英语语法：54 How to Get Started Blogging

By Mignon Fogarty

A listener named Daniel wrote in asking how to deal with specific fears he has about blogging, and it reminded me that good writing isn't just about putting your commas in the right place, or even coming up with good stories to tell. Another important part of good writing is getting over your own fears that hold you back. Those “what ifs” that can keep you from reaching for more.
Let's go over some of Daniel's “what ifs.” I bet some of them have nagged¹ at you too.
How to Get Started Blogging
Daniel's first questions are "What if my blog isn't relevant?” and "What if readers don't find my blog interesting?” What Daniel is really asking about is the audience for his blog.
When you're writing anything--whether it's a blog, an essay, or podcast--the first question you should ask yourself is “Who is my audience?”
What do they want to know?
Why are they coming to my site or reading the essay?
Are they likely to already agree with me, or do I need to convince them of something?
Do they want to learn something, or are they just looking to be entertained?
Do they expect formal language, or do they expect casual language?
How educated are they?
How old are they?
Where do they live?
How to Define Your Audience
Try to actually imagine your audience. The more you know about them, the more you can write something they'll find relevant and interesting. If you're writing for 10-year-olds who are just looking to kill time, your writing will be very different from your writing for a website that's trying to raise money for a political campaign.
Kids will need fun words, short words and paragraphs, and maybe even some exclamation² points. The political readers will need serious words, a more sophisticated tone, and perhaps lots of facts, compelling anecdotes³, and calls to action.
No blog will be relevant and interesting to everyone, but with the whole world as potential readers, you're likely to find some people who care. The better job you can do a defining those people, the more likely you are to develop a following.
How to Find Good Information
Daniel's next questions had to do with research. He asked, “What if I'm unable to find the information?” and “What if the information is skewed?”
If you're truly unable to find accurate information, then you shouldn't write your blog post; but with the resources available today, that's unlikely to be a problem. You'll probably start with an Internet search, but don't forget to search specialized⁴ databases such as Google Books, which lets you search the text of millions of scanned books.
You may need to pay for access to specialized websites. For example, I pay for access to the online versions of the Oxford⁵ English Dictionary, the AP Stylebook, and the Chicago Manual of Style.
Even though online access is easy, don't forget about your local library. If you're having trouble finding information, the reference librarian can be a big help.
How to Know if Online Information Is Credible⁶
Determining whether the information you're finding is skewed can be trickier⁷, especially with online information that can be posted without going through any kind of editorial process. You have to use your own judgement.
Perhaps the most important question to ask is whether the authors have anything to gain from providing skewed information. Are they selling something? Do they have an obvious philosophical⁸ stance that could make their opinion suspect? Ask yourself if the information seems extreme. See if you can corroborate⁹ it anywhere else.
Another way to determine whether online information is credible is to see who else is linking to it. You can use Google to get a list. If you type “link:” before a Web address in the Google search box, it gives you a list of all the sites that link to that address.
For example, you can see that over 235,000 pages link to the Grammar Girl page. That's a lot of links! So it means many other people have found the information link worthy¹⁰, which is usually a good sign. (You should be careful about that though. People can also link to a site if it's outrageously¹¹ incorrect, so scan the links to make sure people are linking because they think the information is good.)
How to Build Confidence
Daniel's last questions are the easiest to answer, but perhaps the most difficult to put into practice because they all boil down to “What if it all goes horribly wrong?”
And the answer is to relax. It's blogging; it's not hostage negotiation¹². There's no set deadline and no set word count. The truth is that when you start, unless you're incredibly lucky, there probably won't be a lot of people reading your blog. So start slow.
Blogging on a regular schedule can help you grow your readership because visitors know what to expect, so pick a schedule that will be easy for you to keep.  Start with one blog post a week and see how you like it. You can always ramp¹³ up later if you find that you have time.
I hope this show helps Daniel overcome his fears and get started blogging, and I hope it helped you too. Always remember to consider your audience, no matter what you're writing.
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1 nagged   

adj.经常遭责怪的；被压制的；感到厌烦的；被激怒的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的过去式和过去分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The old woman nagged (at) her daughter-in-law all day long. 那老太婆一天到晚地挑剔儿媳妇的不是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She nagged him all day long. 她一天到晚地说他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

3 anecdotes   

n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• amusing anecdotes about his brief career as an actor 关于他短暂演员生涯的趣闻逸事
• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman. 他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

7 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网

8 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

9 corroborate   

v.支持，证实，确定

参考例句：

• He looked at me anxiously,as if he hoped I'd corroborate this.他神色不安地看着我，仿佛他希望我证实地的话。
• It appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.看来他所说的和我叙述的相符。

10 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

11 outrageously   

凶残地； 肆无忌惮地； 令人不能容忍地； 不寻常地

参考例句：

• Leila kept smiling her outrageously cute smile. 莱拉脸上始终挂着非常可爱的笑容。
• He flirts outrageously. 他肆无忌惮地调情。

12 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

13 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。