Writing Tips

Coming up with ideas to write about can be a difficult task for a lot of us. Then when we do come up with something we are tied to our knowledge and ability to get out point across and keep our readers  interest throughout our article or blog post.

Spelling is my weakness. My grammar is a direct response to my education and where I grew up, so at times my southern style of jargon comes into play. That's me. You will have a different style of writing. This is what makes writing so much fun. It is an expression of ourself.




I know for me at times I have a hard time coming up with things to write about on this blog. I try to come up with a topic that is interesting. Then brain failure creeps in and shuts down my thought processes. Time goes by and nothing is written. I go to something else and forget about writing anything.

Cathy Stucker did an article last year that I think is still useful today. In it she discusses Ten Quick Ways to Improve Your Writing.

Maybe Cathy's article can help you and I solve some of our writing problems.

Here are her 10 tips:

  1. Write conversationally
  2. Avoid jargon
  3. Vary sentence length
  4. Include just one main idea in a paragraph
  5. Use subheads and bullets
  6. Use an introduction, body and conclusion
  7. Give examples
  8. Keep it simple
  9. Avoid inappropriate emphasis
10. Smile when you write

You can read the full article at http://cathystucker.com/ten-quick-ways-to-improve-your-writing

If you don't understand what 'jargon' means here is a good place to start learning:   
http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2012/01/26/the-most-annoying-pretentious-and-useless-business-jargon/?tm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

There are some excellent resources online to help your light come on. Here are a few:

Ezine Articles
http://ezinearticles.com/training/

11 Tips to Improve Your Blog Writing
http://foodblogalliance.com/a/11-tips-to-improve-your-blog-writing/

Grammar Checker
Link removed by request. Just do a search for a grammar checker. Sorry.

Dictionary and thesaurus
http://wordweb.info/

Even though this video is for students writing a paper it is an excellent source to study:


Some things I have learned about writing:
** Be myself when writing.
** Your and you're are two different words. (One of my pet peeves.)
** Being a horrible speller myself I have to use a spell checker often and then reuse it. I still may miss a word or two every now and then.
** Use a grammar checker.
** Research before starting. Plan, plan and then plan.
** Use images where appropriate but don't over use. Images take longer for a page to load.
** Use a video if possible.
** Review what I have written. Review, review and then review again.
** Use white space.  “When you try to process an unbroken block of text, it’s like trying to eat a whole apple pie in one gulp.” Author Unknown
** I like short, to the point paragraphs.
** If you have someone that can check your writing before you publish it then do so.

I am sure that most of us that write blogs or articles have lots of tips for writing and posting on a regular basis. What are your tips? Leave a comment for all of us to learn from.

Elaine