Learning to write better blog posts?

[KrazyKoen]

This is my first topic so I'm sorry if my etiquette is poor. I've managed to find a few threads on getting better at writing but most of them seem geared towards creative writing specifically. I want to learn how to write better blog posts about whatever topic interests me in the moment but I don't know where to start. I was homeschooled so I don't even have experience writing school essays. Any advice for getting better?

[Melooon]

Just dropping in to say I actually really recommend reading the Wikipedia page on the topic Essay (since blog posts are basically essays), I know it sounds obvious and often wiki articles are a bit technical and dry, but the page on essays in particular really explains what an essay is and what components are important to an essay.

The key ones being that the word essay (translated from french) means "to try / to attempt" essentially it is an attempt to explain or express something from a personal perspective. (Also Montaigne, the guy who invented the essay was super interesting and lived in a castle and just dreamed about things all the time)

It also describes the three main kinds of essays: (a really good essay mixes all three)

• Personal essays - usually made up of bits of self reflection and memories.
• Factual essays - ones that don't talk about you, but focus on facts and metrics.
• Abstract essays - these are more broad observations and ideas that are not personal but more of an overview effect

I'd suggest looking at what you've written in the past and identify what kinds of essays you write, and experiment writing different types. Feedback is also super important for writing, so get someone to read your posts and ask them to give harsh critical feedback on where they get stuck or what they find difficult to follow.

Usually people people like to read something that is well structured, so you can think about basics like - what is the point of your post and how are you building your argument? - a good simple approach is to explain your main point at the start, then break it into smaller points and make each point in its own paragraph, then tie it all together at the end.

Finally I'd suggest you read good articles! Look at other blogs you enjoy and try to figure out their structure, Id also suggest reading professional writers like New York Times articles and compare their structures too, since that will give you a mix of personal and professional styles.

Im sure other more serious writers will chime in here, but those are my basics - good luck 

[NoxidKin]

Hey I just started a blog a few months ago, I dont think it's very good but one thing I try is to ask myself followup questions.  So if I say "I did some coding today", I then ask myself what I'm coding, why, did I come up against any challenges or anything I enjoyed?  Etc.

I'd also say don't stress about writing "good" blog posts.  Just write what feels right.  And, as with anything, you get better with practise.  :)

[BlazingCobaltX]

*grumbles in i was logged out and had to rewrite my post*

Since you have not had formal training in writing essays, I will start by explaining one of the default structures for building an argument: Statement, Explanation, Example -- or SEX.

In a typical essay, each paragraph contains one argument. That paragraph can be built with the SEX format. The first sentence of the paragraph is your statement: The opinion or stance you wanna argue for. This single sentence also serves as a summary of the paragraph in case someone is skimming. The following 2-3 sentences explain your opinion or stance, and to fully solidify the strength of this position you present an example that illustrates the point. These examples can come from anywhere: Anecdotes, study examples, other essays even. The final sentence is like a bowtie: A concluding summary of paragraph (for easiness, you can repeat the first sentence here with different wording). By the end of reading the paragraph, the reader ought to understand perfectly what your point is and what motivates you to make that point.

After years of writing academic papers, I can say that this is a reliable format that always works. Naturally, after much practice you can become creative with the format and change it, but as both a writer and reader of essays this is a format that is both comfortable and effective. Aside from trying to write like this yourself, I'd suggest first reading essays and blog posts that you like and identify the Statement, Explanation, and Example parts of each paragraph. Once you train your eye for this you will see it in everything, and that will help with deconstructing other essays. For example, in my debating essay I took the general premise of SEX and twisted it as such that I first higlighted my Example and then made my Statement/Explanation.

Ultimately, what makes a good essay is whether another person understands your point. So what I also recommend - like Melon above - is having people read your essays and provide detailed feedback. If there is no one in your surroundings to help you with this I can provide feedback on your work sometime. Good luck and most of all have fun, improvement will come with time.

[NoxidKin]

What if nothing feels right to you?

Write nothing?  Maybe it's not where you want to spend your time?

Write absolute nonsense?  And maybe a post will coalesce, like stable diffusion.  :)

[nobo]

Excellent advice from everyone.

Here's what I'll add.

You need to know what your goals are, both for the blog as a collection of posts, and the blog as an individual piece. On my blog, I divide into columns so that I don't feel tethered to same exact goal. But this might be over complicating it if you're just starting out.

My central goal is that I want my posts to be informative both for other people and my future self about subjects I will one day forget the details of. I want to write about things that I do, not my aimless thoughts. Sometimes this is a technical write up, sometimes it's talking about an artist who I decided to listen to all their songs.

But it's never "Today I ate pizza, I feel like it was not that good, my best friend came over and had some" etc. One thing I discovered after writing for many years is that if I'm too personally revealing in a post, I will be extremely self conscious when I read in the future and the compulsion to delete it will be too strong for me to resist. I'm just not comfortable being an open book about every subject. So I shaped my style and goals around this.

I try to write for the reader, not for catharsis. I think it makes my writing better. But I also never would have got to this realization if I didn't just write anything and decide over time what I wanted to do more of. What you want to do might be very different from what I want to do.

[Gizmo]

One thing I discovered after writing for many years is that if I'm too personally revealing in a post, I will be extremely self conscious when I read in the future and the compulsion to delete it will be too strong for me to resist. I'm just not comfortable being an open book about every subject.

Me as well, when I first started blogging I was more open about my exact state, where I plan on going to college, more "raw" anxieties, etc. And I ended up getting really paranoid about getting doxxed and removing those articles from my site. I still try to be open and honest about what I'm feeling, but it's been a struggle striking the right balance between not writing one of those overly-cheery SEO-optimized blogs while also not putting out enough information for me to feel uncomfortable / for people to be able to find my IRL identity.