1. Yatot: "As I said in the past, people can all be bloggers but not all of them can become writers... but then again, here's the good news... blogging can improve the way you write... it's like a practice ground to everything in writing!"
We all start at that awkward stage when it seems we're not making any progress. We start writing one thing and end up discussing another - a post that's at war with itself. Sometimes we mix metaphors unknowingly. Other times we let modifiers to dangle ever so perilously. And that's when we're being productive. We have yet to touch on those moments when are stuck with a blank page. But that's for another post.
If at this stage of your blogging career you still feel inadequate with your writing my advice is to press on. As a reader, I don't let myself get distracted by a few errors in grammar. That can't be helped. My writing is often visited by errors, too. What matters to me - and to a lot of people, I think - is your story, your voice, your ideas.
I will not name names. Because I find it awkward to cite fellow bloggers' work in this fashion. But I'm telling you this. I started blogging because of two individuals who have inadequate grasp of English. They inspire me to stop being mere reader and to become a blog author myself. What they wrote about and how they wrote it will make any self-respecting English teacher sob in anguish. Dig deep into the archives of some of our Filipino top bloggers and find out for yourself how awkward they were in the initial stage of their blogging career.
This did not stop me from reading them. Not because I'd like to feel superior and laugh at their faces. Nope. I love their unique voice and their personal stories more than the lapses in sentence construction. You guessed right - the primacy of their ideas won me over.
I keep reading them because I see great talent unfolding bit by bit. And I will be a fool not to be a witness or part of that transformation.
For the record, they have since improved a lot. Blogging improved their writing. Over time.
And I don't see why your case will be any different. With time, you'd find the going a little bit easier. Just keep on writing on a daily basis as Yatot suggested. If you feel you've a lot to learn, take heart because blogging can improve the way you write eventually.
2. Bingkee: "Read and read and read a lot. Write and write and write a lot. Develop a style of your own but be natural. Don't try to be what you are not. It's just gonna come out you're a T.H. (trying hard) if you do that."
Reading will help you big time especially if you need to improve your writing. Read the best web authors. Subscribe to their feed. What makes their writing sizzle? How do they do it? Break down their post in manageable pieces and find out why they work.
I had worked as a clerk in a factory years ago. I was straight from college. It was a culture shock to me. The language was colorful, blunt,sexually suggestive, and expletives? - oh boy. But it was not for long. Over time, I found myself quite at home speaking exclusively about genitalia and various acts of copulation to express disgust, admiration, sadness, surprise and whatever situation that presented itself.
It's the same with reading. Keep yourself with the company of the masters and you'd see remarkable progress in your writing. Bingkee is right - read up the classic books. How will this impact on your writing? A lot. Over time you'd find your voice and be more confident in your writing.
Now, over to you, dear readers. Care to share your top secret formula to become a great blogger?
Recommended Reading: Have that staying power in blogging. And here's another good read: How to turn your passion into a blog.
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