Welcome to the blogosphere
“I was so aghast I decided to retire from the business the next day.”
That was my good friend Rob Hartle of Syracuse blog-complaining about the posturing of a self-proclaimed “writer.” She was badmouthing his pointing out numerous spelling and grammar errors in a proposed book he was to edit.
Rob and I worked together years ago at the Canandaigua Daily-Messenger newspaper. He was a graphic-designer creating ads, and I worked in “news” doing anything and everything — sort of an Editorial Assistant.
Also at the Messenger was the Executive Editor, a graduate of Houghton College like me. He too was obsessed with correct spelling and grammar — we Houghton-grads were like that: “get it right!”
Rob was “aghast” this so-called writer took him to task for discovering her errors. “No one cares about that any more,” and “that’s my style.”
“You tell ‘em, BossMan,” I’d say to the Executive Editor when he took flak for pointing out errors. I think the reason he refused to lay me off, despite my post-stroke addlement, was because I thought like him = “get it right.”
Rob decided to begin blogging. I hereby render my blog-secrets having done it perhaps 15 years.
Most important is to get read. For that to happen you hafta not bore or turn off readers. I call this “The Messenger jones.” Most readers, especially of newspapers, are not that literate. Yer object is not to display yer own literacy, but to attract the illiterate.
This blog gets maybe 15 hits on average — sometimes quite a few more. I “Facebook” these blogs, and e-mail 25-35 blog-links. I write pretty good, but don’t require my blogs get read. Facebook might get 1-3 hits; my e-mail links 10-30.
Anything can be “blog-material,” especially if it’s whacko.
Some of my blogs are railfan or automobile oriented. “I skip the railroad blogs = too technical!”
Herewith my blog-secrets.
—1) Start with a quote. Not always, but readers love dialog. (That’s my second secret — read on......) The quote leading this blog is direct from Rob’s e-mail, minus a “that.” (Another secret.) A quote is likely to draw in a reader. As we used to say at the Mighty Mezz: “If we get ‘em past the first sentence, we’re doin’ good.”
—2) Let dialog tell the story. You’ll hafta make it up. Actual dialog is messy. Readers prefer dialog over self-exposition.
And never go beyond what you heard. All yer doing is making what you heard sensible.
—3) Let your readers fill in the blanks. You don’t hafta explain everything. Readers love filling in blanks. I was guilty of this years ago, but my wife stopped it. Explaining everything bores readers.
—4) “Keep it short.” That’s an editor at the Mighty Mezz. Cut-cut-cut! “You don’t need to say that.” Say too much and you bore readers. Reduce verbiage = as spare as possible. I can usually reduce multiple words to one. Sometimes I delete an entire sentence or paragraph.
A retired RTS bus-driver tells me the same. This blog can get nationwide readers; but mostly doesn’t. If something needs explaining I might footnote it. Readers can skip footnotes.
—5) Avoid obscure words. Joe Sixpak is not gonna drag out his Funk & Wagnalls to look ‘em up. He’ll cast yer blog aside. (At the Mighty Mezz we said “fish-wrap,” or “line the bottom of the birdcage.”)
Obscure words are okay, but only in self-defining context. “Aghast” was questionable, but was in self-defining context — plus I ain’t deleting a key word from Rob’s quote.
—6) Avoid passive voice. That’s something taught in Creative-Writing class. I used to do word-searches for “have” and “had,” also “‘ve” and “‘d.” I’d use passive voice by mistake, but not any more. These blogs get five or more read-throughs. Sometimes passive voice is required, but usually it’s not.
—7) I also did word-searches for “that.” Most times “that” can be trashed.
—8) “The participles go dingle-dangle-dingle.” This is just a way of saying grammar matters, along with spelling and case.
At the Messenger CONSERVATIVES loudly cleaned out the ears of our head-honcho. They claimed the reason we made mistakes was because we were “liberial” (the kerreck CONSERVATIVE spelling).
—9) Read your blog through; multiple times even. What you wrote can often get perceived different than you meant. I try, but my proofer is gone, she died seven years ago. I hafta rely on myself, and months later I often hit misperceptions.
Blogging is really self-exposition, but you hafta make it attractive to get readers.
So “welcome to the blogosphere” Rob. Don’t be surprised if you leave it. I only do it because I so much enjoy slinging words (writing). The Hughes muse never shuts up! Blogs come to mind as I walk my dog at the park or on a rail-trail.
Sometimes I get an opening quote. Then off-we-go, and “get-it-right” factors in.
A friend wants me to edit a proposed memoir, but she can’t get started. That’s okay, most people aren’t word-slingers, but I am. I also don’t wanna lose a friend with my blog-secrets.
My bereavement-counselor tells me I’m lucky to not be bored by retirement, as many are. I like slinging words!
• I had a stroke October 26th, 1993 from an undiagnosed heart-defect since repaired. I pretty much recovered. Just tiny detriments; I can pass for never having had a stroke.
• My time at the “Mighty Mezz” (Messenger newspaper) began about two years after my stroke, first as an unpaid intern. They hired me in ’96, and it became the best job I ever had. —I was employed there almost 10 years — over 11 if you count my time as an unpaid intern.
• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS) in Rochester, NY, a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs. My stroke ended that. I retired on medical-disability, and that defect was repaired. I recovered well enough to return to work at the Messenger newspaper; I retired from that over 13 years ago.
• My wife was my proofer. She died seven years ago.
• My 12th-grade English-teacher told me I wrote extremely well. I thought him joking. “But Dr. Zink (his name was Zink), all it is is ‘slinging words.’” —“Hughes, you do that extremely well.”
