Welcome back to Part 5 of the Blogging Basics Series! If you haven’t been keeping up, I’ve decided to spend April helping my fellow bloggers by sharing what I’ve learned about blogging since I started. This is part of the A to Z and Ultimate Blog Challenges, but instead of filling the month with pointless posts, I chose to turn my past mistakes into lessons to help others succeed (hopefully).
My journey of learning through blogging has been tough and full of mistakes. If my tips can help even one other blogger make better choices in their blogging, then this whole 30-part series will be worth it. If you haven’t subscribed to my blog to follow along with this series, I suggest you do. You can find ways to connect with me above my smiling face on the right, and if you click on the home tab and check the left sidebar, you’ll see where you can sign up for email updates.
Now to the topic of the day. Huzzah!
E is for Editing is Evil but Necessary in Blogging
Regardless of how flawless your writing may be, even if you are the most obnoxious stickler for grammar rules, you will need to edit your blog posts. Every single one of them, every time you write a new post. I even make a habit of checking through old posts when I have time,and guess what I always find? Yep. Small, annoying errors I probably would have caught before publishing, had I slowed down and edited the way I’ve found to be effective. Here is my simple editing method in case you need inspiration:
1. Write the post with zeal and enthusiasm, paying little attention to spelling and grammar and more on the passion of production. This is the time to focus solely on the creative part.
2. After finishing the post, go over the text and fix any glaring errors are immediately apparent. Repeat twice. Even if everything looks amazing at this point, DO NOT publish yet.
3. Go eat dinner, play with your kid, walk your dog, take a nap, or do whatever activity that will distract you from your completed post for at least an hour.
4. After one hour, preferably longer revisit your blog post. You’ll probably notice minor errors that your tired brain and eyes previously would not have detected. By walking away for a little while, you get to revisit your blog with a fresher perspective.
For those of you who aren’t grammar champions,there are plenty of tools to help guide you and refine your skills. Here are a few ways to help get into your grammar groove:
1. If you’re on WordPress, you can install the Proofread Bot plugin to point out errors, or the After the Deadline plugin, which uses artificial intelligence to check spelling, style, and grammar (pretty cool, right? Yes, I’m easily fascinated, and AI is one of those things that make me say wow!)
2. Check out the wealth of information at The Purdue Online Writing Lab. I refer to them even now when I have questions about writing style, passive voice, and other fun stuff.
3. Grammar Girl at Quick and Dirty Tips isn’t half bad either, and finally,
4. Dr. Grammar, a resource for writers everywhere.
The blogging arena is far more casual than the scholarly writing arena, and bending the popular rules is normal practice, but simple edits still need to be part of the plan. If you try out some of my suggestions, you’re sure to be a more successful blogger.
See you tomorrow with the next part of this incredibly intense series. How about you? What grammar tools or tips would you add to this list? Tell me in the comments!
Feature image courtesy of Creative Commons.