Individuals with a talent for writing can harness and tame language with a precision I stand in awe of. I must have missed the days in elementary school when the grammar rules were taught because I'm not that kind of writer. This didn't matter too much when I only treated patients, but now that I work as a research psychologist, it's a huge problem. I'm often asked to turn my research articles into consumer-friendly blogs, and my first few blogs were not well written. Given these failed blog attempts (and my limitations as a writer), I decided to earn a certificate in fiction from the University of Washington. In this program, I learned that writing a good blog is all in the structure (and good grammar never hurt anyone).
A fantastic blog starts with a story. You need to capture your reader's attention and establish the topic of your blog. The more atmospheric details or senses you can call on in your description, the better. Such details help the reader imagine what you're talking about. Make sure your story is central to the topic of your blog, and every sentence is necessary as blogs should be short (one to two double spaced pages).
Once your reader imagines what you are talking about, transition to the facts that support your topic. This should take up the majority of your blog. In the "fact section:"
- cite your references
- consider using a bulleted list to make content easier to read
- include a relevant photo or graphic
- use hyperlinks to any website you'd like to highlight
Finally, close the blog out by bringing the topic back to your opening story. You should tie in the facts you identified with your story, answer any remaining questions you posed, and provide the reader with your conclusion. To help illustrate these points, I have recently written two different blogs, one with a clinical story and another with a personal account. Both blogs mirror this structure and have been well received (compared to the train-wreck of my first few blog attempts). Happy writing! If you use this structure when writing your next blog, it should be fantastic.