That was my good friend Rob Hartle of Syracuse blog-complaining about the posturing of a self-proclaimed “writer.” She was badmouthing his pointing out numerous spelling and grammar errors in a proposed book he was to edit.
Rob and I worked together years ago at the Canandaigua Daily-Messenger newspaper. He was a graphic-designer creating ads, and I worked in “news” doing anything and everything — sort of an Editorial Assistant.
Also at the Messenger was the Executive Editor, a graduate of Houghton College like me. He too was obsessed with correct spelling and grammar — we Houghton-grads were like that: “get it right!”
Rob was “aghast” this so-called writer took him to task for discovering her errors. “No one cares about that any more,” and “that’s my style.”
“You tell ‘em, BossMan,” I’d say to the Executive Editor when he took flak for pointing out errors. I think the reason he refused to lay me off, despite my post-stroke addlement, was because I thought like him = “get it right.”
Rob decided to begin blogging. I hereby render my blog-secrets having done it perhaps 15 years.
Most important is to get read. For that to happen you hafta not bore or turn off readers. I call this “The Messenger jones.” Most readers, especially of newspapers, are not that literate. Yer object is not to display yer own literacy, but to attract the illiterate.
This blog gets maybe 15 hits on average — sometimes quite a few more. I “Facebook” these blogs, and e-mail 25-35 blog-links. I write pretty good, but don’t require my blogs get read. Facebook might get 1-3 hits; my e-mail links 10-30.
Anything can be “blog-material,” especially if it’s whacko.
Some of my blogs are railfan or automobile oriented. “I skip the railroad blogs = too technical!”
Herewith my blog-secrets.
—1) Start with a quote. Not always, but readers love dialog. (That’s my second secret — read on......) The quote leading this blog is direct from Rob’s e-mail, minus a “that.” (Another secret.) A quote is likely to draw in a reader. As we used to say at the Mighty Mezz: “If we get ‘em past the first sentence, we’re doin’ good.”
—2) Let dialog tell the story. You’ll hafta make it up. Actual dialog is messy. Readers prefer dialog over self-exposition.
And never go beyond what you heard. All yer doing is making what you heard sensible.
—3) Let your readers fill in the blanks. You don’t hafta explain everything. Readers love filling in blanks. I was guilty of this years ago, but my wife stopped it. Explaining everything bores readers.
—4) “Keep it short.” That’s an editor at the Mighty Mezz. Cut-cut-cut! “You don’t need to say that.” Say too much and you bore readers. Reduce verbiage = as spare as possible. I can usually reduce multiple words to one. Sometimes I delete an entire sentence or paragraph.
A retired RTS bus-driver tells me the same. This blog can get nationwide readers; but mostly doesn’t. If something needs explaining I might footnote it. Readers can skip footnotes.
—5) Avoid obscure words. Joe Sixpak is not gonna drag out his Funk & Wagnalls to look ‘em up. He’ll cast yer blog aside. (At the Mighty Mezz we said “fish-wrap,” or “line the bottom of the birdcage.”)
Obscure words are okay, but only in self-defining context. “Aghast” was questionable, but was in self-defining context — plus I ain’t deleting a key word from Rob’s quote.
—6) Avoid passive voice. That’s something taught in Creative-Writing class. I used to do word-searches for “have” and “had,” also “‘ve” and “‘d.” I’d use passive voice by mistake, but not any more. These blogs get five or more read-throughs. Sometimes passive voice is required, but usually it’s not.
—7) I also did word-searches for “that.” Most times “that” can be trashed.
—8) “The participles go dingle-dangle-dingle.” This is just a way of saying grammar matters, along with spelling and case.
At the Messenger CONSERVATIVES loudly cleaned out the ears of our head-honcho. They claimed the reason we made mistakes was because we were “liberial” (the kerreck CONSERVATIVE spelling).
—9) Read your blog through; multiple times even. What you wrote can often get perceived different than you meant. I try, but my proofer is gone, she died seven years ago. I hafta rely on myself, and months later I often hit misperceptions.
Blogging is really self-exposition, but you hafta make it attractive to get readers.
So “welcome to the blogosphere” Rob. Don’t be surprised if you leave it. I only do it because I so much enjoy slinging words (writing). The Hughes muse never shuts up! Blogs come to mind as I walk my dog at the park or on a rail-trail.
Sometimes I get an opening quote. Then off-we-go, and “get-it-right” factors in.
A friend wants me to edit a proposed memoir, but she can’t get started. That’s okay, most people aren’t word-slingers, but I am. I also don’t wanna lose a friend with my blog-secrets.
My bereavement-counselor tells me I’m lucky to not be bored by retirement, as many are. I like slinging words!
• I had a stroke October 26th, 1993 from an undiagnosed heart-defect since repaired. I pretty much recovered. Just tiny detriments; I can pass for never having had a stroke.
• My time at the “Mighty Mezz” (Messenger newspaper) began about two years after my stroke, first as an unpaid intern. They hired me in ’96, and it became the best job I ever had. —I was employed there almost 10 years — over 11 if you count my time as an unpaid intern.
• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS) in Rochester, NY, a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs. My stroke ended that. I retired on medical-disability, and that defect was repaired. I recovered well enough to return to work at the Messenger newspaper; I retired from that over 13 years ago.
• My wife was my proofer. She died seven years ago.
• My 12th-grade English-teacher told me I wrote extremely well. I thought him joking. “But Dr. Zink (his name was Zink), all it is is ‘slinging words.’” —“Hughes, you do that extremely well.”
posted by BobbaLew at 7:26 PM
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