One day while seated down with a friend we had an interesting argument about free will and will power. Were they the same and what was it that made them different? In my understanding, free will is the ability to make decisions for oneself despite obvious physical limitations while will power, for both of us, is the ability to carry out the decision. He said that there were limitations such as time, effort, finances. I say, wanting to perform the action and being able to are two different things.
I talk about this because when it come to your blog you need both. Coming up with an idea is all fun and peachy but what about the execution? The actual writing of that blog post. Here are some basic blogging tips that might help you with your blogging journey.
- Write every day.
If I started to wait for moments of inspiration, I would never finish a book –Mario Vargus Llosa.
This sounds every bit cliché and tired and worn out and exhausting etc. but it’s true. See how I used all those words to describe this one situation? Those are all the ideas you have in your head. Some haven’t been revived yet and are mere fragments of thought but now you need to make them make sense. Writing down your blog post inspirations and save them as drafts. It helps in that, you can get back to it and flesh it out once the story makes sense. As writers, we all know ‘I’ll write it down so I don’t forget’ means never so please, write it down.
- Learn the rules.
One thing most people don’t understand is that when you have learnt the rules enough to internalize them, then you can break them. Manipulating them to your advantage. Like when you know your Kiswahili enough to say ‘nimefika na kuwasili’ and no one looks at you like you just hopped into a spaceship that was dropping guys at Bamburi just in time for you to catch the Ferry. Having adept knowledge of writing styles makes you more likely to be a better writer. In so doing you can be able to manipulate the language without seeming a bit lost.
Learn to do your research, avoid skimming or scanning through your source content, this makes up for credibility when need be. Plus, you look super smart and I hear everyone likes that.
- Read with intention.
One of the best ways to learn how to write well is learning how to read well. We spend a lot of time trying to look like we read but we don’t take the actual time to pick up a book. Reading doesn’t have to be that intimidating book you struggle with or that writer everyone is talking about whom you don’t enjoy their literal works. Find someone or something you enjoy reading and let it hone your skills, for example; select a book that compels you to pick up a dictionary or check the thesaurus for other words that are similar thus growing your vocabulary.
- Improve our vocabulary and thesaurus.
This is in relation to the point above. When reading we hope to progress in our expression of language, this applies to any language one delves in. practice makes perfect.
- Revise your work.
This should be a religion by now. No piece of writing is done until it has been revised at least three times. The purpose of revising your work is relevant across the board, it’s not just for spelling and grammar. When you revise your work you come across a phrase that can be better expressed, words that can be shortened and ideas and text that can be eliminated. It opens your eyes to new ‘doors’ to your literary work. It can give your blog posts a face-lift, you know, like when guys get a beard.
Try out these rather obvious, not so obvious tips for your blogging and you’ll definitely see results.