The Art of Writing with Personality
I’ve recently written about being too wordy in your writing and using a process to improve your writing. “Write tight” has been the rule of thumb and “written in stone” advice for many generations in the writing world. Writing for the web has changed that concept somewhat. Writing for the web is less formal than writing for magazines and newspapers. Online writers are allowed to show the readers their personal side and inject some personality into their writing. Some writers go overboard with this and leave the readers dissatisfied with the material. Some writers have found the happy medium and the readers keep coming back for more.
How do you decide how much personality to add to your writing and how much is too much? Trial and error is always the best method when it comes to writing. If your readership is already high though, you may want to keep things the way they are–you’re already doing it right.
If your readership is low and you tend to have a stuffy approach with the material you’re writing, then you may want to consider being a bit more jovial or humorous in your writing endeavors.
There is no magic key to show you how to find that happy balance between stuffy and jovial. It’s something you will have to discover on your own.
One way to test how the readers will respond is to switch between writing stuffy posts and writing some with more of your personality in it. See which posts get the most comments. If your readers enjoy your personality, use it more. If you find they actually like things a bit stuffy and mundane, then stick with what works on your website or blog.
As a reader I prefer a lighter approach to the material being presented. I’ve found many writers who have mastered this and still give top notch advice and information. And while I don’t account for all readers, I believe I do represent a big majority of those who like a bit of entertainment when they’re searching for information. Learning something new is a lot easier when it’s also fun.
The bottom line is, play around with these tips and ideas and see what happens; what works best for you and your readers.
Writing with personality is an art, but it can also be an acquired skill with practice–just like any other skill in writing, it takes time and practice to master.
Image courtesy: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2486/4112936436_065e959e52.jpg
Written by Patti Stafford from Patti StaffordPosted on March 19th, 2010 and filed under Writing
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8 Responses to “The Art of Writing with Personality”
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Great post Patti! Another side benefit to making it "more fun" for readers is you as the writer often have more fun writing your posts. And once you are having a blast writing, it often correlates to your readers enjoying your blog that much more.
If your personality is turning off your readers, might be a good time to reconsider your topic. If your blog starts making too much money you might get stuck with yet another job you hate. ;^_^
I agree with the statement about using humor, no matter what the subject is if you can make it a little more fun to read by using humor the writer and the reader benefit.
Thanks Patti,
Greg
This was wonderful advice! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Hi guys,
The art of writing with personality is the best way to go. Because they are more fun and entertaining.
Kind regards,
Sam
X
Everyone is unque, writing with personality is the perfect way to improve writing.
Yeah, I never know how much of "me" to put into the blog. the personal blogs seem more interesting sometimes.
Good writing and entertaining writing are distinct! I totally agree on trying to inject a little personality into your writing but it's also amazing how different something might sound in your head to how it appears on the screen.
I find going back to a post a few days later helpful. I can read from a slightly more distanced perspective and see whether I've come across as I'd like to have – or at least as close as I'm capable of!