How to Write for an Art Blog

Writing for art blogs is an extremely creative process because it combines both the creativity of one’s art and the creativity of creating a blog post. When writing any type of blog post it is best to keep your ideas short and to the point but with art blogs many bloggers go into a lot of detail when describing the process of their art, from the beginning ideas to the finished product. In the example shown below, Deanna Wood blogs about a new commission in which she used oil pastels and the steps she took in creating this piece of art. Due to this intense detail and the fact that art blogs create defined communities of artists, it is pretty common to see artistic vernacular that would most likely be confusing to someone who is not an artist. Also in the example, Wood uses vernacular such as “solvent transfer” which makes this specific blog post much more specific for other artists.

Another feature of art blogs that is a type of dialogue is the use of images. It is not just the actual writing that communicates ideas to the readers but also the artwork, usually in the form of uploaded images. But besides making the images speak in tandem with the writing, remember to keep in mind that as an art blogger you are writing for an audience of other artists so it is completely okay to write in an inventive tone and dialogue that enhances this community.

Target audience: The most important thing to keep in mind when writing an art blog post is the audience. Because most readers of art blogs tend to be artists themselves, many art bloggers write for this specific audience.
Topic: For an art blog, the topic can truly be anything. You can write about a piece of artwork you just finished, something you are in the process of creating, ideas you have been mulling over, etc. Many artists choose to focus on the marketing side of the art world in their blog which also targets the artistic community.
Tone: Some art bloggers use their art blogs as a way to display their creative writing as well as their actual artwork. Because of this a poetic tone is often employed to get readers immersed in the creative mindset and to make the blog posts more interesting.
Length: The length of the art blog posts is definitely up to the blogger. Most just get their ideas across to the reader and then stop. The fact that there are rarely introductions or conclusions takes down the lengths of the posts a bit.

Example of an art blog post from Deanna Wood’s blog Artist, Emerging:
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Commission, Part 3
I wanted to blog about the other pieces I created for my commission, and this is the second on that I worked on.

The original piece is two 12" x 12" panels that I created about 5 years ago, while I was in grad school.
If I remember correctly, the panel on the left has white paper and a color copy of clouds glued to the surface. I drew the triangles with oil pastel and did a solvent transfer of the telephone pole from a copy. The right panel is similar - white paper, oil pastel, and a solvent transfer. Except I can't remember how I made the transfer on the right so much lighter...
So they wanted this piece to be 48" x 66". Since the original was a diptych, I decided to do this piece on 2 panels as well, so the panels ended up being 48" x 33".

How to Write for a Book Blog

Writing for book blogs requires the author of the blog to walk a fine line between formal and informal writing. In order to be taken seriously, there has to be somewhat of an air of formality to the content of the blog; yet at the same time you have complete freedom to structure the blog the way you want, loosen up on format and grammar, and take on whatever tone you want. This leeway allows book bloggers to form better connections with their readers and to remind them that the bloggers are on the same level as those who are browsing their site.


Book Blogs revolve mainly around their content rather than their writing style. While each and every blogger has a different voice, bringing their personality to their posts, what you find on a book blog generally remains the same: Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Contests, and Memes. It is through these that the writing is unified from blog to blog. Through the spread of this general content, a certain expectation developed of what to find in each type of post. Reviews are expected to have a summary, whether written by the blogger or taken from Amazon, and the blogger’s opinion of the book as a whole, with reasons; some bloggers also create rating systems based on five stars or a numerical scale. Interviews have basic set ups that can be found in most media outlets. The contests must get the reader excited, while giving the rules, the prize, the deadline, and the entry restrictions quickly and clearly. The memes completely depend on which is being written but there is an unspoken rule that you follow the format of the blogger who created it.

As stated before, the voice of the blogger is what makes the writing on your blog distinct since the content and writing format of each is so very similar. There are a few things to keep in mind when finding your writing voice:

Target Audience- The general audience for book blogs tends to be younger, between the ages of 14-21. While the majority of the book blogs I’m aware of are geared toward young adults, there are a number of adult review sites as well, where there will obviously be older readers. It is important to keep in mind the target audience when writing for whichever kind of blog you choose. For instance, most YA book bloggers refrain from swearing on their blogs or reviewing books with adult content that could be considered inappropriate or obscene. Adult book bloggers have much more leeway with the content and language on their blogs.
Topic- Obviously on a book blog your topic is going to be books and book reviews. Therefore it is up to the author of the blog to decide how much personal anecdotes will be included within the content. There are some bloggers who stay completely on topic, not including any personal information unless it relates directly to books or the blog. Others feel the blog is more inviting if there are parts of themselves within the posts.
Tone- As stated before, the author has complete freedom to find their own tone when writing for this type of blog. While your tone is definitely going to depend on your target audience, the formality is your to play with.
length of posts- Blog posts in general are rather short, particularly the blog posts where a reader is looking for information and they want it fast. When someone reads a book review, they want a general idea of what the book is about and whether or not the book is worth picking up. If the posts go on for too long, the reader will get bored and possibly leave the blog.



