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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- SmokeLong Quarterly (the mag in which I found my blog crush Chad Simpson, this month’s yeah write weekly writing challenge guest editor)
- NOÖ Journal
- elimae (no longer publishing, but the archives are stored online, just click the link)
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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…
The Common. Is another good lit mag & they publish onlne. I love that you are reminding us of the importance of reading & mulling… The interwebzsometimes force us Into a now-now-now mentality, which I think sometimes works against deep writing …
Reading on a screen means we are actually scanning, not reading. We are definitely not absorbing. I’m not one to talk since I’m writing at yeah write about 50 hours a week, but we should all take a break from the online world to work on our personal writing as often as we can. Thanks so much for the lit mag suggestion.
And here I thought this was gonna be all about reading Cosmo! Really great idea. When I free up some time in Sept, I’ll be all over this (If I remember). Also loved knowing where the freefringes came from. But what is the purplepatch?
Free fringes was hacked and purple patch happened to be a domain I’d bought for my husband. When I needed a new domain, I took it over. One day, I’ll take the time to switch the free fringes domain to the blog at purple patch. Thanks for the reminder.
This is a great exercise. I like the idea of making it a scheduled exercise. I buy things to read — but often don’t follow through because other things jump ahead. It’s also great because you end
up with a post. Won’t even try to explain why that first comment wasn’t finished. ;0
This is one of the most useful lessons to me. I don’t know why, but it has been YEARS since I’ve read a literary magazine. I’m a novel girl. But dang, the way you describe turning everything off and holding it my hand while I mark the heck out of it sounds so satisfying 🙂 Five minutes ago, literary magazines weren’t even on my radar and now my life will not be complete without a subscription to one.
So true – the better I read, the better I write.
I’m a bit lost for what to do with this one – I’m in Japan so I can’t exactly go to the local bookstore and buy a (English) literary magazine… would The Walrus work? It’s the only print magazine I have around… it’s a kind of Canadian lit / current events magazine…
Yes, these are only suggestions. You can also purchase the online versions (some might even be free) then print a copy from your device. Whatever works best.