’re saying. They can interrupt if we’re going on, and on, and on, and on. We’re likely to notice if our audience walks away while we’re still talking.

Unfortunately, we don’t have those luxuries when the words are written. More written words don’t necessarily build more bridges and rapport. Additional words can get between the reader and our message. Here are places I go to remove extra words that creep in while I’m writing. Read more

Got the Idea. Now What Do I Do with It?

Filed Under Content, Productivity, Successful Blog, Writing | 14 Comments

A quote I like a lot says

I hate writing. I love having written.

Make a Five-Minute Writing Plan

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You can at least get to be friends with writing, if you start with a simple writing plan.

I’ve got a pile of ideas. Writing the article should a breeze. Right? Well maybe. But sometimes, it isn’t. Why is that? Usually it’s because I haven’t really decided what it is I want to say. This is how to avoid that problem by making a quick writing plan.

Decide What You Want to Say (1 minute)

  • Choose the idea you’re most interested in.
  • Write one sentence stating why readers need to know about it.
  • Use that sentences a working title for now.

Plan How You’re Going to Say It (2-4 minutes)

  • Sketch, visualize, or tell yourself what three main points of the article will be. “I’ll say this and this and this.” Most articles that aren’t how-to articles only need 1-3 points well-said.
  • Add something from your personal experience–one bit– that will make a point more clearly or make the article more appealing.
  • Let the research sit there, unless you need it to look something up. It’s served it’s purpose. (See Don’t Hunt IDEAS Be an Idea Magnet.)

Five are minutes up, time to start writing!

Starting, Going, Done in Minutes

When I write I think about my audience–one person that I might be talking to. That makes it easier to frame my message. I picture a prototypical reader–always someone who likes me. Why start out with someone who doesn’t? Then the writing would take on a defensive tone. I want my writing to be friendly so I choose a friendly audience. It’s as simple as that.

Middle, Beginning, Ending

Ever sit down to tell a story and not know how to start it. Inevitably a listener will say, “Start at the beginning.” But just where is the beginning? Sometimes the beginning is the hardest part to see. That’s why I start from the middle with the main points that I just sketched out.

By starting from the middle, no blank screen can intimidate me. I know exactly what I’m going to write and in what order. I get my ideas on paper and flowing. I begin to see the article take form and imagine my readers reading it. I also get a feeling for what exactly it is that’s working.

Write Until You Need to Walk

While I write I add flourishes–metaphors and explanations. Occasionally my mind gets stuck on a word or an idea. It’s that feeling where I know what I want to say, but just can’t seem to find the words or the image to express it. That’s when I move around. Movement helps let the ideas gel. I walk around the apartment, looking at the floor and thinking–this is a no talking, no listening time–it’s sort of like putting my brain on a swing set. The sentence I am trying to write plays in my head–over and over in new versions. When I get back and sit down, I’m ready to write again. In fact, that’s how I got from the words Sometimes I walk in this paragraph to here just now.

Beginning, Ending

When I get the Middle set, I stop to read it and set the subhead. Then it’s time to tackle the Ending and Beginning, which are usually about the same thing–why the heck should people read this and why the heck should they be glad they did?

As the old presentation adage goes:

  • Beginning: Tell them what you’re going to tell them (and why they want to hear it.)
  • Middle: Tell them what you said you’d tell them.
  • Ending: Tell them what you just told them (and why they should be glad they heard it.)

So that’s exactly what I do to call the writing done.

What I Just Told You

Starting with a simple plan–a sketch what you want to tell your readers–and starting in the middle are two ways that you can get yourself into the writing with less pain and more productivity.

Only two things here are critical: know what you want to say and a change of venue when you feel stuck. Don’t feel a need to follow my process. A writer’s process is fluid and personal. Find the gems in what I do that work for you and toss the rest aside.

As always, I’m here if you want to talk about this. Writer’s have so many cool techniques and strategies. I’m really interested in what works for you.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Introducing Power Writing for Everyone
Don’t Hunt IDEAS Be an Idea Magnet
Why Dave Barry and Liz Don’t Get Writer’s Block
Editing for Quality and a Content Editor’s Checklist

Don’t Hunt IDEAS — Be an Idea Magnet

Filed Under Content, Productivity, Successful Blog, Writing | 39 Comments

Ideas Get Things Going

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The question that professional writers are asked most is Where do you get your ideas? The answer they always give is Ideas are everywhere.

It’s true that ideas are everywhere, but . . . that’s not much consolation when you look everywhere, and you seem to find nothing.

