I really dislike it when someone writes a post that tries to tell me how to blog. I’ll blog however I darn well please. That said, I’ve got a complaint about the way some people blog. I’ve been noticing a lot of (mostly Christian) blogs have post after post that take me 20-30 minutes to read. Hey, if you’re one of these bloggers understand that I’m not telling you that you should change your writing style it’s your duty to blog however you want. I’m sure that there are a lot of people out there who are truly ministered to and blessed by your posts. But me, I just don’t have the time to read through paragraph after paragraph just to find out your main point. Let me give you some tips for keeping my attention.
1. Keep your posts short. By short I mean 4-5 paragraphs at the most (not including lists like this. Lists are easy to read.) If you’re gonna write a book I’m probably not going to read it. Find a publisher or do NaNoWriMo like me. Yes, writing on Theology tends to take a lot of words. Write your theological essay, I just probably won’t read it.
2. Use everyday language unless the situation necessitates the use of really complex words. Yeah, using big words makes you sound smarter, it really does. It also makes me skim your post. I’m dumb, use small words please.
3. Tell me what your post is about in the first paragraph or if possible, the first sentence. This way I can decide if I want to use my limited time to read the rest of the post. It’s very frustrating when I don’t know what a post is about until I’m 5 minutes into it.
4. And lastly, tell me what you’re gonna tell me, then tell me, then tell me what you told me. Basic writing skills here. I should be able to read your first and/or last paragraph and know basically what your post is about.
I admit I don’t always follow my own guidelines. But let’s all strive to be more conscious about those readers out there with ADD like myself.
