Do you follow the rules?

I’m not a good blogger.  In fact, when I became a blogger I didn’t even know you could be a good one or a not so good one.  I just wanted to get my thoughts in written form before I forgot them.  I did not have dreams of having hundreds or thousands of followers.  I didn’t even know there were followers.  I guess you might say I jumped in with little preparation.  I’m good at that.

I don’t follow the blogging rules. I’ve read a gazillion articles on how to have a successful blog and I have even tried some of the suggestions.  But I’m just not consistent enough.  You are supposed to have a point when you write a blog.  I do not always have a point.  My point is, I am writing this stuff down so I don’t forget it.   And I guess that’s not really a point.

Images are important for a blog to be successful.  For awhile I always put some type of image into my blog.  It does make it look pretty.  Then I read that you can’t just use any old image that you find on the internet.  (That’s where I found most of mine.)  If the image belongs to someone else, you have to have their permission to use it and then give them credit for the image.  Guess what?  That’s a lot of work!  So during my second year of blogging, I went back through all of my blogs and deleted images that I shouldn’t have used.  That was really productive.  Again, I jumped in without doing my homework.

Successful blogs, I am told, are usually between 1000 and 1500 words.  Epic fail on that one.  My best blogs are the 100 word fiction posts.

Links can help you get more exposure and more followers.  I still have trouble linking to NaBloPoMo and Friday Fictioneers.  Mr. Linky and I do not see eye to eye.

Spelling and grammar I am good at.  See how I ended that sentence with a preposition?    Really, if you are on WordPress, there, their, they’re  is a spelling and grammar check always available for your use.

Most writers tell you to write your blog, then let it sit for a few hours, or a couple of days, or even longer.  Then go back and edit the heck out of it.  This does work.  But who has time for that?  I usually write and publish immediately and then several days later read it again and go back and update, all the while thinking… how could I have written that and sent it out to the world.

There is one rule that I follow.  I have found that it really has helped me do a better job of writing in general.  Read your blog out loud.  I have been surprised at the mistakes and awkward sentence structures I have discovered just by listening to what I have written.  It works for me.

What are some rules you follow when you write?