How To #3 – Crafting A New Post

In this third installment of my “how to” series, I’ll give you some tips on how I go about writing a new post for this blog.

Make a list

Take a look at the snippet (that’s the picture at the top) I took just before I started to write this.  That’s how I start.  I make a list of the points I want to make in the post.  I don’t necessarily use this method for every post, but I do make use of it quite frequently.  It has the advantage of forcing you to think a little bit about what you want to talk about.  Since you can see what you’re going to talk about, it also helps you to find a logical sequence to your thoughts.  As you write, you may find that occasionally you think of another thought you want to share in your post.  No problem.  Just add it to the list, and if it seems to fit better in another place, there’s always cut and paste to place it where it makes the most sense.

Explore your points

As you finish writing about each point, you simply move down to the next and expand on the idea that you have listed.  Begin the exploration with your main point.  As you proceed further into your point refine the details.  You simply follow a logical path of starting with a more general idea and going into more detail as you develop that section of your post.  Another way of looking at it is state your point, and then tell us why you believe your point.  Give us reasons so that we understand why you feel the way you do.

Lead to a conclusion

Each section or paragraph should move your reader further along toward your conclusion.  When you listed the points you wanted to make, you listed a conclusion you wanted to lead your readers to didn’t you?  You need to know where you’re going in order to get there.  Think of your post as a map.  You are a guide, leading your readers along the road to your conclusion.

Proof read plus

Finally, there’s the proof reading.  Notice that I called this section “proof read plus.”  There’s a reason for the plus.  Normally when you proof read something you’ve written, you are looking for spelling, grammatical errors, and things like that.  For blogging and other internet writing, I add another step to the proof reading process.  I scan my post for tags.  These are the keywords that might help someone find your post.  I read through it, and as I come to words, or phrases that I think are likely to be searched for, I add them to the post tags section.

There’s another part to the plus section too.  Links.  I look for words or phrases that I can use as links to other posts I have written that might help my readers understand my [point better.  Sometimes I might want to link to another blog or website to help my readers.  Either way I’m looking for words or phrases that a link to another web page (mine or someone else’s) that will help.  The plus part of proof reading has two purposes.  Not only are you assisting your readers to having a better understanding of what you are saying, but there are the benefits of backlinks.  Linking to articles in your own blog helps you with search engines, and if you link to someone else’s blog, they’ll be glad for the link.  Feel free to link to anything you find on my blog, I’ll be glad.  So that’s my method of crafting a new post.

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As always, comments are encouraged.