Janet Kobobel Grant
Publishers remain eager to connect with blog writers who have amassed faithful readers. Therefore, an agent’s interest in a potential client is piqued at the mention of a strong blog readership.
Because blogging can leapfrog a writer into a book contract, we agents look at a ton of proposals by such writers. One thing we regularly observe is how blog writing has ruined some potentially eloquent authors
Here are the ways I’ve observed this ruination
Blog writing results in the overuse of exclamation marks
Most blog writers want to convey they really mean what they are saying! And what better–and easier–way to do that than by using lots of exclamation marks!?
Of course, after awhile, the surplus of exclamation marks leaves the reader weary of being exclaimed at. Used judiciously, exclamation marks do emphasize points you want to make or heighten the emotion the writer wants to convey. But a blog writer often becomes reliant on that punctuation mark rather than adequately communicating that emotion through words. When he or she writes a manuscript, the exclamation marks pop up in the place of strong writing.
Put your writing discourse on an exclamation diet. Your readers will thank you.
Blog writing results in word or phrase repetition to increase the SEO score
Maybe, like me, you were trained by your high school English teachers not to repeat words or phrases but to find several words to express a theme. The same word used twice in a paragraph showcased poor writing skills.
SEO pulls us in the opposite direction, teaching us to repeat key words or phrases in titles and throughout a blog.
This results in lackadaisical word choice when writing a manuscript. Our working vocabulary has been reduced to choices that SEO “approves” of rather than moving us to greater erudition. Reading letters average American citizens wrote in the 19th century reminds us how bereft we are of adequate words to express what we’re thinking and feeling. OMG and LOL turn lackluster in comparison.
I used to buy vocabulary-building flip calendars to begin each new year. But now I’m busy trying to keep up with the latest social media platform or new electronic device. My Fitbit does not make me a better writer, but a more extensive vocabulary certainly would.
Social media’s influence on writing
We’ve also learned to use “punctuation” developed for social media. This type of communication works with blog writing but for creating a manuscript…not so much.
Take, for example, our use of asterisks to indicate action. I could write on Facebook: “It’s bloomin’ spring; have you noticed? *sneezes loudly*”
That works, right?
But we remove ourselves from the art of writing when we use that same technique in creating our book manuscript. A 50,000-word manuscript fairly cries out for you spend enough time with your narrative scene to actually write it out rather than using this “shorthand” way of describing action. Let your writing be languid enough to put us in the moment.
The same goes for hashtags. Sure, it’s cute to write on Twitter “#World’sWorstMom” accompanied with a photo of your toddler’s face and clothes smeared with spaghetti sauce. But please ban this method of writing when you want to convey how you feel about your mommy skills in your manuscript. I can see a hashtag phrase as a book title, but not employed in the book’s copy.
Blog writing results in short snippets and thinking about brevity
Writing a blog teaches us to think about a subject in 300- to 800-word segments. When you’re writing a minimum of two blogs a week, you’re developing a rhythm. Then, when faced with a 2,500-word chapter–and 12 chapters of at least that length–you find yourself responding like a sprinter who has ended up in a marathon.
Let’s be realistic and accept that a blog cannot do what a book can. A book conveys the depth and layers of a subject; a blog hopes to leave us with one thought, maybe two. This also means that collecting your blogs into a downloadable book is not the same as actually writing a book. A blog-book skims over the surface of a topic like a cigar boat at top speed. A book manuscript sinks into the water like a submarine.
Call me out of step with the times; call me old-fashioned. But, also, please call me an appreciator of the fine art of writing.
In what ways do you see blog writing–or social media posts–ruining our ability to write well? In what ways do you think online writing helps us to communicate better?
How writers are ruined by blogging. Click to tweet.
Does blogging ruin writing skills? Click to tweet.
After six plus years of writing two blogs a week, I’ve observed my paragraphs are shorter and I use a lot of one sentence paragraphs. My readers and editors corrected them.
In my mind, it has to do with how the paragraphs look on the blog’s narrow page. My readers had other, correct, ideas.
SEO repetition drives me crazy on the blog. I haven’t noticed that issue in my writing.
My paragraphs keep shrinking as well. I continue to aim for a variety of words in my non-blog writing. But SEO drives me crazy in encouraging us to slide into the one-word lane and stay there.
blogging #ruiningmywriting? #yeahright *scoffs*
* This is an interesting subject, Janet. My feeling is that blogging definitely can coarsen craft, but there’s an underlying problem that’s more serious – the tendency toward ‘unmonitored’ introspection.
