As one of my colleagues is fond of saying “practice doesn’t make perfect, it only makes permanent.” His point is, it doesn’t do you much good if you keep practicing the wrong thing. So, when blogging, pay attention to style as much as substance, even though it’s “only a blog.”
- Be eager for feedback and treasure any that you get.
- Give yourself feedback. Simply go back and re-read what you wrote (the next day, and again later). Is what you wrote still as clear now as you thought it was when you wrote it? If not, figure out what you did wrong.
- Proofread three times before clicking Post: once for content and clarity (how many times have you forgotten that ever so important “not”?), once for rhythm and style (word choice, asking questions or issuing commands instead of just making statements, etc.), and finally one last time for spelling and grammar.
- Buy a style guide and use it. The Skunk and White you got in college will do, although one made specifically for journalists is a lot better for blogging purposes. (Mine’s the Washington Post version. I got it for $2 in a library liquidation fundraiser. I understand that the Associated Press puts out a good one.)
- Already have a style guide? Supplement it with a thesaurus – a real Roget-style 2-parter, not one of those silly alphabetical-only compromises (of course, that would certainly be better than nothing).
- Take advantage of spell check and grammar check tools and don’t be too quick to ignore the suggestions they give you. Tip: a grammar error is often actually a spelling error in disguise because the misspelled word looks like another word (“fell”/“feel,” “fiend”/“friend”, “it’s”/”its”).
Most importantly have fun with your blog. Write about the things that tickle your fancy. Write about your hobbies. Write about the “good” parts of your job. Write about the fun stuff that your friends, colleagues, customers and vendors are up to. The more interesting the topic, the more you’ll enjoy investing your time on it, don’t you think?
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