I wrote my first blog article in October of 2007. Lifestyle blogging was just becoming trendy. While I had had a website since the late 90s, I had never tried to write for others before. My site had been intended mostly for my own content and artwork. It was kind of a "this is me!" form of self-expression. So, when I discovered lifestyle blogging and it got me excited, I decided to give it a try.
The result was not good. At the time I thought it was, though, and I started cultivating a writing habit and mimicking the content and form of popular lifestyle blogs. As time passed, I began to see how hollow my writing in this vein was. Nothing I wrote sounded like what I thought, or what I was qualified to talk about. From there, I started to branch out into topics I actually cared about.
Now, the year is 2025, and I have been blogging for eighteen years. Over those eighteen years I learned much about writing in general and blogging in particular. This article presents eighteen lessons derived from that experience, one for each year.
1. A writing habit is more valuable than writing well every time
One of the traps of writing is that sometimes it sucks. It's frustrating to sit there and be unable to start a post, or to see a problem and be unable to fix it. Often in this situation, I would just walk away and go do something else. The issue with that is that, unless you have made sitting down to write a habit, significant time can pass before you sit down again. In some cases for me, that was months.
Cultivate a habit of writing. Pick a time every day that you will write, and do it. Force yourself to write at least a hundred words. If that's too much at first, just write ten words. If the time is inconvenient for a particular day - say, you're at the beach with friends - then make sure to have a little notebook with you and write in that instead of at your computer. The habit will save you when it comes time.
2. Write about what you're passionate about
The energy you have for your interests will come through in your writing. If you're excited by what you're writing about, your readers will be able to tell. If you write about a subject you have no interest in, they'll be able to tell that too. If you're really into something right now and can write ten posts about it but don't want to post them all at once, keep nine in your back pocket for later when you're in a dry spell.
Even when you're writing about what might sound like a boring detail, try and infuse your words with energy. Play with the phrasing. Inject a bit of humor. Do something to elevate the writing from merely conveying information to being worth reading on its own.
3. Don't be afraid to write about something others have already written about
With eight billion people on the planet, it's inevitable that you will have thoughts and feelings that someone else has had. Even if you narrow that crowd to just people who write blogs, you will still cover old ground.
And that's fine.
No matter how many people have written about a particular subject, your own take on it is a unique product of your experiences and reflections. The important part to keep in mind is to bring those experiences into your writing on the subject.
4. Explaining something to others is a great way to understand it better yourself
If you teach someone something, it forces you to think harder about every aspect of what you're writing. Imagine telling a five-year-old what you're writing, and them asking "but why?" every other sentence. Think about an answer for them. That may lead to another question, and so on.
This advice doesn't just extend to blog posts meant for instruction. When you write a blog post explaining how you feel about a particular topic, if you really think about what you're feeling, it becomes an exploration of your feelings. It can show you truths you never realized before.
5. Let your own voice develop
I first tried to copy the style of the blogs I was interested in. The result was that my blog posts looked and sounded like theirs, but they didn't bring anything of me to the table. It took awhile for me to stop imitating others and start experimenting with my own voice. Once I did, though, writing became more interesting and rewarding. The quality of my writing improved, too.
You develop your own voice by writing lots of first drafts. Write like you're talking about something with someone. Over time, you'll see your own voice start to show up in turns of phrase and the way you structure your posts.
6. Hand writing drafts on paper can help the creative process
You don't always have to write your first draft on your computer. Have a notebook and pen handy to explore topics and write when the mood takes you. By writing in the analog world, you engage more of your senses and experience sensations that you don't have when typing. This can open up new pathways in that brain of yours as you're trying to find the right words.
I always have a pocket Moleskine notebook with me. It's not big enough to write an article in comfortably, but it has helped me capture important thoughts on many occasions.
7. The first draft is a starting point
Always remember that the first draft is just a starting point. The words don't have to make sense and it's fine to stumble and ramble. The important part of a first draft is to get your thoughts down.
We can only hold so much in our working memory, so it's impossible to keep a full, coherent article in your brain at once. You can reorganize content, clarify thoughts, and fix any grammar mistakes later. Just write.
8. Question your assumptions and conclusions
As you go back through a previous draft, question your assumptions and conclusions. Be brutal and critical. Poke holes in your own arguments and assertions. This will help you build your position and make a more compelling post.
This is something I've been working on recently. I'm also discovering the old art of rhetoric. It's expanding my ability to interrogate my own writing.
9. Learn a bit about rhetoric
The art of rhetoric is ancient. It used to rule Athens during the time of city-states. It's still going strong today, and you can use it to better communicate with your readers. Rhetoric is essentially the art of persuasion, and it can be divided into three categories: ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is establishing your authority to speak on a subject. Pathos is appealing to emotion. And logos is appealing to logic. Do some reading on all three, but pay particular attention to pathos, as it will give you the biggest boost to your blog.
