Writing Tips: Short and Sweet to Keep Them in Their Seat.
by: Ronovan
Some writing is just too long and I won’t read it no matter how good you tell me it is!
It sounds harsh but it’s true. And it’s not because you’re not good. There are many types of audiences out there a writer is attempting to engross in their story, article, or whatever other type of writing it may be. Even a research piece needs to keep this in mind.
Make that first sentence engaging-If that first sentence hooks me I might keep going and give it a chance.
Keep the paragraphs short-Short paragraphs gives me this false sense of not committing to a long read. It also allows me to pause quickly if need be and come back to the article if I have to ‘step’ away for a moment.
If Blogging give me some visuals-Visuals make for a little something to keep me there and bring me back to reading. It also can help visual people click with your piece.
If Blogging keep this in mind-You may be the only reading material that some people are engaging in. I have problems reading books now. I can’t commit to it because I know after two chapters I can’t keep going. Blogs, however, give me something I can read and learn from that are quick and to the point. Break the article up into two parts if it is extremely long. That last part is just a suggestion. (But it might bring back people for a second day of viewing to your Blog. Authors keep that in mind too.)
Unless I am really familiar with the work of the writer I will often bail if I see those long paragraphs. We aren’t in a Grammar class or Writing class where you have to do things just so.
We write how people talk
We write short paragraphs
We use double negatives
If you are Blogging think of Flash Fiction in your article. Just get to the point and get out. Yes, add humor and entertain, but when it comes to the points you are making don’t draw them out.
In my previous life I was in the business world, if only that were meant as reincarnation.
Yes even stuffed animals give me looks of sympathy and pats for comfort. But it wasn’t a complete waste of my life. After all you can learn from every experience, whether it is a good lesson or a bad lesson. This is a bit of a good one.
I attended a business luncheon in Atlanta, GA and there was a very much respected business woman there as the guest speaker. She was a self-made woman who not only had her own business but was also an executive with Coca Cola.
I’m sorry to say there were no free Coke t-shirts but a lot of free and excellent advice, as was the food, although expensive to my company, and miniscule in size the food not the advice.
Now back to our program. The lady spoke of two things that day, one of which I will talk about here and the other another time.
Being Your Best at What You Are Doing When You Are Doing It
The lady had not come from a silver spoon background. She fought her way up including obtaining her education. One reason the lady said that she had become such a success, and this was not ego speaking, was that in everything she was doing at a given moment she was giving it her all, trying to be the best at it.
She felt she had to try harder than anyone else for two reasons; 1) she was a woman in the business world, and 2) she was African American.
At no one point could she be focusing on two things. If she were in school and working on a research paper, that would be the only thing she was focusing on. There was no other class in her mind at that time, no boyfriend in her mind, no TV show, nothing.
If you are writing an article about dogs then write the best article you can even though you might want to watch a movie instead, or be working on a manuscript. You chose to write an article and made a commitment. At that moment you are to be the best dog article writer in the world. Why do anything unless you are going to do the best? What you put out is what people see you as so why put out garbage or half attempted material? And why put out something that isn’t you?
This translates to editors and literary agents as well. If they see that you put everything into whatever you write then they have confidence in signing you. They know they can depend on you to get the job done, that you will not turn in a half effort or be late.
Use this in every job you have. It doesn’t matter what it is, do your best, and be the best.
Do you just click like or do you follow through to view?
“Do you love me, do you wanna be my friend?
And if you do
Well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand
If you want to
I think this is how love goes, check yes or no”
Those are the words of a popular country song by the King of Country and Western music in the United States, George
You like me, you really like me!
Strait. What does that have to do with blogging? At least you asked.
If you are like me you ‘Follow’ a lot of blogs. Some of you get emails as updates and some sign up for accounts and have what are called ‘Readers’ that show when a new article comes out by who we ‘Follow’.
You can click and go to the site and read it, or sometimes you can view the entire offering in the ‘Reader’ or email. See any problems yet? I didn’t think so.
Well to turn the song around a bit:
Do you view me, or do you wanna be my fan?
And if you do
Well then don’t be afraid to follow to the site
If you want to
I think this is how views know, click view or no
I follow all the way to the site, even if I can see all of the offering of the author on my reader. Why? Because it gives the author an idea of how many actual views are occurring.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the ‘likes’. But I also really want to KNOW viewers are viewing what I’ve created. If you’re not a person who has a blog you may not realize we can see how many views or maybe hits our site has each day. Some people thrive on increasing their views and that is understandable because we all want our material to be seen. Some see the views as support of their efforts.
I know sometimes a few lines fits on the reader page or you see a blurb and you just know you will like it or even you have a favorite blog site that never fails you, but what do you want personally? Do you want people to read what you put out there or just click like and ignore it?
I support you, I really do!
Are you a fan or a supporter? Do you like everything your blogger puts out or do you go and check it out and really look at it?
