Good writing applies in blogging, too.

Image from the Internet

Quality content (or “good” quality content, to be specific) is king in blogging. I kept hearing these words from Internet marketing and search engine optimization experts who continue to emphasize this amidst the necessity of keywords and other tools to optimize one’s articles.

In my blogging experience, I have almost always relied on my original content to drive interaction with other bloggers and online users who share my passion for literature. Since it has worked for me, I think for good quality content to be king, it needs to be original, clear, concise, and direct. Ensuring these characteristics calls for good writing.

And good writing can be achieved by putting in mind two universal principles:

1. Write the way you talk.

This may sound like the stupidest of advice you may get, considering the most likely fact that when you talk before a crowd, your speech may be addled with several uhs, ums, and you knows that could drive your audience crazy or encourage the teasing ones to tally them on paper and compare counts after. The point, really, is to write conversationally for your readers, filtering the uhs, ums, and you knows to come up with a clear copy.

It is like gossiping with a friend (not that I’m encouraging it). When you excitedly share a rumor you consider to have magnitude importance, you go straight to the point: “Star B got Star A pregnant but went to live with Star C and now the degree of Star B’s stardom is fast falling off the sky with no movies, no anything.”

Bring your voice to your blog and talk to your readers. By talking conversationally, you are engaging them to your ideas. You’ll be surprised by the extent of relationship you could build with others by doing this.

2. Write to express, not to impress.

In this day and age, when the number of words in a sentence or paragraph is fast decreasing, using fanciful words that do not support or overly support an idea to appear intelligent may actually backfire on you.

It is a textbook advice to use words that are generally familiar to your readers. I mean, why use the word “prevaricate” when you could use “lie”? Or why use “inundate” when you could use “drown”? If your reader does not understand what you are saying through your blog post, your cause to inform and educate has lost its meaning.

For example (a classic example at that), some people may be impressed when you use this statement: “With respect to the question of pets, Mary exercised rights of ownership over a certain juvenile member of the sheep family.” But many of your readers will understand when you write it this way: “Mary had a little lamb.”

Express your idea clearly, filtering the fanciful words, omitting verbal deadwood, using words that are in your readers’ heads, and keeping your sentences reasonably short and simple. By doing so, you are actually being impressive.