This is the first post in a series on blog writing. These posts are based on ideas from a great little book called The Elements of Business Writing
There are two common writing mistakes people make that weaken their blogging:
- They write an unnecessary first paragraph which rambles as it tries to pick up steam and establish the post.
- They write a drawn-out closing that ends the post weakly.
Delete the Warm-up Paragraph
The first paragraph often contains no information of value. It may not even be particularly engaging. Why does this happen? Because bloggers hit the Publish button after “splatting” out the first–and only–draft. Many times, the entire first paragraph can simply be deleted, and the post will begin on a much stronger, more confident note, without sacrificing any meaning or information.
In The Elements of Business Writing
Delete Unecessary Closings
Have you ever known someone who just didn’t know how to end a conversation? They kept dragging out the inevitable ending by bringing up new points in a conversation that should be over with. It makes others feel uncomfortable.
Just as we can often delete the warm-up paragraph, we can delete the ending one. In reality, the post ended already, but we felt the need to continue in a hedging, “from the heels” manner. One of the best ways to end blog posts is telling the the reader what to do: simply tell the reader what should be done to get the main benefit of the information in your post. That’s it. The end.
No More Rambling Brain Splats for You
Next time you write a blog post, just dive in there and chop out your first and last paragraphs without fear. This is no time for timidity. You may have to edit what you now have as your first and last paragraphs, but it should be by only the slightest amount. If you delete the warm-up paragraphs and the unecessary closings, your posts will be stronger, more confident-sounding, and more persuasive.
The next post in the series is: Quit Qualifying Your Words and Just Say it Already. If you don’t want to miss it, you’d better subscribe!
Looks like we are in store for a great series here, Michael!
My toughest part of writing a blog post (other than figuring out just WHAT to write about… and creating a good title) is the opening and closing.
Once I get started, the content flows, but beginning a post in particular can be the toughest part for me.
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll be sure to take these into account and do a good bit of editing on my posts…
Hi,
Indeed is true that the first paragraph can be called the “warm up paragraph” but I think I’ll have to work harder on the first and last paragraph because I’m a big fan of an article structure like this :
- summary
- subtitle 1
- subtitle 2
- subtitle 3
- conclusion
Thank you
@Selene – Thank you. Standing on the shoulders of giants (Blake and Bly) makes it a bit easier (and there’s a lesson for bloggers right there).
Don’t overthink it, just write your post but look at the first and last paragraphs with a really hard eye. Try deleting them outright (you can undo, right?) and reading your post aloud.
@Toma – That’s a great article structure, and doesn’t conflict with these ideas. People can ramble too much in the opening summary and conclusion, weakening them.
It’s clear already that this is going to be a useful little series, Michael! I think a lot of us have a tendency to want to cram too much into a post – or at least, I do – and perhaps that’s a hangover from the print world for those of us who grew up working in that media. Whatever the reason, one thing I’ve just recently discovered to be particularly useful is the “Excerpt” box: if it takes more than a couple of seconds to figure out what to copy-and-paste for an excerpt, I know that my focus is not quite there.
Excellent start, Michael. As others have said, this looks like a notable series in the works.
I am definitely guilty of these faults on occasion. There’s no doubt that my best work is clearly the posts that start at 100 miles per hour and end at either the same speed/impact or better/faster. Now if I could only go back in time and do some chopping before I hit that publish button.
Oh well, we all have future posts that will most certainly need a little axe action. Eric.
I’d add that this is good advice for any piece of writing, Michael, from a speech to an article to an op/ed. Here’s my long newspaper and speechwriter background speaking: Starting anything with a summary is the kiss of death. Start with a story, a future scenario, a WOW scenario or something else that grabs and doesn’t let go. End with another grabber that loops back to the opening and reinforces the single point, not a trail-off.
You know, when I started reading blogs, I very quickly got in the habit of skipping over the opening paragraph. I don’t have to anymore, because in time I naturally gravitated to bloggers who don’t need excessive warm-up.
@Rebecca – I had the same problem, until I just started splitting off the other ideas into their own posts.
Suddenly I was much more productive!
@Eric – We’re all guilty of this, but awareness and tips to make a change go a long way to fixing the problem.
@Jean – You bet. Good writing is good writing.
@Hunter – if anyone needed proof that this will help bloggers achieve their goals of growing an audience, you just gave it. Thanks!
I’ve been watching you do that topic-splitting, Michael – a bit of an epiphany, when I started to notice it happening! Now all I’ve got to do is discipline myself to do the same thing…
p.s. Hunter’s comment really struck home.
in total agreement about deleting the first paragraph… it’s the one i have the hardest time with when i start writing (because who really likes warming up anyway? let’s just do it already!) but when i come back to it later i find i can write a much better one with more ease.
Solid advice. Thanks.
Stumbled.
@Rebecca – Here’s one way I know when to do it: when I can no longer convey the benefits or point in just one sentence.
@Mark – having time to come back to it is key, but most of us don’t give ourselves the time.
@Marc and Angel – Thanks!
I know of 2 words that can summarize this blog post, Michael: REDUCE CLUTTER.
I will definitely be following this series because I do a lot of writing everyday
[...] Monday: No More Rambling Brain Splats [...]
Great post. I wrote a lot of single-spaced one page analytical papers in college – the strict limit-length forced us to dive right into our important, interesting points and supplement with reasoning. IMO, same goes for effective blogging – wit, personality and voice are important – but so is concise, clear writing. Both can, and do, exist harmoniously in proficient blog posts. Again – smart tips, and thanks for sharing.
-Lauren (@beebow)
What an expository.I never knew the blunder I’d been committing till now.Thanks Micheal,I love to see more of this from you.
Unbelievable!!!