The problem here is time. The blogging community tries to be supportive but also must work on content. If all it does was read all the blogs, then there would rarely be any new content put out. In a way I understand the ‘like’ clicking method. You know you will like it, it’s just you don’t have the time.
Blogging isn’t easy. Some make it look that way, and I thoroughly despise them for it. Actually those of whom I speak know who they are and know I love them and just jealous…maybe.
I first showed up in this blogger world to share my creations, my stories. Then I discovered I had more to share than that. And I learned that the blogging world was a community and there was support among that community you couldn’t find anywhere else.
But I know from the title of this article you’re wondering about actual blogging itself. I’ll share three things today:
“What? Of course I have a commitment to my blog,” you are saying. That’s not where I am really going with this.
Problem:
Blogging becomes addictive. You want to put out great content because you want more followers and views on your site. Those numbers are worse than the word count feature on a word document for a writer. You have a commitment to the rest of your life to consider as well.
Solution:
Schedule time for your blog work, and time for your author work. Then let it go. Live life or you burn out. How can you be creative if your mind is jelly instead of a big blob of electronic pasta?
COURTESY
Be polite to those you Follow and those who Follow you.
Problem:
Words carry an incredible amount of weight in social media settings. We can’t put voice
inflection in there so we have to be careful. We also might end up with a lot of people commenting on articles and some may expect some type of a reply or think you are rude for not doing so. Being considered rude for some of us is a big problem.
Solution:
Always use positive words, never negative ones. And at least click like on a comment someone says on your article. That may sound like a lot but if Followers are important to you then do it. I do it because I appreciate the fact that someone reads my offerings and then takes the time to comment. To me that is a huge compliment.
When you are reading another person’s blog, don’t comment unless it’s encouraging or they are asking for some type of comment. Also don’t assume when others don’t comment on your offerings that they don’t like them. Some people just don’t comment. It’s a time thing for one. We like to read, enjoy, and move on.
Don’t let courtesy rule your life though. I have a bad habit of feeling as though I have to read everything anyone I follow posts, here and on Twitter. That’s a lot of reading and very little time for other things, including my own writing.
CONTENT
Make your content what you like first and foremost, but don’t be surprised if what you like changes over time.
At the same time you need to remember you are putting stuff out there for others to enjoy otherwise you would just keep it on your computer for yourself. But then you also may end up falling into the trap of writing things just to get visitors, views, and follows.
Solution:
This is a truth here so keep reading after what I say next. You write a book and you want to share the chapters, right?
Break the chapters up into parts. I’ve found that people mostly want quick reads of usually under 600 words or so. Why is word count opposite on a blog article than what we think of for a book? Blogs are quick reads. Using me as an example, I want something I know I can get through quickly or I know my mind will drift. Not because of the content, but because of the length. This isn’t a book in front of me that I know how many chapters I have. This immediate gratification. Some will see word count on their readers in the blogger communities and just skip over those over a certain length unless they know the writer very well.
You can have longer word counts if the topic calls for it, but make sure you are being to the point. Readers can tell filler from foundation.
Add visual content. It adds a bit to whatever you put out and makes you feel like you have put out more than just a few paragraphs. I’ve found that since I’ve shortened some of my work and had fun with photos, that not only do more people ‘like’ them but I enjoy putting the work out there as well.
Those are just three things to look at for now.
Next time around I’ll share three things that make coming up with Blogging content a little easier. But until then, peace out and blog out.
Remember, I’m just a comment away. Talk to me here or on Twitter.
Being a new blogger it may confuse one at times to see more ‘likes’ than ‘views’. And which ones do you really want? I don’t even have a gut feeling on it really because I see the advantage of both and that, I think can cause the confusion. Yeah, I’m a Gemini. I’m not into astrology but being that whole twin thing, I really fight myself by seeing both sides of a situation. So even my opinion below will likely disagree with the ‘experts’ and even myself.
‘Likes’ are a psychological hug or pat on the back for most of us. While ‘Views’ are the way our work gets seen. Some people just aren’t going to click Like for a number of reasons, but they will keep coming back to read what you have to offer and thus View your work.
Am I a pro blogger? I’m not a pro, whatever that really means in Blog World. But I have realized a great many things since I’ve been blogging.
Be happy with your Likes, and use that for motivation. Remember though, how many blogs do you read and don’t click but you go back again the next time? I love the Likes because that’s one way I find people who have things to offer that I will Like and most likely Follow.
As long as I am getting the Views, then I am getting noticed.
Blog to share, not to receive praise. If you fall into the trap of wanting praise you are going to change how and what you blog. You started blogging for a reason; make sure you stay true to that.
These are just a few thoughts from someone who has gone through what a lot of new bloggers are going through now and even some veterans. We all share the same concerns about the numbers game, so don’t think you are the only one. Just keep doing it. Sure you want people to Like your work, but you really did this to share it so people could View it.
ronovanwrites 