Blogging is a form of journalism. I have said that before, but I want to really focus on it in this article. To be sure, there are major differences between being a journalist and being a blogger - most notably the freedom that comes from being your own editor, publisher and critic. However, spending a couple of hours perusing a site designed to create better journalists can only help you become a better blogger. Because, really, becoming a better journalist is really about become a better storyteller and writer.
As bloggers,…
There are many reasons why I do not use the WordPress editor to compose my posts. I prefer to work offline in a word processor, however, using MS Word may cause problems when you Copy/Paste your text from Word to the WordPress editor, because it transfers HTML code that can mess up your post - and your site - badly.
Microsoft officially released Windows Live Writer; it is available for download from Windows Live Services. Live Writer is a desktop application for Windows that has a clean and nice user interface…
Last week I discussed profile writing as an alternative to just printing a regular interview. This week, I want to take that a step further and discuss writing a profile as a life story. Writing a life story might seem a bit daunting, but if you have the right outline you can stay on track and create an original, interesting article. The outline we are going to use is the “Hero’s Journey” or monomyth.
The Hero’s Journey is a storytelling format originally identifed by Joseph Campbell, but one that is as…
Look, I get it. You want to be on the front page of Digg. You write headlines and content geared around catching the attention of the major Diggers. The problem is, you’re alienating your readers.
Here’s the thing…
When you’re on the front page of Digg, if you make it to the front page of Digg, you get a day or two of good traffic, then the majority of that traffic leaves. What do you do, write more Diggables? It’s a lot of work just for a day or two of…
Coming up with ideas for things to write about can be very nerve-racking. Today I am going to show you how to use Google News, Yahoo News and Technorati to get an endless supply of information to write about. Google News, Yahoo news and technorati are great resources to find new things to write about and gather research to support your ideas. In addition to these three sites, what I am going to show you can be applied to other news and information feeds. It will just take a little…
When working with people as story topics, a sure sign of a rookie writer is the tendency to tell the reader things instead of showing them. While sometimes telling is the only way to communicate the necessary elements of the story, if you can find a way to show the readers what you want them to understand you will create a much more subtle and professional piece of work.
The opportunity to show your readers most often presents itself when you are focusing your story on a person or people. If you use…
