At the time of writing, I've been going through a rough spot in my (day-to-day) travels and have had some trouble focusing on writing things. I suspect it will pass, but as I've been going through my todo list and my brain for things to write about, in the mean time I've noted something of a pattern in the way that I lead in my blog posts.
Even though I read something a few years ago that said, basically, the way to be successful at blogging is to write your posts like newspaper articles: strong lead, details to follow, everything but elaboration in the first paragraph. The thought is that this style of writing is the most effective way to reach people and hook them into what you're saying. Expecting reader efficiency. It's a good idea.
I'm remarkably bad at this. I blog like I talk, I fear, and so my posts are often bottom heavy and meander around to the point. I know my flaws.
In any case, I think I've uncovered a (small) list tropes for the way that I begin posts:
- I mention that something has been on my todo list and then write about something that's tangentially related.
- I tell some sort of semi-funny, self deprecating introductory story, and get to the point at the beginning of the second paragraph.
- I talk about previous posts that serve as background to the post that I'm writing now. May or may not include links.
- Some sort of abrupt but not all together straight forward beginning, eg. "So I was thinking that..."
Did I miss any?