You might think writing fictional stories is just a hobby, a way for you to get creative.
And freelance blogging is a serious, entirely non-fictional business.
But the truth is, making up stories helps you craft better blog posts. They may be different in form, but fiction and blogging are the same in other ways.
Fiction entertains, educates and inspires. So does blogging.
The principles you use in writing fiction also apply to blogging. So do many of the writing techniques.
Be a Freelance Blogger helped me grow my knowledge about the blogosphere. I started calling myself a blogger, but I also wanted to write stories. When I’m not writing blog posts, story ideas and fragments of dialogue pop into my head. So I started writing fiction.
Little did I know that writing stories would help me craft more effective blog posts for my clients. Fiction writing has taught me to:
Write a (detailed) outline
Because how many words can you write when you don’t know where you’re going with it?
When I joined NaNoWriMo last year, I was ecstatic. I was so sure I was going to hit the 50,000-word target. I created an outline, decided to write every day, and thought I was on my way to finishing my first novel.
As NaNoWriMo came to an end, I’d written 24,586 words. Far from my 50,000-word target. Ouch.
The blogging lesson:
After my NaNoWriMo disappointment, I created a more detailed outline for my novel. Since then, I’ve also started writing outlines for blog posts. Some writers frown upon outlines because they think that outlines stifle creativity. But the truth is, it encourages creativity.
Outlining prevents you getting stuck staring into a blank screen. Thus, it helps keep writer’s block at bay. It also serves as a map so you won’t get lost and write something completely different from what you intended. And it makes it easy for you to spin off side topics to write about in another post.
Tie up loose ends
When writing a novel, all loose ends must be tied up.
Everything falls into place. All questions are answered.
When you end a novel without tying up loose ends, you leave readers hanging, feeling cheated. And they might swear never to read your work again.
Worse, they’ll tell their friends and write bad reviews because they feel they didn’t get their money’s worth. Occasional bad reviews are inevitable for a fiction writer, but don’t invite them by being lazy enough not close the story well.
The only acceptable reason for not tying up loose ends is that you plan a second book to continue those parts of the story. But every series or saga must come to an end. When you get to the final book, it’s important to put everything in place unless you have a VERY good reason to leave your reader’s curiosity forever unsatisfied.
The blogging lesson:
Your reader must gain enough information or entertainment from your blog post to leave them feeling satisfied. The internet is full of useful content. That means you’re fighting for the reader’s attention. Once you have that attention, it’s time to validate the reader’s decision to stick with your post — and reward that decision by providing valuable lessons, ideas or instructions.
Do what your headline says. Or your blog post fails.
Write a prequel, sequel, or series
When I started writing fiction, I also started to notice the techniques of authors in digital publishing. Notice how novels are seldom standalone stories anymore?
This is a marketing tactic to trigger and feed the audience’s desire to read more. When they finish a novel, they want to know: what happens next? Does everyone live happily ever after? What happens to the protagonist’s best friend? Does he have adventures of his own?
That’s why authors often include a list of their other novels, or the first chapter of their next book, at the end of a novel — it’s the moment when a reader is most likely to buy another book.
The blogging lesson:
Write a blog series, or an “ultimate” resource post that you can publish at regular intervals. For example, Sophie releases a new edition of her Ultimate List of Better-Paid Blogging Gigs (a free directory of blogs that pay $50 or more) every year.
Keep offering something new to quench the thirst of your readers, and make it easy for them to find the next update in the series. They’ll thank you by staying to read more.
Know your topic
Is your story set in a world your reader already knows? In fiction, many authors introduce you to a whole new world. But that only works if you can convey the essential information without giving the reader an information overload. You have to know every nook and cranny of the world you’ve built, but share only what the reader needs.
The blogging lesson:
Don’t suffocate your readers with too much information about your topic. Take each topic and angle one blog post at a time.
Today, Google favors long form writing. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to tell everything in a single blog post. This will overload your reader and either bore him to death, or leave him confused. Remember, the purpose of your post is to make the reader feel motivated. If you feel your post is getting longer than necessary, write a blog post series instead.
Remember, people DO judge a book by its cover
I’m guilty of this. Even if you write the greatest book ever — if you have a crappy cover, chances are people won’t notice it. They won’t even give it a second look. Sad, but it happens.
The blogging lesson:
People DO judge your blog posts by your headlines. Crafting a killer headline is a skill. But with Jon Morrow’s free Headline Hacks cheat sheet, you can get a head start. With intriguing headlines and subheads, you capture a reader’s attention — that’s how you get them to stop scanning and start reading.
Photos are also a great attention grabber. Choose high-quality images; paid photos might be the best option if you have a budget and you don’t want to spend too long searching for good images.
There are a lot of sites that offer free images in exchange for a link or attribution. Here are 3 you might want to try: Unsplash, morgueFile, and Flickr. Be careful to read the license though.
Know your audience (and your client)
In fiction writing, you have to know who your readers are. What’s your target market? By determining your readers’ psychographics, you know how to get into their minds and with that knowledge you can craft novels they’ll devour. Sometimes, a book fails not because of what the book is about but because it’s targeting the wrong market.
The blogging lesson:
Who are your client’s readers? Are they businesses? Big or small? Startups or joint ventures? Writers or freelancers in general?