* Many of the blogs written by writers are personal in nature (mine included), and therefore the highest standard of objectivity is limited by the desire to communicate what’s in the heart and mind. There are only two characters…me and God, and He’s defined largely by my side of he relationship. The writing can be first- or third-person, but the thinking is first person, and I would guess that, in the long run, it can be crippling to the storyteller’s essential paradigm, her or his raison d’etre.
Andrew, I agree with you about the unmonitored introspection. That kind of expression does not lend itself to novel writing. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing for a blog, but one must never approach a manuscript without a certain level of authorial objectivity based on the reader’s needs and the demands of the craft (as opposed to the author’s feelings).
This whole post had me cringing!!! #guilty *edits entire book*
Sorry, I guess I just had a couple more to get out of my system. 🙂 In all seriousness, I see way too much of myself in this post. It will be good to be aware of this going forward. (Totally held back an exclamation mark there.)
Angela, I love that you didn’t add an exclamation mark. I wrote the blog so we can all be aware of how tarnished our writing skills can become as bloggers. *feels guilty*
I think you raise a good point, Janet, but I’m not sure I’m being affected by it much. Your comment on SEO is especially thought-provoking.
*While I pay attention to SEO at my Roman site, I do it primarily by deliberately writing the snippet that will appear under the title in search results. I don’t let the search engines simply use the first line of the actual article, which I try to make more creatively catchy than explicitly stating the topic. Since some of my articles are on the first or second page of search results, that approach seems to work well. I haven’t tried to apply it all the time to my blog.
*Since my blog is more devotional reflection than personal stream of consciousness, I’m not sure it degrades my writing. I also refuse to play some of the SEO games that dumb down the writing. I don’t worry about making the sentences really short, although I do make the paragraphs short for that open, white-space feeling. However, I don’t have blog numbers that would make anyone envious, so I wouldn’t presume to tell anyone to do it my way.
*Writing fiction probably minimizes the negative effects of blog writing. My mind plays in a different place when I’m writing a novel vs. writing on my blog or on an article for the Roman site.
Carol, I think nonfiction writers are much more prone to pick up bad writing techniques from blogs than novelists. Probably because novelists go to a different place in their thinking when they write fiction.
The positive impact of blogging: every word matters. As a blog reader, I confess, a couple meaningless lines and I click elsewhere. So much content, so little time.
* I blog M-F, each post less than 100 words, no scrolling required. My goal is a thought that hangs in the readers’ heads after they click away.
* I prayed long and hard about it (still do), and I twiddled with the format until I had the sense it was what God intended–which matters to me more than SEO scores. There are days when the post falls short, but some days I feel God’s glorious stamp of approval — and that comes not from big numbers but rather from one life touched. I remember the times that a simple phrase from someone jumped out as God’s personal message to me. I’m honored to be God’s tool to do that for someone else.
Shirlee, that’s a good point about blogs generally receiving wider readership if they are short and sweet. If you limit yourself to 100 words; you have a major challenge to write something meaningful.
How glad I am that I jumped to your blog from this comment, Shirlee. I love what you are doing. (Notice my lack of exclamation point, please.)
I appreciate your encouraging words, Judith (think exclamation point, please).
Blogging’s a single play in a football game; books are marathons. Different skills, different body types, different mindsets.
* One needs a split personality, and this only validates the truism that writers are nuts.
Truth here, Andrew.
I agree! 🙂
I step into different shoes when I write a blog post, write a novel, or write an article. They are all three very different for me. I can’t write the same for all three. And I don’t expect a blog post to be novel material, but when it is … wow. A writer can really shine through a blog post. You don’t see it often, but I’ll give you a few examples … and I pray they don’t mind … Becky Jones, Amanda Dykes, Julie Garmon … not to mention Beth Moore, Ann Voskamp. A once-a-year, once-a-month powerful blog post–one that sticks with me, moves me, stirs my heart–can rate right up there with my favorite novels. That writer notches a little place in my heart through their blog and makes me desire to read their novels. They motivate me to keep trying harder in my own writing …
Writing a novel is like bleeding. The slow and steady drip drip drip of your soul onto the page until you are nearly drained of life and have to stop.
Writing a blog is like puking. Sudden, intense, and you typically feel better afterward.
Both have their place.
Yowza! There’s a visual for you. Thanks for the laugh, Katie.
All right then. Aptly spoken…er, written.
