This is a guest post by Lior who is a web consultant sharing writing tips in this post. Follow him on Twitter @liorl
If you have the aspirations to be a great blog writer it is really not all that difficult, but there are ground rules that you need to follow in order to be successful at it.
There are several common mistakes that new writers often make, and if you avoid them it can mean the difference of you being an average writer or a great writer.
Being Distracted
If your computer that you are utilizing for your writing is set up in the family rec. room which happens to be the hub of your residential activity, there is no way you will be able to focus on what you are writing.
Unable To Concentrate
If you are dealing with personal issues which are not allowing you to have a free mind with your writing, then you are going to produce inferior work because you are not giving it your best efforts.
Not Feeling Well
Trying to write when you are unwell or tired can be a disaster. Your body cannot function at its best. Not only will your writing not have an interesting flow to it, you will make several grammar and perhaps spelling errors. Even if you attempt to proofread your work while in this state, chances are you will miss something.
Multi Tasking is Not a Good Idea
If you are trying to do several things at once and one of these writing, then it is the writing that will most likely suffer the most. Every time you leave your writing to attend to something else you are breaking your train of thought. It does not just return automatically when you sit down to start writing again.
Don’t Attempt to Write When you are Rushed
If you are committed to having to go somewhere and this means you must rush to complete your article or blog, then you are far better to put it aside until you can allot the proper time for it. If you don’t, the content will not likely be what you were hoping for or perhaps the presentation will be inferior.
Don’t Take on More Than you Can Handle
Writing blogs and articles can be most stimulating and enjoyable. When it becomes a burden though because the workload is too much, then it will show in your writing. Your content will portray a “just let’s get this done”, type of attitude.
Don’t Mislead People with Inaccurate Information
No matter what you are writing, be sure that it is as accurate as possible. This most often means doing some research, and you really should keep track of the sources that you use for your material, even if you don’t list these in your post.
Don’t Create a Haphazard Working Atmosphere
If you are going to be writing articles or blogs, it doesn’t matter if you are doing it as a hobby or a business, be sure to approach it professionally. Obviously you are writing because you have something informative to say. If you want people to believe in your writing then you must be sure to come across as being credible. If you are writing with the television going, or the music is blaring, there is no way that you are going to remain focused during the duration of your writing.
There are just a few of the don’ts when it comes to article and blog writing. Hope these help with your writing efforts.
I definitely agree with Melvin, getting focused is the real key to finishing a compelling post. But as for my experience – I have been writing for almost 4 years now – it’s best to take breaks if you think you are experiencing some of the distractions mentioned above, especially if you are not feeling well!
I tend to write to post while doing something else or I have some distractions while I am writing. Maybe that’s one of the reason that I have to rewrite my post before posting. I guess one the key for a successful and captivating post is that you’re focus and have a clear mind while writing it. Great tips!
Blogging is a very profitable business, however the only thing is to write killer posts. All popular bloggers have written killer posts and that is why they are now leading from the front.
Great post liorl..
Thanks for the post! I really enjoyed reading it! I find myself falling into several of the categories mentioned! I constantly find myself writing when I have other things going on otherwise known as multi-tasking. I am a stay at home mom to 3 children under the age of 5 so it is nearly impossible to find time to just sit and write, I always find myself doing something else while trying to write! And being distracted is probably one of my main problems as well! It is hard to find a quiet time to just sit and write. So I do the best I can and figure someday they will all be in school and I will have some quiet!! I enjoyed the post and it makes some really great points.
liorl, You have stated first 4 points as the reason for failing…and you started to advice like “Don’t Attempt to Write When you are Rushed ” others from 4th-8th points…Is that match with your post heading..Any way nice article..
Well I agree with you, lack of concentration is the greatest factor when your writing an article. When one writes an article, they should give themselves selflessly to the article.
grammatical errors should not be ignored in the post..and i tend to go on social networking sites randomly 🙁
I think you have to be prepared to invest time into each and every blog post. The tendency may be to write an idea up quickly in order to ensure that the blog is regularly updated but if you are willing to take the time to add pictures, diagrams and as much information as you can find then you will be rewarded with higher levels of traffic.
Distraction and lack of concentration is the biggest reason for not able to write quality post. Especially when had a long break from blogging and thus I guess it is always recommended that a blogger should be consistent and keep the personal matters away while writing. Nice read 🙂
Haha, I’ve been in about 3 of the situations you listed here in this article. I have written when I was sick, when I had too much to handle (or as they say, multitasking) and I also have tried doing it while I was pressured. The pressure works sometimes but I couldn’t do it on a regular basis! I had to work when I was sick so that I could pay for medicine and I had to take on more load than before also because of the same reason (need money). Not saying that I did the best work then but it happens and it can be done!