By knowing these demographic details, you can explore the audience’s psychographics to write blog posts they’ll want to read and share.
Know how it ends
After reading a good book, a reader has an emotional attachment to the story that they can only get over by reading more. Great stories leave the reader changed, feeling that life will never be quite the same again.
Same with your blog readers. After reading your post, your reader should feel motivated to take action. He should have learned something valuable, inspiring, even life-changing.
The blogging lesson:
While blogs engage, inspire and teach, at a deeper level they tell stories about protagonists similar to the reader. That’s why readers gravitate towards specific blogs — they feel a connection to the topic and the stories.
Writing fiction helped me see blogging from a new perspective.
Freelance blogging and fiction may seem totally different at first glance. But writing posts for pay doesn’t mean you’re walking away from the art of storytelling.
In fact, if you’re a freelance blogger you need to tell good stories.
Good stories that pay.
Sabita says
Creating an outline is really a great way to work. While working as a ghostwriter for my clients, I create an outline for every article I write, whether it incorporates headings or are simple paragraphs.
It keeps me organized in heads. I always want to write stories but never really gave it a shot yet.
Thanks for the post.
Sabita
Joy B. Collado says
Hi Sabita! Outlines are helpful indeed. They keep me from straying off topic.
Writing a story can be liberating. 🙂 I think of it as an escape from freelance writing, marketing and all that. I hope to read one of your stories soon!
Sabita says
I am aiming to publish guest posts these days. Well that’s just a start.
Will definitely share as soon as I write a story 🙂
Michele says
As a fiction writer and blogger, I have never really thought about those two going hand in hand. Great article!
Joy B. Collado says
Thank you Michele!
Aiza C. says
Hi, Joy!
Great post. I have taken some tips from this. I have just revamped my blog and swear to only blog useful or entertaining stuff. This article comes in handy. Thanks!
Joy B. Collado says
Thank you Aiza! I’m glad you found the post helpful. 🙂
Williesha Morris says
Great post! Outlines are everything and a couple of those image sites I’m not familiar with.
Joy B. Collado says
Thank you Williesha! I used to spend tons of time just to search for a good image. Having reliable sources saves a lot of time.
Kara Andersen says
Speaking of killer headlines, I couldn’t wait to read the post when I spotted that title.
What a great comparison! As a blogger interested in delving further into fiction writing in the future, I appreciated reading about how one genre informs the other. I’m sure it works the other way as well.
Joy B. Collado says
Thank you Kara! I have to thank Alicia Rades for helping with that headline. 🙂
Edward Beaman says
Great lessons. I especially like the final one. Fiction writers have a little advantage in that they can activate the “story button” in our brains which is apparently very close to the “buy button”. 😉
Joy B. Collado says
Ditto Edward. 😉 Thank you!
Patrick Icasas says
Thanks for writing this, Joy! I’ve actually been trying to do the reverse: how to apply my freelance writing habits to my fiction writing. It always seemed strange to me that I could crank out a 500 word blog post in less than an hour, but that it would take me hours to agonize over the same amount of words in my fiction!
Joy B. Collado says
That can be tricky Patrick. What I like to do is imagine a scene before I go to sleep, and then ponder upon it again the next morning. That way my brain is conditioned to write so it makes it easier to produce words. But that’s just me. I’m sure you’ll eventually find your fiction writing zone. 🙂
Pinar Tarhan says
Hi Joy,
I loved this! As someone who writes both fiction and non-fiction, it has hit home. I try to apply these tips to my non-fiction writing, and I also apply some of my non-fiction habits to my fiction. They have a lot more in common when you stop and observe:)
May inspiration be with all of us:)
Joy B. Collado says
Thank you Pinar! Me too, I try to apply these in my fiction writing and vice versa. 🙂 I hope to read one of you stories one day. 😉
Pinar Tarhan says
Thanks, Joy. I’d love to read yours too:)
Graham Commandeer says
My first attempt at writing fiction was for a competition, which requires original story based on wind in the Willows about 2000 words long
Which I didn’t win, but I got the bug for writing, these days I mostly write press release for a business social site
My biggest struggle is finding the actual subject, but after that the writing is the easy part, as I discovered writing is my passion, whether it’s fiction or factual
Joy B. Collado says
Oh I wish I can say the writing is the easy part. 🙂 I’m glad you’re enjoying fiction writing as much as non-fiction writing Graham!
Anthony Dejolde says
Congratulations for having a guest post on BAFB, Joy!
It’s a rocking site (to be subtle about it).
I’ve always believed in the power of stories, they are powerful. So, upon seeing your headline, BOOM! I hit the link, and here I am writing my thoughts. 🙂
Fiction writing demands inventiveness, and so does crafting blog posts. (So, basically, both disciplines feed on each other’s attributes). Inventiveness demands that you be creative. To be *effectively* creative, in turn, requires you to bare a li’l of your soul (at least, if you want to be genuine). This way, you can rub your audience’s soul in a more intimate manner.
Talking about baring and daring, if you’re feeling brave, and in the mood to be bold, then dare to bare it all. Doing this, I’m pretty sure, will catch your audience’s attention. 🙂
Love it, Joy! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on BAFB.