Janet, what a thought-provoking post. Blogging and novel-writing are such different forms of writing. We as novel-writers do need to be intentional about which form of writing we’re applying. I admit I don’t try to win SEO rankings with my writing. Perhaps if I did, I would have more viewers. 😉 But, I want to convey a thought or message, and it doesn’t always fit neatly into SEO formatting.
*I’ve found that I work to apply writing guidelines into my blogging, as in I rarely use an exclamation point. That being said, it is easy to just write my thoughts in a blog, not worrying about how well they fit into novel-writing structures. And I have read posts that had some good points but were dampened by some of the things you described.
*One of the biggest benefits for me in blogging has been the discovery of how to write more authentically. Blogging has helped me discover how to put more of my heart onto the page. And it’s often those posts that touch people the most deeply.
Jeanne, you’re right that blog writing generally translates to being authentic in what one writes about. And that’s a good thing. But sometimes that motivation can lead to a rant or an emotion dump. Excess seldom works–except for the writer.
I am working from memory here, which means I cannot cite this, but I distinctly recall Michael Hyatt saying a couple of years back (on his podcast) that SEO is not worth the attention and worship we grant it. I wish I could quote him, but I do recall him leaving me with the impression that he just does not pay that much attention to it.
That said, thank you for the thought-provoking post, Janet. I suspect there is far more truth there than I care to admit. Another trap we can fall into was brought to my attention by a fellow author who was reading through one of my raw manuscripts. She said, “You need to go back through this with a completely different voice in your head. You write like you speak, and that does not translate well to the page.” As I read back through the ms, I found that she was correct. Spoken, it would have been great, but written/read, not so much.
Damon, it’s so true that blog writing can lead to almost a stream of consciousness narrative. Few manuscripts would benefit from that sort of unstructured jabbering. But a blog COULD work.
Then why was James Joyce such required reading in HS and College?
Wise words of warning, dear Janet.
Blogs and books are two different beasts. I’ve recently begun paying attention to SEO because I’m required to for one of the blogs I now contribute to. Repetition is a no, no in novels–for sure.
I’m considering turning some blog material into a book one day; however, I believe a blog post is more like a chapter synopsis or outline. And much like a new adult coloring book requires, I’ll need to flesh out the pages with vibrant use of the five senses etc.
The biggest handicap blog writing has given me is the tendency to avoid digging deeper while writing. This is where good critiques are valuable–beta readers have wisely called me out on this.
One way “online writing helps us communicate better” is we quickly discover which topics we write about touch readers the most. I’m finding my voice, my niche, and my passion.
By the way, I love this blog (and your new book). 🙂
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
Wendy, thanks for mentioning one of the values of writing online: We get to test our material. It’s pretty easy to figure out which topics, or what approach to telling a story, connect most with readers.
Being so new to blogging, I had to google SEO. Glad to be a little more knowledgeable as I am learning with each new post. Thank you for this thoughtful article. Striving for high standards as I write and will be keeping your points in mind. ?
Michele, I’m not sure I did you a favor by introducing you to SEO. It can easily become one’s master; don’t let that happen to you.
Without trying to sound all “I have this writing thing nailed” (because that’s just so incredibly dumb), my blog is ME talking, and my books are THEM talking.
Strangely enough, this is how I approach the two, and it seems to work.
Also, when I’m writing, I hear a completely different voice than my own.
(Janet signs Jennifer up for therapy…)
I guess because I write historical, it’s easier to keep the two styles separate. Either that, or I couldn’t write my way out of a wet paper bag. 😉
Jennifer, novel writing is a very different beast from blog writing; writing historicals is another step away from blogs. So I’ll reserve the thought of signing you up for therapy for another day…
Hmmm…that leaves things wide open, doesn’t it?
😉
Oh my, I blog regularly and I don’t blog like this. Perhaps more people would read my blog if I did. I write the amount of words that you recommend and seek to convey one thought. But all these other things are foreign to me. Perhaps it is better for my book mss. this way…but there is a chance it isn’t better for my blog. Hmmm…things to think on. Wait, I do use exclamation points in my blog and hardly ever in a book. There, I do have one of those things. Maybe I’m doing alright. Thanks for the tips, Janet. There’s a lot to think on here.
Couldn’t agree more. On the other hand, paid blogging has taught me to pursue parsimony. Immersing the reader into a scene parsimoniously, isn’t that the challenge? 🙂
Thank you, Janet. Very helpful and applicable. I will keep this in mind. (Notice my short sentences and exclamation points!!!!!!)