In closing, here are a few questions for any book bloggers out there!

What do you think is unique to writing book blogs as opposed to other types of blogs?

Book Blogs deal a lot with opinion. How do you go about expressing that in your writing?

How to Write for a Fashion Blog

As famous designers, stylists, and magazine editors and writers are getting most of their inspiration nowadays from fashionistas around the world, the internet- blogs especially- has become their go-to place to watch and read about the latest trends and receive instant information about the fashion world. Whether it is the newest accessory coming out or talking about the latest it-girl, fashion bloggers always have to be in the know and stay on top of trends.
When fashion bloggers are writing a post, they have to know their target audience better than anyone else, especially if they are trying to sell a product:

There's your apartment key, your office key, your mail key, and, if you're one of those lucky ones, a car key—and if you're like us, you've misplaced the whole kit and kaboodle a few times by now. But, perhaps our flimsy, novelty keychain was the real problem, because if we had any of these stunners, we might be more hesitant to lose track of our ring. Here's 14 options that have both style and sturdiness on the lockdown.(http://www.refinery29.com/the_goods/designer_keychains.php)

The post was written specifically for you. This entices the reader as it is written somewhat informally but personably. It makes it seems as though this post is just the same as a friend talking to a friend with the use of the pronouns “you” and “us”. At the same time it remembers to advertise the product extremely well, just as a good friend would do in convincing her girl friend that she needs a keychain as if it were a brand new invention. On a last note, the contraction “here’s” is also used. Although the correct grammar would be “here are”, “here’s” reads better in a blog post if someone was reading it quickly, and again keeps it similar to a real conversation.

In other fashion blogs where the main focus is pictures, these images are usually accompanied by a short and to the point caption:

“WHAT IS LA ROITFELD’S MUST HAVE ITEM FOR THE SEASON? THE CAPE!
SPOTTED IN VARIOUS CAPES BY CHLOÉ AND YVES SAINT LAURENT, LA ROITFELD LOVES A GOOD CAPE TO BLANKET HERSELF IN”(http://jakandjil.com/blog/?p=3357)

The use of the question and exclamation point in this example is particularly effective in drawing the reader in to the item being emphasized. This caption is also very, for lack of a better word, cheesy. But this is one element in common with all fashion blogs as is very apparent in this last example:

At Who What Wear headquarters, we spend a great deal of time scouting and spotlighting the most fashionable fresh faces. These noteworthy young ladies (affectionately known as Pretty Young Things, or PYTs, around the office) never fail to inspire us with their nonchalant coolness and brilliant taste in clothes. When broken down into parts, PYT style sounds very contrary—it's on-trend and individualistic, subtle and sexy, androgynous and feminine—but they always make it work. Just look at Alexa Chung: she's the poster girl for the PYT set, thanks to her tomboyish tendencies and affinity for quirky accessories! Working off the hunch that you might have a pal who shares Chung's sartorial spirit and need to find the perfect gifts for her, we rounded up a batch of the best PYT-inspired stuff for your shopping pleasure. Read on for every fashion-forward delight, from splurge-worthy sunglasses to a seriously sharp pair of shoes!
http://whowhatwear.com/website/full-article/holiday-gift-guide-pretty-young-thing/)

This final post encompasses all the elements necessary for a successful fashion blog post. It has a broad, rich vocabulary but it is also kept colloquial. It uses alliteration such as in “seriously sharp” and “sartorial spirit” to sound alluring to the reader. The views in fashion blogs are almost always completely objective; it is just a matter of taste and personal style. This is why behind every post there is always a certain level of excitement and emotion from the writer. The inclusion of exclamation points as well as many superlative adjectives (in bold) serves to appeal directly to the reader as well and invite them to share the excitement.

*RECAP*

Target audience:
Both girls and boys with an interest in the fashion industry or someone simply looking to shop. Whether their specific interest is fashion design, styling, buying for a store, or simply a love of clothes, reading fashion blogs is beneficial for all of them to keep updated with the latest trends and find out what everyone is wearing, at all times.

