3. Words & Language
In order to develop your voice, it’s important to understand language. To get how words are
selected and put together. We’ll be focusing on that today.
A. Learn from others
Today, you are doing to visit those same 3 blogs again, and write down the words and
language choices that stand out to you. These may be words your favorite bloggers repeat
often, or they may be words that are so uncommon they just stand out.
To make this easier, choose ONE POST or ONE PAGE. If you try to do this with the whole site,
it will be very overwhelming.
Also, look at the language. This means the sentence structure and the way that words are
put together. Are the sentences short or long? Does the blogger write complex sentences,
with lots of commas and clauses, or simple ones, with no commas?
Does he or she ask lots of questions, or make more statements?
What reading level is it?
Here’s a great resource for helping you pick out the most common words, the reading level,
the length of the words, and more: http://www.usingenglish.com/resources/textstatistics.php
My example:
Blog name/URL
Words
Language
http://fizzle.co
desperate,, obstacles,
motivation
Post:
http://fizzle.co/sparkline/mot
ivation
Mostly simple, short
sentences. Very actionoriented and to the point.
There are 3 different writers at
Fizzle. This one was by Corbett
Barr. The other ones are
different.
http://positiveprovocations.co soul, soul mate, lovely, love,
m/
spiritual, healing, heart
connections
Post:
http://positiveprovocations.co
m/2015/02/02/how-to-findrecognize-and-honor-yoursoul-mates/
It’s very balanced. There are
some longer sentences with
lots of commas, but there are
also lots of shorter ones
interspersed throughout. I
would describe her language
as flowery and full of list
sentences.
http://www.thelatebloomerre
volution.com/
This particular post is a story
and has lots of dialogue with
quick, get to the point
sentences.
exploration, oozed, lots of
active verbs like “smiled,”
“resurface,” “explain”
Post:
http://www.thelatebloomerre
volution.com/a-tale-of-twowomen-a-self-love-story/
Your turn:
Blog name/URL
Words
Language
B. Think about your own blog
Now do a quick inventory on your own writing. What types of words and sentences do you
use? Ask yourself the questions above.
If you don’t have a blog, don’t worry. Just skip to the next step.
Note: Many people will tell you that you have to use short sentences, and write at a 5th grade
level. Don’t believe them. You need to break through those types of “have tos” in order to
define your voice!
C. Reflect
In conversation, listen to yourself speak. What words do you use a lot?
Ask people that know you well if you use certain words repeatedly. Those are good words
to intentionally use in your blog.
You can actually record yourself talking to friends or clients, and then play the conversation
back and listen for commonly used words or phrases. How do you sound?
D. Get creative:
These activities are meant to familiarize you with the structure of speech. When you
become aware of how people put words together, you’ll be better able to craft your own
language.
● Watch a movie and write down sentences that stand out. How are they structured?
● Listen to your child speak. How does she sound different from you?
● Read some poetry. Poets freely take apart and remake language. See if you can
emulate them.
● Listen to your favorite songs, and read the lyrics. How do the words fit together?
E. Play
Write a new blog post, and try different types of language throughout. Write one section
with short, to the point sentences. Write another with long sentences that have lots of
commas. Try using flowery language, and then crass language, and then motivational
language. See what feels right.
You don’t have to publish this post. No one has to see it. You can play to your heart’s
content. Get comfortable experimenting. If it doesn’t sound perfect, IT’S OKAY. Really.
F. Synthesize
Write down 5-10 words or phrases you want to incorporate into your blog. If you have an
idea of the sentence structure, write that down, too. If not, commit to continue exploring.
G. Take action
Look at your blog categories. Can you rename them and use some of your words and/or the
type of language you’ve chosen?
Do the same thing with your headlines and subheads on your website pages.
Keep playing with language structure. This will take time.
H. Share
Which words did you choose for your blog? Share them in the group. Don’t forget to
comment on others’ as well!