Let Your Blog Flow!

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It’s one of those days. You wake up with a slight headache, and groan about the tasks that need to be done. First up, you read a depressing message from a friend. Oops. Wish you could take that back and start over, right?

However, what you’re dreading most is writing that blog post. Your brain is blank. You turn on music to stimulate it. For once, it’s not working. What to do?

This situation happened to a current client of mine who just started blogging. We wrote part of the first post together. She IS a good writer, so that’s not the issue. It was typing it and making it real that was the issue.

She wrote the second one completely on her own and we went through the steps on formatting it, adding labels, photos, etc. It was interesting and I couldn’t wait to see the third one. Then I got the email. She didn’t want to do it. I called and encouraged her. And she said that the topics she wanted to discuss had changed. I explained that the first two were actually important and spoke to that, since she had set the scene. I pointed out all the directions she could venture into, based on what she had already written. And she was energized by that!

What I’m saying here is let it flow!

My client has a lot to say and has already inspired a few people by her first two posts. Is that a reason to continue? Absolutely.

Take a step back and think about why you are blogging. That may include:

• A desire to inspire others
• Furthering your reputation by displaying your knowledge
• Creating greater awareness for your product or service
• Being one of the first for getting hot topics out there quickly
• Sharing personal thoughts / reflection
• Sharing a strong opinion
• You want to practice writing often to better your skills
• You want to have an audience to bounce ideas off of
• Journaling

And so on and so on. Everyone has a combination of reasons. I didn’t mentioning make money here because that’s a separate subject in itself.

So, what to do on those days when you’re stumped? Go out of the box and let that river run downstream! Back in January, it was slow going for me. I suddenly found myself basking in the sun in the afternoon with a book and a notepad and some music playing. So, I decided to write about it, even though it’s not about my main subject. That post can be found here.  We all need to take a quick breath sometimes! So be it.

Back to blogging: When you’re going off the usual subject matter, as long as it’s written in your usual prose it will likely strike a chord with your readers. After all, they need a break too, right? And it demonstrates your abilities to think beyond the usual. So, no more constraints…let it flow!

Going outside now with a book and a notepad. Here’s a #1 song from 1976 that talks about love flowing; that includes the love of expressing your thoughts and ideas, right? Click here for that tune.

Content, Content, Content...More on Blogging

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This is Part 4 of a 4 Part series on blogging. For Parts 1, 2, and 3, scroll down to end of article.


Razzle dazzle and promotion won’t do a thing for you unless your blog content is of a high caliber. Sure, folks may stop by your blog, but will they return? The words you choose and what you’re saying are the most important parts of all.

Introduce your subject with a sentence that is sure to grab the reader. “It was a cold and windy night.” probably won’t do it but “After the tree crashed through the roof of the house, the lights went out.” is likely to spark an interest. Whoa! What happened? Did people make it out safely? Read on to find out.

Be clear, crisp, and concise. While a novel can use lots of descriptive, flowery language, that’s not the case with blogs. You’ll be telling the tale with fewer words.

Words! No reason to impress us with your vast vocabulary. Remember your audience is. They’ll either not know those fancy words, which may cause them to stop reading or, for the ones that do understand them, it will slow down their read. In both cases, they may bail out on you.

Your audience; who are they? Do they enjoy sports, fashion, or collecting Madame Alexander dolls? Are they rocket scientists or job seeking professionals? Retired and enjoying a more leisurely lifestyle or moving into second careers that follow their creative passions? Remember, you are writing for the people who share your interests, and relaying your knowledge, expertise, and helpfulness with them.

Short, sharp, simple. Always remember that your readers probably have very little time to spend on your blog. Okay to write incomplete sentences. They need to grasp what you’re telling them quickly. Get the point across.

Paragraphs should be limited to no more than seven or eight lines. More than that becomes overwhelming to the reader; eyes get weary at the sight of it. If there’s a point that requires more words to get across, break it into two paragraphs.

Add some DRAMA. One sentence instead of a paragraph draws considerable attention to a specific point.

Visuals. Do include an illustration, photo, diagram, chart, graph, cartoon, or short video. If you’re writing about a great band, a photo of the band or an album cover works. For a recipe include a photo of the dish when it’s fresh out of the oven so that the reader can almost taste it. Visuals can be placed above or below a paragraph near the relevant text for maximum impact.

Write in your own voice. Write it like you’re telling the story to someone. Would you use a word like “ubiquitous” in your everyday speaking? Tell them it “existed all over the place” or “was everywhere” instead.

After you’ve written a first draft, take a word count. So you’ve got 680 words and you planned on 500? Cut back.  Some of that will be easy; if you’re like me, you may tend to be rather wordy the first go-round. If you get it down to 550, close enough. Don’t get too hung up on the length; if it take 700 words to get the point across, so be it.

Writing should be an enjoyable experience. If you’re not “feeling it” that day, stop. Find your favorite time of the day to write and the right atmosphere. Music in the background or silence? Early morning after you’ve let the dog out and had that first cuppa or after the kids are tucked in and the house is quiet? Or maybe you need complete chaos for inspiration?

As with anything, practice makes perfect. Let’s take that expression loosely; the more often you write, the more comfortable and easy it will become. Over time you’ll write faster as you learn to let that creativity flow more naturally.

Remember when you learned to ride a bike? The training wheels came off, and if you were me, you screamed down the driveway and slammed into the garage! Good news: That’s not likely to happen here. Instead, ideas and words will pour from you more often and more easily. Sounds wonderful no? Don’t be shy; get those creative juices going! 


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