I’ve written in this blog, many times, espousing the benefits of blogging. But I find that whilst many people are open to the idea, when it comes to actually writing something, they baulk and dry up. Why is this? That’s what I’m going to talk about in this blog post.
Most of us are pre-conditioned from school to dislike writing. Rather than encouraging us to write, many teachers did the opposite by constantly correcting our work when it was poor and failing to praise it when it was good. We can all remember getting essays back after they had been marked and finding them covered in red ink. We have been preconditioned into thinking that we’re not good at writing and therefore avoid it.
Also, we were never really taught the art of writing. Oh yes we were all taught how to write, but I don’t remember being given a single lesson on how to write an essay or a story. You will see, if you adopt a few simple rules, you will find that writing, whether it’s an article for a newspaper or publication, a letter, or a blog post, can be much easier that you realize.
So I thought I would describe a few rules to help you and make writing blog posts easier.
Plan
Before even setting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, think through, in your head, the gist of what you intend to say. Make some rough notes. Some people even go as far as writing the entire article in their heads.
One way to do this is to pretend that you’re giving a speech and speak it all out loud. (Stay out of the way of other people though, if you do this, or they may find you a little weird!).
Write a Rough Draft
The emphasis here is on the word rough. Don’t try to write the post correctly the first time. The point of a first draft is that only you sees it. Sit down at the computer and type it as you run through the post in your head. If you’ve done your planning correctly, this should be easy.
Don’t Correct as You Go Along
Correcting as you go along is one of the worst things you can do. We all have the urge to continually go back and correct spellings or reword phases as we type. If you do this, it will interrupt the flow of your writing and stretch out the entire process.
A good tip is to look at the keyboard as you type and not the screen. You’ll find this a little difficult at first, but stick at it and you’ll soon find it easier, and you’ll find that your writing will flow much more smoothly.
Edit the Draft
Once your draft has been typed, go back, read it and correct it. This process may take longer that getting the draft done, but it’s an essential part.
There are many other tips I could give you, but follow my advice given in the above four tips and you will find writing much easier.
A Final Tip
Before I finish, a bonus if you like. The more you write the easier it gets. Ideally, try to write a little every day. It doesn’t need to be much, but make a habit of it. A good tip here is to write a journal. Simply write down what you do or think each day. It could be business or personal oriented, or both. Write down your ideas. Not only will you find that writing will get easier, but you’ll also have good reference material to refer back to later.
Oh, and if you have difficulty typing, go on a typing course, or try an online typing course.
Happy blogging.
