24 Jun How to start blogging (Part 2)
Posted
in Marketing Yourself
In my first piece on blogging, I talked about the fundamentals of how to get started. This included working out what to write about, the basics of structuring and where to publish your finished work. In this follow-up piece, I will go into a bit more detail about structure, linking your ideas together and how to overcome the stress of the dreaded word count.
WHEN THE WORD COUNT FREAKS YOU OUT
As I said previously, blog posts are generally not less than 600 words, and it is easy to get really overwhelmed by the thought of that. If you are not used to writing consistently, 600 words can seem impossible, but by breaking down the topic you are talking about, you will be able to get there in no time.
Breaking down your topic will also help you become crystal clear on what you are going to cover. As I wrote in my last piece, this is where subheadings become a powerful tool. Think about this post on blogging; people have written books on how to start blogging, covering all the topics you could think of, but that would be inappropriate for a blog post. People reading blog posts are looking for fairly short pieces of information, so it would be unrealistic to include EVERYTHING. I like to pick out 3 or 4 main ideas for a blog post and write on them. The great thing is that other ideas can be saved for another post!
When it comes to word count, you will have an introduction, your 3 or 4 main ideas and then a concluding paragraph, which will tie all the ideas together and not include any new ones. Introduction and concluding paragraphs are usually about 10% of the total word count. If you are aiming for 600 words, then this means around about sixty for the introduction and sixty for the conclusion. This will leave you with about 160 words per point/idea/heading if you are splitting it into three and even less than that if you are splitting it into four. When you really analyse this, it means only two paragraphs per idea! If you have a very strict word count, you can see how it is very easy to get into trouble if you are writing on complex ideas.
REMEMBER TO LINK YOUR IDEAS TOGETHER
When you are writing on complex ideas and topics (and not so complex ones!), it is important to link your ideas together. Readers are not just taking in words; they are also creating meaning as they read. Even though it might sound cliche, they are going on a journey. This means that the writer must make this journey easy for the reader and provide a path they can easily follow. The way to do this includes methods such as linking ideas not only between sentences but also between paragraphs. The last sentence of your paragraph should have a connection of some sort to the first sentence in your next paragraph. This helps it flow together, and I always think of it as little signposts you are putting throughout your writing to show readers where they are going.
When your writing is not linked, it makes it super difficult to read but also to write! I have found that it is easy to get lost when you don’t think of writing in terms of how it is linked together and how each part relates to another. It is a common mistake for people learning how to write pieces that are for public consumption. A common piece of feedback from editors is, “I don’t know where you are going with this.” Show your reader where you are going by linking things together and making use of signposts.
LITTLE TRICKS FOR EDITING WHEN YOU GET STUCK
Signposting is also great for the writer because it means that when you get stuck, you can go back through your writing to see what signposts are already there. And if there are not any there, then you know you must put some in, and you can work out where they naturally would sit.
Writing can be really tiring on your brain. If you have been looking at the same piece of writing for a long time, you start to miss errors like missing words, mistakes in grammar, etc. If you are getting tired of looking at your writing, change the way it looks to help reset your brain. Changing the size and type of font is a really easy way to do this.
Getting other people to read your work when you are stuck can be helpful, too. I usually don’t ask people for specific editing advice when I ask them to read a piece of my work. I just ask them, “Does this make sense?” This can help point out where your structure can be improved, more signposts included and making sure your linking makes sense. Having someone supportive who can read your writing and let you know if you are heading in the right direction is invaluable.
I hope this advice has helped you feel more confident about writing blog posts, and I look forward to seeing more models contribute to these spaces!
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and has worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counseling for almost two decades.
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In my first piece on blogging, I talked about the fundamentals of how to get started. This included working out what to write about, the basics of structuring and where to publish your finished work. In this follow-up piece, I will go into a bit more detail about structure, linking your ideas together and how to overcome the stress of the dreaded word count.
WHEN THE WORD COUNT FREAKS YOU OUT
As I said previously, blog posts are generally not less than 600 words, and it is easy to get really overwhelmed by the thought of that. If you are not used to writing consistently, 600 words can seem impossible, but by breaking down the topic you are talking about, you will be able to get there in no time.
Breaking down your topic will also help you become crystal clear on what you are going to cover. As I wrote in my last piece, this is where subheadings become a powerful tool. Think about this post on blogging; people have written books on how to start blogging, covering all the topics you could think of, but that would be inappropriate for a blog post. People reading blog posts are looking for fairly short pieces of information, so it would be unrealistic to include EVERYTHING. I like to pick out 3 or 4 main ideas for a blog post and write on them. The great thing is that other ideas can be saved for another post!
When it comes to word count, you will have an introduction, your 3 or 4 main ideas and then a concluding paragraph, which will tie all the ideas together and not include any new ones. Introduction and concluding paragraphs are usually about 10% of the total word count. If you are aiming for 600 words, then this means around about sixty for the introduction and sixty for the conclusion. This will leave you with about 160 words per point/idea/heading if you are splitting it into three and even less than that if you are splitting it into four. When you really analyse this, it means only two paragraphs per idea! If you have a very strict word count, you can see how it is very easy to get into trouble if you are writing on complex ideas.
REMEMBER TO LINK YOUR IDEAS TOGETHER
When you are writing on complex ideas and topics (and not so complex ones!), it is important to link your ideas together. Readers are not just taking in words; they are also creating meaning as they read. Even though it might sound cliche, they are going on a journey. This means that the writer must make this journey easy for the reader and provide a path they can easily follow. The way to do this includes methods such as linking ideas not only between sentences but also between paragraphs. The last sentence of your paragraph should have a connection of some sort to the first sentence in your next paragraph. This helps it flow together, and I always think of it as little signposts you are putting throughout your writing to show readers where they are going.
When your writing is not linked, it makes it super difficult to read but also to write! I have found that it is easy to get lost when you don’t think of writing in terms of how it is linked together and how each part relates to another. It is a common mistake for people learning how to write pieces that are for public consumption. A common piece of feedback from editors is, “I don’t know where you are going with this.” Show your reader where you are going by linking things together and making use of signposts.
LITTLE TRICKS FOR EDITING WHEN YOU GET STUCK
Signposting is also great for the writer because it means that when you get stuck, you can go back through your writing to see what signposts are already there. And if there are not any there, then you know you must put some in, and you can work out where they naturally would sit.
Writing can be really tiring on your brain. If you have been looking at the same piece of writing for a long time, you start to miss errors like missing words, mistakes in grammar, etc. If you are getting tired of looking at your writing, change the way it looks to help reset your brain. Changing the size and type of font is a really easy way to do this.
Getting other people to read your work when you are stuck can be helpful, too. I usually don’t ask people for specific editing advice when I ask them to read a piece of my work. I just ask them, “Does this make sense?” This can help point out where your structure can be improved, more signposts included and making sure your linking makes sense. Having someone supportive who can read your writing and let you know if you are heading in the right direction is invaluable.
I hope this advice has helped you feel more confident about writing blog posts, and I look forward to seeing more models contribute to these spaces!
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and has worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counseling for almost two decades.
