5 Quick Tips to Write a Blog Post in Just 60 Minutes (Emergency Guide)
Imagine you’re a website owner with a blog that has readers eager for fresh content every single day. You wake up and go straight to your email, excited to see what your trusted content creator has sent for your audience. But as you sip your morning coffee, all you find is a goodbye note. They’ve landed a book deal and won’t be writing for your blog anymore.
If you’re not a writer yourself, your first instinct might be to panic. But there’s no time for that – you have a blog post to write! Even if you think you can’t write well, take a deep breath and keep reading.
We have five clever writing tips to get you through until you can find a new writer.
Read Also: Tips to Write Fast and Professionally
Understanding Research First…
Before we dive into the tips, it’s crucial to understand the basics of effective research for writing. Researching for an article or blog post is not the same as searching for the best fishing gear online. Here’s why:
- Good research goes deep – at least three layers down.
- It takes time to compare different sources to check their reliability.
- Verifying facts requires at least three “reputable” sources, and you should provide a link to the one that’s easiest for your readers to understand.
Remember, if you make a statement, you need to support it with evidence. So when you’re in a rush, it’s best to stick to topics you’re familiar with.
Read Also: 10 Writing Tips For Bloggers
1. Draw from Your Own Experiences
Sharing your personal experiences can create a strong connection with your readers. After all, we all live on the same planet, feel similar emotions, and sometimes make silly mistakes.
When you talk about your own life, it makes you relatable and can often forgive the odd grammar slip-ups.
2. Paint a Picture with Words
Instead of just explaining, use your words to create images in your reader’s minds. This approach invites readers to use their imagination, not just their logic. We think in words – we hear them in our minds before we say them out loud. When you ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’, readers begin to visualize rather than simply read your text.
Take the opening of this post as an example. The description of the steam from the coffee and the surprise resignation letter turns the words into a scene you can see and feel. That’s the power of vivid, descriptive writing – it sparks images and sensations.
3. Use the Power of Third-Person Perspective
If you’re new to writing, adopting a third-person viewpoint can be a simple way to avoid confusing shifts in tense. Here’s an example of a common mistake:
“They all went to town yesterday. It was an exciting and eventful day. Everyone is having so much fun that half of us fell asleep on the way home.”
Did you notice the shift from past to present tense and from ‘them’ to ‘us’? Staying in third-person (‘they’, ‘he’, ‘she’) makes your writing smoother. It’s like you’re a narrator with a bird’s-eye view, knowing everything about everyone and what’s coming next. To understand this style better, check out any book by Stephen King. He’s a master of this technique.
4. Embrace Creative Freedom
Using creative license means you have the flexibility to be artistic with language, grammar, or reinterpretation of someone’s work to enhance your storytelling or convey a message. It’s not about fabricating facts, but about taking small, justifiable creative leaps.
I’ve used creative freedom in this post to show that your writing doesn’t have to be flawless – it just needs to capture interest. The phrase “You couldn’t write your way out of a can of alphabet soup” might be my own twist on an existing witty saying, showing that inspiration can come from playing with familiar expressions.
5. Narrate a Personal Anecdote
Drawing on personal experiences to illustrate your point can be very effective, especially when discussing a product, service, or the central theme of your post. It makes your writing more compelling and relatable.
For example, if you’re writing about the many uses of duct tape and you’ve had a humorous experience with it – like being taped to a wall – sharing this story could be a great way to highlight the product’s versatility.
Conclusion
To sum up, take your time, write about what you know, and consider using a third-person perspective to maintain clarity. When referencing well-known sources, be careful to avoid plagiarism by crediting original ideas properly. Storytelling is an engaging technique for writing on any topic – give it a try.