How To Blog: A Primer (And Not A Boring Primer, Either)

As we’ve previously mentioned, our editor Jim Dedman is now contributing one monthly post to the North Carolina Law Blog.  Last week, his most recent submission was published at that site.  The topic:  “How To Blog: A Primer (And Not A Boring Primer, Either).” We’ve been doing this blogging thing for more than two years now, and so we are often asked by readers and friends, “How does one actually write a blog entry?”

Here’s part of his response to that question:

When you think about it in detail, the quest for subject matter – blog fodder – is the easiest part of blogging. We’ve all got legal anecdotes, war stories, and opinions on issues large and small.  You can write not just about the latest cases, but about your legal pet peeves, awkward moments at depositions, and even our thoughts on the blog entries of other writers.  Really, any story you tell another lawyer at lunch or any minor tirade you embark upon as the result of an irksome legal annoyance is appropriate and good subject matter.  Anything you read in the news, anything you see in pop culture, or anything you encounter on the vast expanse of the Internet can prompt a post large or small, even if it only offers the tiniest connection to the world of law.

Just as with a motion or brief, it’s stressful when you sit in front of a blank screen on the computer and know that you cannot get up again until you have finished a draft. There is a better way.  Bloggers should carry blog ideas with them and allow them germinate and develop in their minds before sitting down to write the post.  They can scribble notes on a legal pad, or if they have the ability and desire, dictate a rough draft of a post.  That way, when they sit down in front of their computer, they’re not facing blank screen but starting with a series of their own notes or even a dictated rough draft of the post.

Click here to read the full post.

Comments are closed.