Topic:
Topics range from announcing a designer’s new line, to describing specific garments and accessories, or discussing what the latest celebrity is wearing and how to mimic his or her style.

Tone:
Descriptive and optimistic, fashion bloggers always want to keep their readers excited about the information or news they are sharing and try to convince them to go out and shop!

Length:
Usually short and to the point, but with some embellishments to the descriptions always accompanying a picture.

How to Write for a Music Blog

Writing for blogs in general is a very liberal type of writing, it can be as informal or as formal as you like, you can write about whatever you choose, etc. But writing for music blogs is even more freeing than other types of blog writing. Most music blogs center on a specific genre of music but apart from this, the actual blog posts can focus on whatever the writer chooses. Some music bloggers choose to stick to writing reviews while others choose to expose new music through their blog posts. This freedom lends a very personal aspect to the blog posts.

While you can focus on whatever you choose, an important aspect to all music blog writing is remembering to present honest connections to the rest of the music world through your writing. You may be reviewing a new album and want to describe the new music in ways that describe the music’s connection to older works of the same artist or to other artists in the genre. If your writing displays these and other types of connections then your blog posts become much more understandable to the reader.


Target audience: The audience for music blogs tends to be people who listen and appreciate the specific genre of music but most music blogs are accessible enough so that people who don’t typically listen to the genre can still enjoy and understand what the author is talking about.

Topic: The topic of a music blog post can encompass as much or as little as you want. It could simply be a short review of an album or a big introduction to a new band that most people probably haven’t heard of, or anything in between.

Tone: It is important to keep in mind the tone in which you write for music blogs. As a music blogger you want to appear knowledgeable about the topic and about the music world and industry. This is essential because most music blogs feature reviews of music artists and it lends a definite credibility to your opinions if you come across as informed and knowledgeable.

Length: Many music blog posts tend to be longer than other types of blog posts. The example below from the blog Obscure Sound is already pretty long for a blog post and the example is only part of the post Mike Mineo wrote on the band Dragon Turtle.



Example of a music blog post from Mike Mineo’s blog Obscure Sound:
The Dragon Turtle Almanac
Posted by Mike Mineo on 12/10/09





As Brian Lightbody and Tom Asselin could tell you, the differences between rural and urban America are plentiful. Lightbody lives in media-centric Brooklyn and works as a creative director, while Asselin resides in northeastern Pennsylvania working as a tree farmer. The sights and sounds of their respective locales differ dramatically by day, but their night shifts find a fascinating meeting point (and it is not called New Jersey). Extracurricular musical interests allow both to exercise their real passions. Asselin’s studio in the Pocono Mountains is a common refuge for the two friends and collaborators, especially now that their project Dragon Turtle is beginning to fully spread its wings. As their debut release, a split 12” containing three tracks (two of them exceeding ten minutes) was released this past August with Goodnight Stars Goodnight Air, it proved to be an immediate unveiling of their stylistic ambition in thematic tone alone. The album cover depicts the Orion Constellation’s movement as winter arrives, the photo being set over the woods of Pennsylvania. The duo sought literally for a natural progression to this album, one that would use “the sky as a map” on a 17-minute journey through the blue oceans, green pastures, and the stars themselves. Asselin’s rural roots make this transcendentalist ideology more appropriate, but that does not mean a city boy like Lightbody is entirely detached from the ambition.

Even with its technical innovations put aside, the split 12” was a remarkable showing of natural skill that had no bearing on the members’ geographical backgrounds. Chilly and ambient keys, fragments of droning guitars, and sweeping orchestrals were the main ingredients for the release’s success. Its real pleasure, though, was in discovering its difference from typically predictable post-rock. Thematic experimentation, brooding song build-ups, and various sources of instrumentation are all characteristics today of this genre, but this split defiantly applied all the stereotypes and still managed to be neither classifiable nor derived. The sound produced was so uniquely atmospheric that the method required to get there proved just as interesting as the result. Lightbody and Asselin are clearly open to many forms of experimentation, both in their sound and songwriting. Their full-length debut, Almanac, shows this even more ambitiously. A cross between escalating post-rock, staunch orchestral minimalism, and ambient electronica is apparent just like it was on the split release. But on Almanac, the duo scales new heights in the stylistic and methodological ingenuity.

How to Write for a Personal Blog

It can be said that writing for personal blogs is the form in which you get the most freedom of creativity and expression out your blogging experience. A personal blog can basically be anything you want it to be, but many make it into a public diary of sorts. This allows for the author to show through their writing completely, making the reader feel connected in a way other blogs cannot.