Great post, Janet. I’m happy to say that I’m not guilty of most of these, but probably out of ignorance more than anything else. I didn’t know that the SEO scores are improved by repetitious wording, and I’m not too familiar with the use of asterisks for action beats either. I guess ignorance is bliss in this case. But thank you for the reminder to tailor what we write to each genre, including a blog approach for that forum and a very different approach for writing books and fiction.
I also have a blog, but my issues are not so much the writing, but the content. When I write, it’s just me and my computer, alone in the house, and I write whatever is on my heart. I forget that it’s “out there” and that there will be people I know and people I don’t know, all able to read my heart. It’s not until I run into someone out in public (church, shopping, etc.) and they say “I read your blog, and…….” that I realize other people even know about it. Sometimes what they say is positive and encouraging, and other times I walk away embarrassed and ashamed.
Writing is such a solitary, and sometimes lonely life.It’s easy to pour out your thoughts in the safety of your living room, usually in the late hours of the night, and forget that tomorrow other people will be reading it. It can pretty much kill your chance at any career, not just writing.
Stacey, angsty blogging can be a career buster—or career maker depending on how clever your writing is and how deeply you dip into your own angst.
I know what you mean about forgetting that others actually READ your blog. Whenever I go to a writers conference, I meet lots of our readers. It always sets me back on my heels to think this people read what I write…Oh, yeah, that’s supposed to be the point.
Time will tell, I guess, as far as the career goes; I can dig myself into some pretty deep holes. 🙂
I’d say social media has damaged English usage in general, but your post is helpful in alerting us to the sneaky bad habits which have slipped into our own writing. I get paid for writing my blog posts, so I’m thankful for them, but in the future, I shall try not to corrupt the English language (and be a lazy writer) more than is absolutely necessary for the purposes of material gain. (I’d indicate that I’m laughing, mostly at myself, but I shall refrain from that, too.)
Ah, Beth. You said a mouthful there. When I see college graduates making usage and spelling errors that I would have required my ninth grade English students to correct, I’m appalled.
The English language as she is “writ” and “spoke” has deteriorated desperately in the last couple of generations. Worse yet, I think too few people care.
Judith: I wonder if Shakespeare thought the same thing when he realized that the average Englishman couldn’t understand Chaucer, a mere two centuries after Chaucer wrote and published.
Really good points, Janet, that I’ll keep in mind. I’ve tried to keep my social media/blogging writing different than my fiction, but now I’ve got to go look at all of it again.
I’ve noticed that having to keep some thoughts to 140 characters really helps with conciseness.
Carrie, I know. When I first started using Twitter, I couldn’t imagine having only 140 characters available to me. Now that territory seems positively airy to me. Wow, 140 whole characters! We’re being trained to write good ad copy.
Back in 2009-2010, with all other publishing avenues seemingly closed to me, I was writing for a content site. I constantly fought the editors, who kept asking for more and more keyword stuffing, telling me to make it look as if I wasn’t stuffing keywords in. I got 127 articles up, but wasn’t the most pleasant part of my writing career.
.
For my blog, I currently ignore SEO. I’m going to write in the best English I can to convey my thoughts, information, and announcements in a concise and enjoyable way—enjoyable for the writer and reader alike, I hope. Of course, ignoring SEO may be part of the reason I can count my readership on one hand.
Janet,
Thanks for another thought-provoking post.
*I have a blog, but that’s it as far as social media goes. I’m content with that. I don’t know anything about SEO other than what the letters stand for, and I’m OK with that. I don’t write toward gaining more followers. My criteria is: does the post provide something of value for a reader? Is it positive, or does it leave the reader with something to ponder, or is it humorous, or does it share information, such as money-saving tips?
*To answer your questions: on the positive side, blog-writing, like devotional-writing, is a way to practice writing concisely without being curt. Both formats call for making every word count.
*On the negative side, the push to write in short tweets or even blog posts, can lead to misunderstanding or making things seem more than they really are. Taking shortcuts in writing can lead to shortcuts in thinking. We have faster and faster ways to communicate, but speed doesn’t lead to deep, reflective thought.
Janet:
Somehow I have made a living and sold a half million books by writing short sentences, short paragraphs, and short chapters. While still crafting books that are 45K words. That’s probably because most of my bestsellers have been for guys . . . who don’t read books.
Best,
/jay
Janet:
Somehow I have made a living and sold a half million books by writing short sentences, short paragraphs, and short chapters. While still crafting books that are 45K words. That’s probably because most of my bestsellers have been for guys . . . who don’t read books.
Best,
/jay
Valuable insights, indeed.