Ian M Rountree

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Your life is not copy.

April 9, 2010 by Ian Leave a Comment

And that’s why you can’t write a blog.

I know, it sounds harsh, but it’s the truth – so many people approach writing in different venues from entirely the wrong direction. Aspiring columnists take a conversational approach to analysis. Novelists write marketing copy. Marketing creatives tell vast, long stories with far-flung punchlines and morals. Sometimes, when the adjustment between genre is subtle, it works. Most of the time, however, people just get it wrong.

Blogs work best however you want to write them. Forcing a style is a bad idea.

Building your writing style out of conversational or analytical or even sensationalist tendancies is not a bad thing. Far from it – but the key is tendancy. I write conversationally, but I’m better with analysis and research, so a lot of that comes through. I know, I’m wordy. But we can’t all ignore the consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity (an Ig Nobel prize winning study).

The real trick is to be aware not just of how you write naturally, but how you can leverage that against your personal brand efforts and make the most of what comes naturaly without trying to go journalistic. Perspective counts for a lot these days – use yours. Don’t be copy, cat.

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