10. Aim for completion, not perfection
During the editing process it's easy to get lost in just wanting to fix one more thing or add one more detail. Don't let this keep your post from daylight. It takes time and experience to figure out when a post is "done" as opposed to "perfect," but cultivate this habit. When in doubt, publish it. Mistakes will happen and, the web being a social place, people will point them out. Don't worry about that before you publish. You can always write a follow-up piece later if necessary.
11. Resist the urge to go back and edit old posts
Sometimes you'll go back through your old writing and think "oh this is terrible, but I like the basic concept. I could make it better." If you're like me, you might want to edit the old post directly, just to "fix a couple things."
Do not do this.
Your old posts are a snapshot of your writing, and yourself, from that moment in time. Don't rewrite history. It's fine to be inspired by your old works, though, and I'll get to that in a bit.
12. Revisit old topics periodically
I mentioned before that this would come up again. Instead of going back and editing old posts to conform to your present understanding and skill level, write a new post on the same subject. Part of what makes a blog interesting for returning readers is seeing how the writer's opinions and experience change over time. It's good to link to the previous post and explain how things have changed since then.
For readers who don't regularly follow your blog, seeing this kind of post gives them insight into what your blog is like over time.
13. Cultivate a writing environment
Our brains love habit and they love pre-existing connections. Set up an environment specifically for writing. If you listen to music when you write, then spend time putting together your own playlist for writing. Whenever you sit down to write, put on that playlist. If you can change your lighting, try that. Be consistent. This will help signal your brain that it's time to write. It makes the words flow easier. For myself, I have two writing playlists - one for writing in the morning, and one for writing in the evening. Each has a distinct tone and feel.
14. Keep a muse
Have a specific object near you and in your line of sight when you write. This can be anything - a 90s-style inspirational poster, a little statue, a plant, anything. Its purpose is to give you a place to rest your gaze when you're stuck or thinking that will always be present when you're writing. This keeps your mind on writing even when you can't bear to keep staring at the words on the screen. For me at this time, it's a vinyl twenty-sided dice about the size of an orange.
15. Go for walks
Walks engage your entire body. They increase your blood flow and fill you with energy. While you're walking, let your mind wander. Many times I have had solutions to writing problems - and others - come to me unbidden when walking. If you're feeling stuck, go outside and take a walk around the block. Don't force yourself to think about the problem. Just walk.
I was surprised at how effective this is when I first learned of it. Henry David Thoreau, Charles Dickens, and other legendary writers swore by walking.
If going for walks is not something your body is amenable to, see if you can find a different form of cardiovascular exercise that it likes better.
16. Play with your visual aesthetic
Your blog is more than just the written word. The look and feel of it is an expression of yourself and what you want your blog to convey. If you use WordPress or another blog engine, try out different themes. Play with the customization settings, if it lets you. Try adding photos and other images to your posts. Use what speaks to you and don't be afraid to let whimsy take you.
In addition to giving your blog a different aspect of your voice, these blogging-adjacent activities will let you interact with your writing in different ways.
17. Find an editor
No matter how good a writer you are, you will make mistakes. After you've given your first draft an editing pass of your own, find someone willing to do the same for you. They will be able to point out things that sound off or don't make sense. Since they are looking at it with fresh eyes, they won't have any prior understanding to fill in the gaps. I'm lucky in that my wife is a technical writer. After editing this article myself, I handed it off to her, and she found a few glaring issues that I completely missed.
A bonus here is if you find another blogger who wants to swap editing with you. You can make some great friends this way.
18. Blogging is a long journey rather than a short sprint
A blog is a long-term adventure. Keeping a primary topic for your blog can give you focus and help you generate ideas for posts. However, don't be too consumed by that. Let your posts wander. You're not writing a book for a publisher with specific demands and short deadlines.
Sometimes a blog post is just a quick exploration of some feelings you've had recently, and that's totally fine. That in itself can enrich your life and bring character to your blog. Long journeys include some measure of wandering. We have all manner of sayings and clichés about taking it slow and enjoying the journey.
Coda
So, there you have it. A lesson for each of the years I have been writing blogs. I hope at least some of this is useful to you and inspires you in your own blogging. My last eighteen years of writing for a blog have been at times a chore, at times a reflection, and at times a reprieve from whatever else has been going on in my life at the time. I daresay that I've kept at it this long because it has become a part of my self expression. So, consider that when you wonder if it's worth doing. Your blog will always be an extension of some part of yourself.
Ben Overmyer is a coder, artist, gamer, and cat dad. He builds the website Iron Arachne and has his own personal site at benovermyer.com. You can connect with him on Mastodon at @skysong@floss.social.
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