I’m nearing the limit of what I can teach my more advanced students. I was over at Howard’s to look at his blog, and sure, he’s having a few problems, but they are very advanced problems. For instance, how to format poetry so it looks like the original, and no, block quotes do not work if CSS has first-line indent activated. These situations somewhat strengthen my idea of writing very short and specific how-to booklets. One good issue would be how to get Wordpress to do what you want. I believe his blog is www.howardozmon.wordpress.com.Then over to the Barn for a few hours of research, but again, I’m finding these stores are no longer devoting shelf space to non-moving topics. The computer section has shrunk to a third the former size. There are almost no craft books other than woodworking and knitting. They’ve trimmed everything down to what sells. The old joke says Americans want economy and they’ll pay any amount of money to get it.
I did notice, because I was looking, at the lack of small (cheap) how-to books. Generally, books seem to sell in the $14 range for topics of any use. This means a big book which discourages reading. I did not see anything on how to operate Wordpress, and their on-line stuff is far too well-hidden. Nor is there a good site (that I can find) that specializes in how-to. A big part of what I mean by specialize is that the person selling the books has to actually read them, not just sell them. It never seems to happen.
Ah, the aroma of Ben Gay and coffee. Makes this place like home. It is a great day to be outside, with 100% overcast. My upper arm is acting up, so I’ve coated it with liniment that isn’t near “deep heating” enough. I’ve got some advice for potential bloggers out there, so read on or buy my book later.
It’s true, blogs must have content. However, the instructions miss out some important qualifications. It should be your content (and long blogs are definitely suspect on that one). Stick around, I have other enlightening jewels to tell you that nobody else will. Try to make your blogs roughly the same length and intensity. I strive for around an 8-9 minute read if you think about what I write, less if you skim. If your blog hops all over the place, consider splitting into two or more blogs.
Also, there is no substitute for pictures. Some authors take that to mean their grinning mug shot on every post. Ahem. I mean real pictures. Total prose has its place and your blog is probably not it. Fiction writers can get away with it and so can you once your name becomes Tom Clancey. Meanwhile, even the most boring manual I’ve ever read had some illustrations. What? Okay, it was a technical paper on FM antenna theory translated from Russian. (Danielle Steele was worse, but she doesn’t write manuals.)
You, well just listen to what I say and go get at least a good cheap digital camera, then learn to upload images to your blog. You can also trust me when I tell you most people vastly over-rate how interesting they are to talk to, including yourself. Do not try to emulate your conversational style in a blog. Writing is a larger undertaking and repetition is spotted straight off. You might want to consider finding a good presentation format and sticking with it. There is a great big reason why this blog does not look like any other blog.
Last for now, make sure your blog contains at least some new knowledge. Neighborhood gossip may qualify as information, but knowledge it is not. Without new input each post, you run the risk of becoming another “my cat had kittens” blogster. This is also good advice not to just publish any idea that pops into your head. Very few people take interest in the same things, so don’t expect it with what you write. Find a consistent theme. Work it. And quit thinking anything good happens by accident.
