One of the worst inventions in the history of writing is the clickbait headline. Yes, people have used writing to do things far more nefarious than luring audiences into ad-infested articles about shocking celebrity scandals and botched plastic surgeries, but is there any device of writing that more consistently and more effectively assaults the intelligence of […]
On The Difference Between Blogging and Teaching Blogging
The real world—this is a term we writing teachers like to use. We like to use real-world scenarios in our writing assignments. We say that these writing skills have real-world application. Understanding sophisticated writing theory makes us more informed actors in the real world. And a basic one I’ve been forgetting to remind students: writing […]
How to Write Your Blogging Purpose Statement
Complete the following statement: The purpose of my blog is to… Say it out loud, or quickly write it down. I’ll wait…. How did you do? Did you finish the statement without hesitation or uncertainty? Clearly and concisely? If you’re like me, you stumbled at first and second guessed yourself when you finished. But that’s […]
How to Build Your Blogging Skills
Starting your blog is easy. Growing your blog is not. Growing your blog requires a rhetorical strategy that persuades audiences to accept your arguments and take certain actions. To execute that strategy, you need a particular set of skills. These skills can seem daunting at first, but with any major genre of writing, it takes […]
Overcoming the Fear of Being Paid for Your Creative Work
You’re a creative, and you fear making money from your work. You hate the idea of selling. You think the corrupting forces of capitalism will degrade your work, make it less valuable, too commercial, unworthy of critical praise. Thinking about money is a distraction from your artistic or social mission. And above all, you’re frightened […]