These blog types are completely personality driven. There is no set writing style, form, or tone that can be pinned down as the ‘right’ way to go about creating them. Writers who are looking for complete freedom in their blog would definitely choose this type as their outlet. The content of these blogs can contain absolutely anything: likes and dislikes, reviews, personal stories (in fact, they consist mostly of personal stories), hobbies, and events. The complete lack of guidelines seems to appeal to most people who write personal blogs. Although they’re also frequently used to keep in touch with family and friends. For instance, one of my roommates uses her blog as a type of diary to inform people back home of what’s going on in her life.

Target Audience- There really isn’t a set target audience for personal blogs. Generally, they’re written with their peers and family in mind, although they’re also sometimes just written for themselves.
Topic- Again, there is no set topic for personal blogs. This is what makes them so appealing to people, readers and writers alike. When you never know what to expect from the blog, it makes it more exciting to read it. Almost like a choose your own adventure book, although completely out of the reader’s control. ;-)
Tone- The tone of personal blogs depends completely on the actual/writing voice of the author. If the blog writer wants to completely disregard grammar, complete sentences, and all other formality, they have every right to do so.
Length of Posts- Personal Blog posts are generally lengthier than those of genre blogs. Since the reader is not looking for specific information, the writer does not have to worry about the frustration that comes with searching for one thing within many words. Readers come to personal blogs almost expecting lengthy stories and ideas to keep them entertained.

In closing, here are a few questions for Personal Blogger, Sarah Horwitz!

What do you think is unique to writing personal blogs as opposed to subject blogs?

How do you manage your privacy when dealing with writing a personal blog?

Who is the intended audience for a personal blog?

How to Write for a Photography Blog

With print publications fading out, blogs have quickly become a new medium for experts in their fields to give advice to consumers rather than having a column in a newspaper or a magazine. The internet has prompted a growth in gadget-specific blogs, such as photography blogs.
The writers for these types of blogs must be especially informed on their chosen subject in order to gain recognition and have a solid and devoted blog reader subscription base.
This excerpt from photographer Ken Rockwell’s blog is a perfect example of a post that is informative and helpful to those searching for a new camera.

For the best possible camera for just about anything, fun or serious, I use my Nikon D40. As of Holiday 2009, Adorama has a special kit with the D40, 18-55mm lens, case and memory card for only $439.95, the deal of the year.
I prefer my D40 to more expensive cameras from Nikon. It's a better camera!
Sure, I own more expensive cameras, but whenever I grab a camera for my own personal vacations or family photos, it's almost always my remarkable and super lightweight Nikon D40. There isn't anything reasonable I can't do with Nikon's least expensive D40. There is very little reason to pay more for a Nikon D5000 or D90. Save your money for more important things, like another lens or flash, or just pocket the difference and enjoy a nice vacation.
For $499 or less, complete with an exceptionally good 18-55mm lens, The D40 is a no-brainer. (I paid $600 for my D40 in 2006 and still love it.)
My D40 is the camera I grab first when my wife says "grab a camera, Ryan is doing something cute!" (http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm)

From having a legitimate photography website, Rockwell has built a reputable blog. He writes mostly from personal experience as he tests new equipment out, which is a photographer’s form of research. The writer must have a vast knowledge, general or specific depending on the case, of camera equipment to make comparisons to other equipment, comparisons are key. The writer must also give positive and negative aspects of each item for the prospective buyer.
The tone and language is also similar to that of a salesman in store: informal but still professional, it is like the blogger is speaking directly to his customer. Including a personal anecdote and experience with the camera itself is only beneficial. He is very personal about his experience to relate to the reader, using pronouns like “my” and “I” (see parts in bold). The writer can also include some technical information. This serves to enhance the descriptions on different levels. For the amateur photographer reading the blog, they can choose to look past this information but for the serious artists this information is available to them.


*RECAP*

Target audience:
Camera enthusiasts, serious or amateur photographers, and anyone looking to buy a new camera, but who is still weighing his or her options. They can look to blogs for helpful suggestions from either serious hobbyists or experts in the field.

Topic:
Specifics on a wide variety of cameras, descriptions on how to take the photos, suggestions on other equipment to complement the camera, and the author’s personal experience using the camera.

Tone:
Instructional and engaging, the blogger needs to assure the reader that he or she is making the right choice is selecting the particular camera being blogged about, while also being honest about the camera’s strengths and imperfections.

Length:
Usually the camera reviews can be lengthy as they go in depth to cover all aspects of the camera for the potential buyer.