User blog:Madman97/A Guide to Writing Blogs (Part One)

   I have been hindered in writing blogs lately, and there are several reasons for this. The first is that my usual gig involves writing Theory Blogs or Spoof Blogs bashing a game for entertainment purposes, and with the absence of a present Elder Scrolls game for consoles until ESO comes out in the summertime, there has been a scarcity of content to write about. The second reason is that more recently, I have taken to writing "Political" Blogs, addressing concerns I had with the website and the community. But, besides some conflict coming from disagreements between users on the Consensus Track, there hasn't been much to analyze and dissect. This...draught of events you might call it has left me starved and without a creative spark.

   But recently, a few users have approached me asking how to write a blog, and with the advent of ESO coming soon, a plethora of new content will be made available for our use. Theory Blogs could come out of the shadows again; others concerning the game itself may swell. But with a community of mostly newer user who have joined the Wikia at a time where blogging is almost obsolete, they might not know how to properly write one. Being very experienced in this field (and any field concerning the written word), I feel obligated to point these next generation writers in the right direction before they attempt to compose their own pieces of literature. For this three-part event, I will cover the basics of blogging by going over the most important aspects of it. The first subject for today's lesson will start at the point before you even begin to type things down.

Structure
   This is something essential for any blog, especially if yours is a particularly long one. A set roadmap should be laid out for you to follow while filling in the content. This will actually make writing a whole lot easier. It's not just for your benefit either. It's for the reader's. It's a given that if a reader takes the time to check out your blog and sees an incoherent mess, they will most likely be turned off. A good start to mapping your blog out is to take a look at the formula below. Those of you who have taken high school or college English classes will find that it is similar to what they might have learned when writing essays.

A. Who
1) Person Involved

2) People Related

B. When
1) Past

2) Present

3) Future

C. Why
1) Why is this Significant

IV. Conclusion
   I think you understand the idea. One thing I do have to point out though is that this formula is not a rigid structure that you must obey at all times. It's more like a strict guideline so you know where to put everything. So, don't literally do this:

B. I Am Pretty Sure Aedra are Bunnies
Instead, you do this:

   "I had an interesting idea I would like to share with all of you. After much research, I have concluded that the all powerful beings known as the Aedra are actually bunny rabbits in disguise.

      "Here is why. If bunnies hop around and breed the way they do, that gives bunnies mystical powers, right? An Aedra also has mystical powers. If my calculations are correct, then Bunnies = Aedra.

      "While we are on the topic, I would also like to affirm my theory with evidence that suggests that Aedra are really disguised as none other than...Bunny Rabbits."

   Topic excluded, this is a basic example of how one should piece things together. A blog that looks professional will draw in a larger audience, and reaching out to the people should be the reason you're even writing one in the first place. Otherwise, what's the point? A longer blog should have a very clear beginning, middle, and end. Different points of what you are writing about should be divided in their own separate sections, characterized by either a paragraph change or header. In this way, the reader doesn't have to sit through one continuous block of text and left confused and tired.

   Should a reader want to take a break from the blog before reading the rest later, a solid structure will also help them by giving them a good stopping and starting point they can easily find again. The Roman Numeral Formula, as I like to call it, given a few paragraphs prior to this was is a start, but feel free to experiment and find what style of roadmap works for you best while keeping in mind what is best for the reader. That brings us to the end of our first quick lesson, but don't fret, the second one is coming soon, and we have plenty to go over in that one too. Before you can start writing blogs like a professional, you need to learn the rules of each type of blog.

<p class="MsoNormal">   I hope you found this quick lesson enjoyable and I hope to see bloggers old and new in the next one. Thank you, and Stay Mad.