Yet ideas are the stuff from which quality content is crafted, and quality content is what builds relevance. Relevance draws people to read us, to add to the conversation, and to share our ideas with others. Quality content packed with relevance also leads search engines to show us off in their rankings. So solid ideas are critical to blogs, websites, and all online businesses.

Ideas are what gets the whole process going. But . . .

Sometimes the very idea of getting an idea can be intimidating.

Be an Idea Magnet

Looking for ideas can be a lot like looking for a white shirt in the Mall of America. If you don’t have anything to narrow your search the task can be overwhelming. Too many kinds of white shirts to choose from and soon they all seem to have the same value–none at all. Ideas work in much the same way as that. Without some sort of criteria to sort them you can look all day and not find a single one.

Ideas really are everywhere. The art is in training your mind to see the ideas and pull them in before your thoughts pass by them–to make your mind into an idea magnet of sorts.

Many Ideas At Once

Sometimes I’m asked to write a book of ideas for teaching some skill set or group of strategies. You might be surprised to find out how I go about such tasks. I identify pages of ideas before I start writing. One idea at a time is just too much work and too painful for me. I approach the task as I approach doing dishes. Wash all of the dishes first. Then dry them all.

Attracting Writeable Ideas

When I write for my blogs, I figure if I’m going to find one idea, I might as well find many. That way I’m set for a while. With a pile of ideas, I can switch my brain over to concentrate on the writing and editing–that’s work enough for me.

Whether you’re looking for one idea or many, or trying to find a spin on a topic that’s too big to write about, the process for getting to a solid idea is basically same.

Here’s how to get your brain to open up to 4-5 ideas at once.

1. Gather resources with a yes or no look. (60-90 minutes max)

  • Limit research time–the more ideas the less time spent per idea.
  • Use a variety of resources online, magazines, newpapers, and books.
  • Check only headlines and take only a quick look.
  • If what you see doesn’t grab you. Move on.
  • If it catches your interest, print it or tag it to come back to.

It’s important not to read at this point. Just let the headlines soak in. The variety of resources offers a visual change that helps to keep your mind fresh and tends to bring in a wider variety of points of view. You might find yourself seeing connections between one piece and another. That’s good.

2. Read with a highlighter, a pencil, and a pad of paper. (30-60 minutes)

  • Highlight keywords.
  • Jot key points in the margin using 3-4 words you might say if you were restating the point to a friend.
  • If you get article ideas, mark them on the piece that inspired them.
  • When you notice connections between pieces you’ve chosen write them on the pad of paper.

Do these things quickly to let your mind capture and collect information without filtering it. You’ll start to make further connections to your personal experiences. Note those on the writing pad too. What you’re doing is guided brainstorming. (I made that term up.) Feel free to throw out any resources you know just won’t work.

3. Sort your resources into like piles by topic. (5-15 minutes)

  • Give each pile a working title.
  • Add to each pile a bulleted list of events, thoughts, or learnings from your experience that fit with that idea.
  • Choose the idea that you find most useful to your readers and put the rest in a folder.

Also do this quickly as a “brain dumping” exercise. Write what comes to mind and keep going until you have a list–however long or short—for each pile you made. Now you have some solid ideas. Keep them all, even the ones that seem thin or uninteresting. After a day or so you might find uses for those that you don’t like right now.

The Benefits of Working Out Once a Week

This workout shows results immediately. In just that much time I have ideas I can write about. I do this “workout” about once a week when I’m not under pressure to write something. The workout takes away the rush and tumble of having to push through my feeds with deadlines hanging over me. Even when I want to cover breaking news. I have ideas ready to go if I want to post a quick article before I start researching.

The relief that comes from knowing I have many ideas in the hopper makes writing exponentially easier. When I sit down to write, I can concentrate on what I’m writing about. I know it’s a fully vetted idea that will work, rather than one I have to hope will work out. I can use the time I might have spent looking for an idea and use it to check my work.

Writing’s more fun when your brain is free of that voice that keeps saying, “I need to get this done. I need to get this done. My readers are waiting for me.”

A brain is a writer’s instrument in the same way as a voice is a singer’s instrument. Why shouldn’t writers train just as vocalists do?

Power writing is a very cool thing.

Try it and let me know how it goes. I’m here to help any way that I might.

After all, I’m the nice one. :)

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Introducing Power Writing for Everyone
Got the Idea. Now What Do I Do with It?
Why Dave Barry and Liz Don’t Get Writer’s Block
Eye-Deas 1: Have You Started Seeing Things?

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