My wife is so awesome!
We’ve been featuring a lot of strategies recently in this blog post series on Great Blog Content and I realized that most of them are on the systems of blog content for better traffic and better engagement and not so much on the actual writing itself.
The point is that you could know all the “tricks” in writing great blog content and still be a terrible writer and have all of it go to terrible waste! We must all continue to master our skill of writing constantly!
Now, let it be known plainly that I am not the world’s best writer – in fact, I’m actually a pretty poor writer, especially when it comes to grammar, prose, positioning, narrative, and all those other technical features of “proper” writing style and etiquette. I’m constantly reminded by my wife (who is a real writer) that I my art form is like that of chalk drawings on a sidewalk!
Luckily I don’t mind it very much! But, that doesn’t mean that I’m not working on my craft and honing my skills as best as I possibly can!
Here are some tips that I’ve collected from my wife over the many years that might push you to become an even better writer and blogger yourself:
1. Seriously, Listen!
I’m not a very good listener. I am very good at hearing stuff but there’s a difference between hearing something and actively listening to someone.
I need to work on the latter! I have found that good writers are those that have an ability to also listen well – When was the last time you actively listened to someone else other than yourself?
2. Get Up Lazy Pants!
I spend hours upon hours sitting in my chair and I have often found that simply getting out of my chair can “release” my thoughts so that I can continue my efforts in writing.
My wife has always suggested that I get up and go do something else (or at least get out of the chair) if I’m stuck and it’s worked almost every single time. I think there’s a strong correlation between your physical activity and your ability to write well and consistently.
I have no scientific proof of this but my wife says it’s true so I believe it.
3. Stop Writing and Go Read Something!
This is something that I’ve naturally been inclined to do ever since I was a child – I loved to read. At some point I lost that since I became too busy in work and other such business-related things.
I’ve recently come back to this and have seen a significant increase of productivity and output in my writing. My wife has always said that I need to get back into reading and she was right.
She’s always right.
4. Practice Makes Perfect!
My wife knew from Day 1 that I don’t really like to practice anything because I make the excuse that my simply “doing” things is practice in and of itself. I know this isn’t true but I like to lie to myself just as much as the next person.
Actively practicing your writing skills is not the same thing as just writing or blogging every day. I have found that practicing my writing skills requires a lot of intentionality, reading articles and books on effective writing, and writing physically on paper.
These activities don’t produce any blog content but I feel that they are impacting my ability to process information better and think more effectively in translating thoughts into words. Call me crazy but I think practicing your writing makes you a better writer!
5. Say It Aloud!
I remember one of the first dates I took with my wife I was trying to “help” my wife with one of her papers in college. She spent a great deal of it reading aloud which somewhat annoyed me since I just wanted to read it, fix it, and then hand it back to her.
She knew that reading the paper aloud was an effective strategy for helping her to find the flow of the article and “hear it make sense”. I now spend more time reading my blog posts aloud before I publish and it has made a world of difference (although she’d say it’s still not enough!).
[This is part of the Developing Great Blog Content Series. Check out the other posts!]
Love it! I think I’m going to start reading aloud…I’m thinking my wife might be annoyed a bit by that, though.
haha. or she could become really engaged in your writing..
All very good tips! Reading is absolutely essential for good writing, you need that constant influx of new ideas and new methods of expressing concepts from other writers!
for serious! i love reading but have lost the time to do it… i’m getting it back.
I read aloud!!! and now I know I’m not quirky…well not really…but at least I know that reading aloud is a valuable tool for writers! Thanks!
haha! sure thing stephanie! also, do you have a gravatar? http://tentblogger.com/gravatar/ ?
Love the get up and do something–it almost always works for me! Wondering if I could convince my husband to read this one…..:)
I have the hardest time with listening and getting up; both of which are essential…Thanks for the tips!
don’t thank me.. thank my wife!
Great tips, John. Your wife is a wise woman. I think I’m going to try reading my posts aloud more. I read and re-read them over and over but I still find typos. I think reading aloud may be a big key with this.
i agree. i find a lot wrong just reading it to myself!
My husband and I often read our posts aloud to one another. We help each other tweak the content and it makes a big difference to hear it out loud. Thanks for the post. Great ideas!
ah, that’s pretty sweet! both of you guys blog?
My wife (Wendi) proofs all of my posts. She suggests things that make my posts more relational and focused on the heart of the reader not just the intellect. Super valuable!
wow! when does she do the proofing? do you guys have a selected part of the day?
