Lately, I’ve written quite a bit about ideas for writers—how to come up with ideas for your articles, books, speeches and blogs and how to slice, dice and mince those ideas into hundreds of others. I hope that my suggestions have helped in your write-to-publish efforts.
Now let’s talk about fleshing out those ideas and creating interesting, informative and/or entertaining blog posts, articles, speeches and so forth.
I evaluated a book manuscript for a neighbor this week. There was a lot going on with this manuscript, but it lacked focus, a clear purpose and there was no beginning, middle and end. The author was ready to argue with me about this. She said, “Well, it’s a novel. And it is something I want to donate for genealogy research. It is also my life story, you know.”
I said, “I know. It is bits and pieces of your life story with some genealogy stuff thrown in. Sure there are a few parts of it that read like a rough draft of a novel. But it doesn’t, yet, seem to have a purpose and there is no beginning, middle and end.” She kept repeating, “Beginning, middle and end,” as if in contemplation—as if this concept was brand new to her. Hasn’t she ever read a book?
Articles, short stories and blog posts also rely on a beginning, middle and end in order to make them work. Sure, it’s your blog and you can do whatever you want. Isn’t that the real beauty of a blog site? It’s yours! It can reflect you and your thoughts, ideas, dreams, belief system, passions… And many bloggers (including yours truly) tend to ramble sometimes. But, because this blog site focuses on publishing, I always try to make a point related to this topic. I try to tie the ending remarks to the beginning comments or questions. And I often enjoy rambling in between.
Are you landing writing assignments? Are publishers interested in your manuscripts? Do you have followers for your blog? If not, you might examine the content of your stories and articles. Do they have a logical beginning, middle and end or do they read like a lot of blather—like writing with no purpose or direction? Do your pieces make sense and have a point? Or do your readers walk away feeling confused?
I love to give assignments. This week, I’d like you to take a look at some of your best writing. Check it over for that meaningful beginning (which might introduce your subject or set the mood for your story), a middle (that explains the subject in various ways or tells the story) and the end (which might bring the theme full circle or your story to a reasonable conclusion).
If you have questions, contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com