Recipe for Success: Blogging for WAG (and Beyond)

Just 500 words? 1000? Piece of cake!

Or is it?

Writing meaningful blog posts involves more than opening a vein and bleeding onto the page.*

I know.

Since 2008, I’ve been blogging about food, cooking, and culinary history. And I’ve learned a few things.

Creating blog posts resembles following a recipe in a way. It requires planning, research, and organization before a single word appears on paper or screen. That said, I’ve also learned some first-person tell-all stories don’t demand as much structure as do more informative, how-to pieces. You know, the stream-of-consciousness thing.

But despite the type of post you write, all posts need a beginning, middle, and end, with a definite theme running throughout the text, a firm ending, a satisfying summation.

As described on this website, the content of blog posts should follow specific requirements:

The article should relate to writing, marketing, publishing, or the WAG organization—and be original. A previously published article will be considered, however, if you freshen it with new information and include a footnote linking to the original article.

When writing blog posts for WAG, or in general, there’s one paramount thought to keep in mind: “What do I want my readers to learn from what I write?” Remember, here your audience consists of fellow writers, some with years of experience and others, not so much.

As with recipes from a cookbook, the following discussion demonstrates just how most topics might be broken down into steps, resulting in a well-written and entertaining blog post. Follow the basic guidelines and embellish later! Just as you would season a stew after long cooking, some spicing up works well for stories, too.

Recipe for a Blog Post

READ THE GUIDELINES!

Regardless of any experience you have with writing for other publications, it’s important to read over the WAG blog submission requirements. Note that every publication has its own dos and don’ts.

CHOOSE A TOPIC

The first—and most essential—task lies in choosing a topic.

If you’re scrounging around for ideas for a blog post for WAG, take a look at “30 Inspiring Blog Post Ideas for Writers.” Perhaps something there will provoke your Muse to whisper in your ear. Then, search the WAG blog archive to see if another writer has already covered the topic you’re considering. Previous posts are categorized at the bottom of the home page.

Ideally, you’ll pick something to write about that you know well and have experienced. Or you can do enough research to feel confident writing about a subject not quite within your comfort zone. Something that floats your boat, excites you enough to sneak into your dreams, sends you down a rabbit hole.

Okay, now you have a topic in mind. What’s next?

ASK PERTINENT AND CONCISE QUESTIONS

Every post really begins with a question.

For example, for my culinary blog, I’ll ask myself questions such as “What did Britons eat during World War II?” or “Did eggplant really originate in Africa?” or “Who was Ginette Mathiot?” What questions do you want to answer? What do you want to say to readers? Regardless of your topic, beginning with even a rough outline can guide you through the research necessary for finding the answers you need.

CHOOSE YOUR SOURCES

Where should you look to find answers to your questions?

First of all, it’s vital to use valid, reliable information sources. You’ll find the proverbial fount of information on the internet. But that’s just it: information is basically data needing to be analyzed, organized. Researchers must check and double-check their information sources.

Here’s a list of possible reliable resources for beginning research:

1. Google, Google Books, Google Scholar
2. Wikipedia—it’s suitable for preliminary research, but it’s best to branch out from there
3. Keyword searches on library websites

When researching a topic on the internet, look at the extensions of web addresses, the last three letters in an internet address. University-generated sites generally end with .edu. And government-generated links—such as archival information—end with .gov, as in the Library of Congress, an amazing resource. Most libraries offer research guides. For an example of such a guide, take a look at African Studies at the University of Michigan, compiled by Lloyd Mbabu.

 ORGANIZE YOUR RESEARCH NOTES

How best to organize your research notes and sources?

The following apps might make your life easier:

• Notion includes a web clipper Chrome extension allowing you to save full-text articles.
• Instapaper and Pocket operate in the same way as Notion, but save a wider variety of media.
• A commonplace book or a notecard collection both provide physical solutions to collecting and saving resources. I’ll confess to a rather old-fashioned way of saving notes, similar to a commonplace book. First, I open a new Word file about a topic or one of the questions I want to answer. Then, as I do my research—reading, surfing the Net, or just plain daydreaming—I add this material to the document in no particular order. Think of a messy desk where the owner knows where everything is; that’s what my system looks like. Chaos to the outsider, but sensible to me!
• If you’re an avid reader, Kindle Notebook provides an accessible way to review bookmarks, notes, and highlights from any books you’ve read on your Kindle. A fantastic tool for Kindle users.

Keep your main question in mind while you scrounge through sources. Otherwise, you’ll lose hours in the day by diving down all sorts of interesting but diverting rabbit holes like Alice in Wonderland.

WRITE …

Based on your research, you may need to revise your rough outline to include aspects of your topic that you knew little about in the beginning. And remember: WAG blog posts run from 500 to 1000 words.

… AND REVISE

Check spelling and grammar. Cut repetitive verbiage. Use as few “to be” variations as possible. In other words, axe words such as “is,” “was,” “were,” “that,” “had.” Insert more active verbs. Avoid using bland descriptors like “beautiful.” Just what is beautiful about what you’re describing? Sling in a simile or two. Add a splash of humor here and there, too.

 CHOOSE A TITLE

If your working title seems lame, change it. Make it snappy, eye-catching, and memorable.

 WHAT ABOUT IMAGES?

If you have images reflecting the theme of your post, excellent! Please be sure your image is in high-resolution (300 dpi+) format. Otherwise, don’t sweat it. WAG’s blog editor will add a dancing exclamation gif if you need one to make your point!

 SUBMITTING THE BLOG POST

Follow the guidelines! Please spellcheck and send the file as a Word file, double-spaced, 12-point font in Times New Roman, as that makes it easier to edit and read.

CHECK TO SEE IF IT’S DONE

I’ll end with a caveat: Following a recipe usually results in something delectable when a cook adheres to some basic rules. After a few attempts, though, cooks learn to embellish the original to fit their style and tastes.

The same goes for writers … .

_____________

*Attributed to Ernest Hemingway and others, but nobody really knows the original source. Steven P. Gietscher explores the background of this quote in an essay on the Quote Investigator site.

[Editor’s note: WAG would love to see articles on any and all topics of interest to writers. Please send your ideas or finished pieces to Cynthia D. Bertelsen at BlogEditor@writersalliance.org for consideration. Remember: these posts are more than just posts – they are actual articles and can be cited in your CV/résumé in the same way you would a short story, essay, or any other writing credit you may possess.]