The document provides tips for beginning bloggers and columnists. It emphasizes that writing should not be boring and should have a clear purpose such as conveying opinion, offering perspective, or entertaining readers. It suggests choosing topics you are knowledgeable or passionate about, developing a unique voice and style, and providing context to support opinions. Regular writing and learning from other writers can improve skills over time.

1. Tips for the beginning enthusiast Columns and Blogs Te Waha Nui / CityBeat http://artsweb/Louise_dev/devWP Martin Hirst http://ethicalmartini.wordpress.com

2. Never be boring In all cases there is one cardinal sin; being boring. The columnist must have something to say and appealing style that captures the reader and demands a reaction… Everyone has one column, maybe six, in them. But column writing week in and week out, let alone at more regular intervals, is demanding professional work. [Al Morison, Intro , p. 309]

5. The obligatory Orwell slide I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing. But I could not do the work of writing a book, or even a long magazine article, if it were not also an aesthetic experience. …. So long as I remain alive and well I shall continue to feel strongly about prose style, to love the surface of the earth, and to take a pleasure in solid objects and scraps of useless information. George Orwell , Why I Write , 1946

6. Write about what you know A column or blog has to be believable A good opinion piece is based on relevant facts Do your homework Have a point of view

11. The outcome was so remarkable, you almost dare to imagine a day when Blair and Bush are in a cell with Karadzic, arguing about whose turn it is to slop out. But mostly, I wonder if, when the computers hit the ground, they flickered, “You have performed an illegal operation”. Mark Steel, W/H 26-07-08, p.21

30. Tip No. 1 cannot be emphasized enough among journalists and journalism students. Writing a blog will make you better at everything related to being a good journalist. Word. You will become a better writer, researcher, investigator, skeptic, listener, communicator — and editor. You will also become better at everything concerning the Web, if you really apply yourself to blogging. I speak from personal experience on this. Teaching online journalism [Mindy McAdams]

32. Tip No. 2 has a direct relationship to No. 3, and I think we could learn something from Stolz’s own post. His post title: “Five Lessons from a Year of Blogging.” My title for this post: “5 tips for blog beginners.” Now, think about a person typing search terms into Google. Lessons and blogging ? Or tips and blog ? Your choice of keywords in the post title is of paramount importance to the findability of the post itself. Every word counts. The title also needs to be short — five or six words is an ideal length. Mindy McAdams