Most stories tend to follow a predictable pattern or process. They begin at the start, have a middle bit and then end at...Well, the end. It's all very logical. There are exceptions of course; The Star Wars saga is one. It started at Episode four, five and six then came the first, second and third...It seemed to work...Hooked me in that's for sure. Typically though things are easier if placed in some sort of logical order; Writing is no different.
I had a conversation recently with a steemit user on Discord who was trying to write a couple of posts as he's realised the opportunity to gain some additional traction in this slower period though additional exposure. Smart. Anyway, I suggested an easy method to assist in composing posts and thought I'd share it here for others. It's not rocket science I guess and I'm certainly no literary genius however for those who struggle compose their posts this little tip may make it easier to write and their posts more interesting to read. I mean how many times have you come across a blog that jumps from one place to the next, has no order at all or is so confusing it leaves the reader wondering what the hell is going on? Here's my little tip to help write more easily and effectively.
Find a topic
Naturally this is important. In fact it's critical. No topic, no post. You still following this? :)
Plan out what you want to say
This is where things start to get interesting. A great way to go is to jot down the points you want to make, the discussion points or information you want to impart in the post. Having them in some sort of order of importance or relevance is preferable. I suggest writing the words introduction, middle, (or body) and conclusion on separate sheets of paper and dot-pointing your thoughts or ideas under the appropriate heading. This way you can order your thoughts in a logical way that flows nicely start to finish and have the framework of your post laid out before you.
Expand and fill in
This is where you start crafting the post, bringing together all the ideas and concepts to present to the reader. It is generally a simple process of going from one dot-point to the next (because you put them in order) bringing them together with some additional body.
Introduction
The opening, or introduction should set the scene, the tone or give a general idea of what will come; Maybe touch on some of the information to come, or discuss the motivation for the post. It's best to try and make it as engaging or interesting as possible with the intention of capturing the readers' attention and give them a reason to read further.
Middle/body
The body, or middle section, is the main part of the piece and should tell most of the story and relate the information or concepts.
Conclusion
The conclusion would typically bring it all together, summarise or round-out the post, ask questions of the reader with the intention of having them engage or maybe even hint at a follow up.
I decided to write this post to assist those who may struggle to compose their blogs and it's only a basic idea on how to structure a post, or piece of writing, in a logical manner. There are many great writers on this platform and as we all know there's always many ways to achieve the same, or similar, result. I am certainly not the best writer, nor did I complete school and so I don't have much formal education when it comes to writing; I just sort of make it up as I go and this little trick has helped me in the past when I was writing larger bodies of work and of course on the platform as well.
It's a great time to be writing on steemit and to catch the attention of other users who may miss you in a more busy time. The better-written a piece is the more likely a user is to get some engagement on it. We can't all write like J.R.R. Martin, J.D. Salinger, Shakespeare or Chaucer however with a little planning our writing can present better, inspire engagement and be more enjoyable for both the writer, and reader. As I said above, this is just a little technique that has worked well for me in the past however I'm sure there's many other's too. Do you have a favourite way or method to compose your posts?
That's a great routine to go through for writing a post. It's rather similar to the report-writing format that we used in school. If we were researching a topic, that's basically the process that we'd go through. Start with the topic, then outline, then fill in details. Make sure you have a catchy introduction, and a good executive summary (for reports).
And it worked out being a great topic for you to write about. :)
It's a pretty simple concept to be honest and only one way to compose. I think I learned it in primary school and occasionally still use it. I'm not a very educated individual and so any bit of help I can get I'll take.
Regardless of whatever educational shortcomings you might have, it seems like you're doing alright in life. Cognitive reasoning seems to be working, and you articulate things better than most people I know, so I think you're ok. :D
Thanks mate, I've not been too disadvantaged in life I guess. Still, sometimes I wish I went to university. Would have liked to be an historian.
Excellent bit of advice here, brother! Salinger for the win.
Thanks mate, just a little something to help others write.
Very good advice mate, thank you. Does make it easier to be pointed in the right direction when tackling something you've never really tried before. Much appreciated bud.
Hmm, I'm not sure if you meant George R. R. Martin or J.R.R. Tolkien..
But I really hope that we can't all write like George R. R. Martin! I am still waiting for that man to publish the next book in the Fire & Ice Series! It's been 6? years!! (That's Game of Thrones for those who are less familiar - formally "A Song of Ice and Fire").
Anyway, this is very relevant to my recent blog post about not being able to write content like I want to write it! The main reason, I think, is that I'm my biggest critic.
But I have no problem writing comments on others' blogs!! :)
Yes that butt-wad is making us wait huh? I actually heard he'd decided not to finish the series. Not sure how good my source is.
I had heard hubbub that he was waiting until the end of the HBO series .. but I'm really not sure how accurate that source is either. It would be pretty epic (and potentially amazing for book sales) if he released it the day after the HBO Series Finale [talk about free publicity!].
But that would just feel dirty for those of us who've read the published materials. I had to change my original comment of "paper books" to "published materials" because I realized there are many people who are less strange than I who read, and enjoy, e-books. I am "old fashioned" and can only focus on reading paper books where I can feel (and smell) the pages!
I think I had to read a quarter or half of one of the series in e-book form because I couldn't buy it in paperback yet ... and it took me forever to get through that much ... then I found a paperback copy and didn't put the thing down! :)
I'm a paper book dude too. Can't get into reading on tablets. Nothing better than a book to get lost in. Love it!
You got a 44.32% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @galenkp!