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Becoming a better blogger means becoming a better writer

It’s always about the writing here at yeah write.

So when ProBlogger suggests as today’s 31dbbb topic to use a magazine to improve our blogs, we tweak that and grab a lit mag. The stories, the structure, the foundation of the micro-stories we tell here each week at yeah write are all non-fiction from a creative writer’s perspective.

Today’s exercise is not one to be completed quickly, so there won’t be a 31dbbb grid for you to add your link. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger says he performs this exercise on a regular basis and sets aside one quiet hour. If you’re anything like me, it’ll take you one hour just to select the lit mag you plan to use for the activity, so maybe give yourself an entire quiet morning or afternoon.

How to find the right lit mag

At EWR (Every Writer’s Resource), I found a list of the top 50 lit magazines. In this post, I’ll list and recommend a few I am familiar with or that have been mentioned on yeah write by guest editors. No, I have no idea which ones are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled tears of a children’s string orchestra or which ones are committed to reducing paper waste in gender-neutral community bath houses, so these are not endorsements. They are good suggestions and, sometimes, that’s enough.

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Here are some mags I discovered while writing my (now defunct) first blog On Life as a Sarcastic Fringehead (which is where the pseudonym “fringes” came from if anyone who cares is still reading). I can personally vouch for their reducing paper waste through the 100% recycled tears of children’s orchestras.

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How to use a lit mag to improve your blog

Find a quiet spot. Turn off all screens. Hold the mag in your hands, not on a device. Get some notepaper, Post-Its and a pen. Read. Read. Read some more. Take note how the authors are developing their plots and their characters. Fall in love with the language. Steal some ideas. Be inspired. Write stuff down. Write in the margins. Take note of the dialogue. Notice where the action starts. Think of a story you’d like to tell. Mind map. Practice telling the whole story in 500 words. Edit as you go along. Read. Read. Read some more. Take note how the authors’ everyday experiences sound like the most interesting experiences in the world. What do they include in their storytelling? What do you think they cut out? Write a personal essay you have no intention of publishing on your blog. Mind map some more. If you normally write a parenting blog, write a post without mentioning your children. If you normally write a travel blog, write a post about staying home. Write your own superhero origin story. Understand how language matters. Read aloud. Read aloud some more. Take note of your favorite words. Write like you talk. Schedule your next quiet morning or afternoon. Commit to becoming a better writer.

Looking for this week’s writing challenge?

It’s over here being hosted by Chad. For the third week, if we reach 30+ entries on the challenge grid, unlocking the invitational grid and the editor picks, we will send copies of Chad’s new collection of short stories (as well as the other two books he’s mentioned in his guest series) to the jury prize winner. Submission guidelines just for you.

Your lit mag mind mapping in comments…

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