There are lots of reasons to write and share a blog on the LX.lab website. You might use the process to share learning and teaching initiatives, project outcomes or academic reflections, opening up discussion, and connecting with the academic community. Short blog formats also appeal to time-poor colleagues and encourage sharing of good practice with a broad audience, both within and outside UTS.
But where do the blog posts on the LX.lab website come from, and how do they get here? If you have a learning and teaching topic you want to write about, how do you get involved? Whether you have half a dozen drafts open on your laptop or just got stuck staring at a blank screen, give these fresh tips a whirl to get started, source, structure and sum up your next blog post.
1. Start: moving past the blank screen
I begin with an idea and then it becomes something else.
Pablo Picasso
Getting started with the creative process can be the hardest part. The good news is that there are lots of different techniques you can use to get beyond the blank page and capture your ideas before you get busy or distracted with something else!
Next time you’re getting started (or getting stuck!), give one of these simple ideas a try:
- Move away from the screen and write by hand – try setting a timer and generate a five-minute draft off the top of your head
- If you think visually, draw it out – what’s the main idea?
- Turn the topic into questions to prompt more ideas – what, why, where, when, who, how?
- Picture your potential audience – what are they listening for? What might they get out of reading this?
- If you’re more of a talker, turn on voice memos or any audio capture and record yourself speaking or describing the topic, then listen back and make notes
2. Source content: tips for content-rich conversations
When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.
Ernest Hemingway
What if you’re not the expert, but you know someone who is? How do you capture their knowledge and turn it into something people want to read, share and respond to? If you already know who you want to talk to, prepare a few open-ended, exploratory questions in advance to help focus and guide an interview or informal chat. Consider the following:
- Whose perspective will you write from – theirs or yours? What could your own reflections add to the process and the final blog?
- Do they have a presentation or written document you can browse for more context, or include in the blog as further reading?
- What are the key messages, and who is the intended audience for the topic? What could they gain from this perspective?
- Can you capture key quotes? (hint: these really help to bring an individual’s perspective to life, in their own voice and language)
- Could you record the interview and generate a transcript to go back to as you write?
3. Source content: summarising an event
A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.
Thomas Mann
Events can be great sources of content if you’re looking to practice blog writing but don’t have a topic in mind you want to write about. Check out the events page to see what’s coming up – and don’t forget to let us know you’re planning a write-up! Take notes at the event and keep the following in mind:
- What do people need to know about the event? What, where, when, who?
- You don’t have to share a full account of every detail or session in the event – you can be selective and share your own perspective. What was the most interesting thing? What did you learn?
- Is there a recording if the reader wants to watch the event (or if you couldn’t attend in-person)?
- Where else can the reader explore more information if they want? What’s next?
4. Structure text: chunking and prioritising
Organising is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.
Winnie-the-Pooh/ A.A. Milne
By now you might have a lot of information and detail – so how do you sort and structure it into a blog format? Take a look at a few different blogs on the LX.lab website and note the different structures people use. Can you build around 2-3 key paragraphs, prompt questions or key quotes, for example? If you’re swimming in detail, try some of the following tips to zoom out to the bigger picture:
- Leave the screen if it helps – can you sketch the structure by hand?
- Use some sticky notes or pieces of paper to note and re-arrange key topics
- Draft main headings and dot points – don’t try to write out all the detail straight away
- Try using mind maps and other visual supports for key topics and planning
Catchy titles and memorable headlines
Many of us get stuck trying to write the perfect title and key headings. Whilst these are important and can help draw readers into your blog, don’t over-think it. Take the pressure off and leave the title until last, or draft 3-5 versions and share them with a colleague for feedback (or ask us for help). Try not to fall in love with your first idea or a clever word-play that doesn’t quite fit the context – we love alliteration, but we love a relevant title even more!
5. So what now? CTAs* and other endings
Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.
Henry Cloud
*CTA = Call to action!
Finishing a blog can also be a blocker, but if you have your audience in mind from the start, it helps. Think about what you would like readers to think, feel, or do as a result or reading; are there links to further resources, an event they should register for, or someone they should contact with questions or suggestions? You can also encourage comments below your blog post – would you like people to share their own experiences or reflections on the topic?
If this blog has inspired you to start, re-structure or finish your own blog post on a learning and teaching-related topic, we’re ready for you! Contact us with your idea, rough draft or finished product, and the team will help with any further editing and get it published on this website. We can’t wait to read and share your work!