After spending a week with Twitter, I'm thinking about setting up a blog about better Web 2.0 writing. It's not just because of Twitter, though: I've noticed for some time now that Web 2.0 technology really invites bad writing.
I don't mean grammar or spelling errors - although, yes, certainly those exists. I mean writing problems that actually make it impossible for people to understand what you mean. Self-indulgent writing on a blog is to be expected; by all means, indulge yourself by telling all those boring stories an editor would cut to bits.
If I were to write such a blog, this would be where I'd start:
Good Blog Writing Tip #1: Get to the point. Even if you have a cute little antidote, don't spend more than two short paragraphs on it before you get to the point.
An example: Recently a professional blogger, who writes about a topic-specific blog on technology, started off a post with an explanation of journalism's inverted pyramid. His point was that sometimes journalist pick things to put at the top that he would never pick, and he had a particular example in mind. What he felt was the real nugget of the story was buried underneath all this crap. Pointing out this nugget was the point of the post.
Fine. He could've explained the pyramid, criticized the other piece and gotten to the nugget within two paragraphs. But instead, he goes on and links to other articles he's written about the lead topic - the very topic he felt should not have been the lead in the first place. It actually takes him six paragraphs to get to the nugget of the story - the information she supposedly believes should have been the lead in the first place.
In other words, his story duplicated the error of the article he was criticizing. He's dogging someone for burying the real information - and then he does the exact same thing in his post. He's not only committing the same error, he's committing it with the exact same material.
I recognize this error because I've done it myself. It's easy to do, particularly in the fast-paced world of blog writing, where first drafts tend to be the only draft.
Good Blog Writing Tip #1: Get to the point. Even if you have a cute little antidote, don't spend more than two short paragraphs on it before you get to the point.
