Muskblog: Homesteading the Internet since 1995

Ten brief tips to improve your writing. I’ve presented them in the order they appeared in the original piece but in an easier to digest format for those with limited attention spans or those pressed for time.

1. If you want to be a better writer, at some point you’re going to have to learn some grammar and read some good books.
2. Short sentences have power!
3. The two most important qualities to strive for in your writing are timeliness and timelessness.
4. Writing is work, therefore if you want to improve, you have to work on your writing regularly.
5. When writing for the web, the most important thing to remember is people don’t read online, they scan.
6. The most important words you write in a blog posting appear in the title and the opening paragraph.
7. People respond well to visual stimuli, so use images cleverly in your blog posts.
8. Search engine optimization is not a substitute for good writing, content is still king.
9. Learn how to use typography and whitespace if you want to write successfully online.
10. Develop a mantra for your writing and editing; my mantra is Quality, Utility, Economy. QUE if you like acronyms.

Foam finger from Flickr, used courtesy of One Inch Round.

More Advice

• Douglas Copeland, Vancouverite and writer of note offered this advice for folks looking to become professional writers.
• Steven Pressfield explains why nobody wants to read your shit.
• “Sell your heart” is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s advice to young writers.
• Mike Alton writes on the importance of images and formatting in a social media dominated Internet.

Related posts:

1. Better Blogging
2. Writing for your future boss
3. Write On
4. Top 10 Top 10 Postings

This entry was originaly posted on December 21st, 2010, it was last edited on February 28th, 2013 and is filed under: Blogging and tagged: advice, Douglas Copeland, economy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mike Alton, Quality, search engine optimization, SEO, Steve Pressfield, takeaways, tips, Top 10, typography, utility, whitespace, writing.