I was watching an old episode of Beverly Hills 90210 recently and I couldn’t help noticing how atrocious Shannen Doherty’s acting was. Being a fan of Charmed I realized that, though she’d never win an Academy Award, throughout her years on television Ms. Doherty’s acting skills improved immensely. So what does this have to do with you? Well, if you have been blogging for awhile, go back and read your first few posts. Do you notice a marked difference in your writing ability? I bet that you do.
Though I’m not discounting that some people have natural talent, by putting in the time and practice, nearly anyone can become good at a craft. Professional writers aren’t born that way. All the talent in the world won’t make you a good writer if you don’t practice and study your craft. As a blogger you don’t necessarily have to be the greatest writer, but the better you become, the better your blog becomes. With that in mind, here are eight online resources to help sharpen your writing skills.
The Economist Style Guide and Quiz
Like many other highly respected resources for news and information, The Economist has its very own style guide. This guide is given to each journalist who writes for the magazine. The difference here, though, is that The Economist also publishes their style guide on their website. It is a great read and ongoing resource. I especially like the opening to the entry on Short Words: “Use them.” Not everyone agrees on style so the more you become familiar with the basics, the better you will be at developing your own recognizable – yet still grammatically correct – style.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online
If you have ever taken any journalism courses, you are probably familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style. I first encountered this book during my years on the high school newspaper. Though the bound version is a bit of a dry read – it’s a great reference, but doesn’t exactly captivate – the online version is highly interactive and, if you are geeky enough, kinda fun. The entire guide is available online in standard chapter format by becoming a member for $30 a year. However, the free areas of the site offer plenty of information to keep you learning for awhile.
I found the Citation Quick Guide and the Q&A sections particularly helpful. Also, if you are interested in publishing a book, you can get an overview of what you can look forward to by looking at the Book Publishing Process Diagram. For those of you interested in proofreader, the site also offers a full set of Proofreaders’ Marks. I’m a complete writer-geek so I think this site is just plain awesome.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
The Purdue OWL is one of my most recent writer resource discoveries and I find it amazing. I think you could literally spend months combing this website and still find new information. The site hosts a ton of resources from explanations of Modern Language Association (MLA) style to an in-depth three-part workshop on writing cover letters. For bloggers, I highly recommend you read the article Teaching Detailed Writing and Procedural Transitions. It’s a mouthful, but basically it’s a document explaining a solid method teachers can use to improve their students’ technical writing. If you ever describe any sort of processes on your blog – how to install WordPress, conducting keyword research, etc. – then you are engaging in a form of technical writing.
That’s really just the tip of the iceberg at The Purdue Owl. Other articles I recommend are Color Theory Presentation, Using Fonts with Purpose and Writer’s Block/Writer’s Anxiety. This site is a prime example of some of the amazing resources available on the web for free.
The Elements of Style
Douglas Crockford’s Wrrrl Wide Web is a very interesting and ecelctic site. Along with a ton of articles about Javascript, a bit of humor and a set of killer articles about “Electric Communities.” I especially suggest you read Technology is Easy, Comedy is Hard. My main reason for linking to this site, though, is that it hosts a digital version of Strunk’s original Elements of Style. This is a timeless resource that every writer should read at least once. You don’t have to read it from start to finish, but it is probably the best resource out there for basic grammar rules.
CanTeach Writing Prompts
We all suffer from writer’s block every now and then. It can come about for various reasons and in various forms. Sometimes you find that you just can’t come up with anything that interests you. In that case, I recommend you keep an idea log. However, if you have the type of writer’s block where you are literally blocked – just can’t seem to get a sentence out – then these writing prompts might help.
Though you might not end up with anything usable, sometimes you just need a bit of free writing to get past the blockage. These prompts are clearly aimed at kids, but that doesn’t really matter because the topics are still easy to write about. The point is to get your going, not necessarily to pull out quality content. Once you’ve answered the question “What if cows gave root beer instead of milk?” then you can move on to more sophisticated topics. If you want.
Thirty Tools for Writers
It started out as Twenty Tools, but became such a huge success that Roy Peter Clark ended up adding ten more items to his list of tools for writers. Located at Poynter Online – a great site for writers – this list should be read by anyone who cares about the quality of their writing. And, as a blogger, you should. These tips run the gamut from basic grammar to common themes. Take the time to fully digest them, then bookmark the page so you can read them again later.
World Wide Words
This excellent site for language lovers is maintained by Michael Quinion, a tried and true renaissance man. He’s done a bit of everything and now he writes about words. The site features sections like “turns of phrase” and “weird words.” New definitions and discussions are added often, making this a site you will definitely want to bookmark. Even if you aren’t a word nerd like I am, you will have fun with the “Surprise Me!” link. It does exactly what you’d think – it takes you to a random page on the site. My first click took me to a quite lengthy discussion of the history and uses of the word “pie.”
The Writer Magazine Online
This list wouldn’t be complete without a link to the Writer Magazine. This membership site – free or paid – offers a huge amount of resources for writers of all types as well as a fairly active forum. Though the site is designed to compliment the magazine, even non-subscribers will be able to access most of the resources. Not only are there some great resources on the site itself, but the site also hosts an extensive list of links to outside resources. If you want to view the market listings you will need to subscribe to the magazine, but there is a free trial offer if you just want to take a good look at everything available before you commit.
So there you have it. Seven solid resources to help you hone your writing skills. Bloggers don’t need to be professional writers, but if you have a passion for blogging you must care at least a little about writing. These tools can help you write better which can only lead to great things like increased traffic, stronger reader engagement and, utlimately, a higher-quality blog.
If you have writers’ resources you like to use, please post them in the comments.
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