I am only posting once a week right now. I know that the “cardinal rule” is to post more…but I don’t have a lot of time and I want to make sure I stay focused and develop solid Evergreen or Pillar posts. So, right now she has an easy job schedule
Mornings work best for us.
awesome! taking it slow is not a problem!
I like that you know your wife is always right. I don’t read my posts out loud but maybe I should start.
see how it works for you.
Really like number 3,4,5.
Reading out loud is also my favorite. Not only it can find the flow of the story but it also can find mistakes in the writings. I dunno if I agree with number 2 though…
exercise is critical for my state of mind and well-being. i think it impacts my writing more than i know! but sure, it’s open to disagreement!
Excellent post as usual, I find listening is the crucial part of blogging. Use the email feedback from clients, and turn the questions and responses into article ideas. helps with ‘bloggers block’.
definitely nial. hey, do you have a gravatar? http://tentblogger.com/gravatar/
Good stuff brother. Wives always know best!
seriously. amen to that!
Of course she is right AND beautiful. And you are both great writers.
thanks mandy!
Great tips. Beautiful picture of Sue.
You married up.
i did. no joke.
Excellent tips. I love my wife wants to read over my posts the night before. Teamwork is always better!
teamwork… love it! it’s hard but when it works it works!
John, great tips! Your wife is not only gorgeous, but truly wise. That is a rare combo and you are blessed, brother!
I always try to let my writing sit for a couple of days or so and then go back and tweak it (that’s for when I’m writing my books). After I post to my blog, I go back and read it to edit. For some reason, I will catch more mistakes or flow problems after its published. I will write in word, then transfer to blog editor, read and tweak, and still catch mistakes after it’s published. Sigh…
isn’t that wierd? i just made a post this morning and had a bad spelling error… obama instead of osama… yikes!
Great tips, thanks for sharing! Greg…can Wendi proofread my posts
haha!
Thanks John. Great tips. Sometimes wives are always right. I always leave a bunch of typos unnoticed and its not until my GF takes a look and brings to my attention what i did wrong. Ill try reading my stuff out-loud even more. Definitely that helps.
sweet! GF=girlfriend, right?
Thank God for great wives! My wife does a great job helping me proof texts and seeing another’s perspective.
Love the tips! Like you, I spend a lot of the day at my office desk in my chair – only to have great ideas hit me as I get up to go home for the day. I wonder what would happen if I pretended to leave during the middle of the day???
oh. now there’s a thought…!
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.
Good Tips!..
Cheers – PJ
totally agree!
Love the tips. When I was working on my master’s in English, I definitely used the reading aloud strategy. It really helped me to hear connections I might have missed, etc. I can certainly see it working for blog entries too!
sweet! my wife has a degree in english!
Great tips! My wife is an editor so I try to squeeze as much knowledge out of her as I can. She reviews and edits my posts before publishing, but I am trying to learn how to do this myself. Once I write something, I have a hard time reading it again. I like the ‘Read aloud’ part. That might help me.
I have also discovered the ‘reading to help my writing’ tip to be very useful. It’s both inspiring and motivating.
how do you set time up to work with her?
Great tips and wonderful shout out to your wife. I’ll definitely be using these tips as I get back into the habit of posting to the blog 5 days a week.
sure thing jd! thanks so much!
Great tips. Your wife is a wise woman. I am especially a fan of reading to write better.
i bet you read a lot…!
I hate saying it out loud! Alas, it is always the best way for proofread.
it definitely can be a bit… embarassing.
Wives have that amazing knack of being able to point out the obvious things that we husbands don’t see. My wife does it all the time and I often have to remember that she’s helping me, even when it hurts!!
Love the tips – thanks!
our wives deserve more credit than we give them.
These are some pretty good tips. I personally find the more I used to “write for SEO” the less engaging I was. I’ve picked up several books on writing, blogging and read more posts on engaging through writing and strong content development – like this – to help.
Sometimes, my best inspiration is another series of posts and reading… my hardest challenges are the introductions and conclusions! I think I need a swipe file !
lauryn,
yes, i totally agree. i struggle with this too!
Great tips from the Mrs! I especially agree with that of reading aloud. It definitely helps because we type and write differently from the way we speak.
Strange as it may sound, but I always find myself cutting out the extra words that get onto my screen post-writing because they make my writing sound strange when I read it out loud.
//Daniel
awesome! i do this too all the time!