Writing a better blog
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve done a crappy job with updating up my site lately. The old design was part of the problem — I did a poor job with the layout and ended up putting unnecessary constraints on how posts had to be structured. Newspapers need to design around space constraints, but there’s no reason to impose those limitations on myself.
So the new design is an initial step to get back into the blogger’s groove. But that’s only part of the solution. I’m going to follow a few other guidelines as well — my short list on how to be my own better blogger — at least until I get tired or drunk or find something better to do.
Keep things short and to the point
A lot of my older posts are too long. They’re boring, they ramble, and when a point exists, it usually isn’t clear. I use plenty of cute adjectives but they’re mostly filler. So I need to do a better job of getting to the point: if Twitter’s 140-character updates, Valleywag’s 100-word recaps, and reddit’s description-less headlines prove anything (no, it’s not the power of social structures or some bullshit like that), it’s that shorter can be better.
Break out the subheadings
I’m a big fan of subheadings. They make it easy to scan and help reinforce the overall point. I’ve experimented with subheadings a few times in the past and I think they’re just swell, so I’m going to try to use them more frequently. Many of my favorite sites use subheadings to great effect, and I’m hoping to mimic their literary successes.
Write more consistently, frequently
This is the obvious one, and it’s also the hardest. Setting a schedule would be lame — I don’t want to produce something for an arbitrary deadline when I’m feeling uninspired. But on the other hand, I need to do a better job in maintaining some sort of consistency and frequency if I expect any real value from my posts . So I think I’ll set aside a little more time towards writing and researching and plagiarizing other sites formulating original content.
There’s a real benefit to blogging, hence why I feel compelled to give things another go. That said, I’ll also be the first to acknowledge that a post outlining blog improvements is a complete cop-out towards the actual goal. But now I’m covered for the next three months, so I’ll see everyone some time in May!
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Crap I did it again
Oh well.