Sticky Communication

Road trips can be a thrill. Open road. Wind in your hair. Dazzling scenery. As long as you don’t run into trouble, like getting lost or missing your turn.

Writing a post when an idea inspires you can give you a blast of the same energy. Like road trips, however, you’ll find a little planning goes a long way.

Last summer, I took a road trip from Vancouver to Calgary, through the mountains, with my two teens and nearly blind father. My daughter road shot gun, loaded with maps and information I had collected but not thoroughly reviewed. Unfortunately, she was usually too busy texting and sending photos home to her friends in Toronto to be much help.

Next time I take a trip like that, I’ll plan much better. I’ll know the exact routes before I get behind the wheel. I won’t skip the endangered ice fields. And I’ll call Aunt Lill well in advance. Hindsight is 20-20.

Check your map

It’s the same with writing. But instead of tourist information, highway maps and directions to my relatives’ homes, I like to start with a clear idea about what I want to say, how I’m going to say it and who I’m saying it to.

It’s only common sense to have a clear, focused idea of what you want to get across.  Maybe your blog is intended to demonstrate what an expert you are at, let’s say, gardening. If you are writing a post on how to germinate seeds, it’s easy to get distracted with the science behind the process or stories about people who ended up with mush instead of sprouts.

By all means, throw in a little science and a humorous anecdote. But don’t forget you need to focus on how to germinate.

Planning saves time

Once you are clear about the point of your post, it’s easy to determine how you are going to explain it. As with most how-to posts, you the gardening blogger are going to explain how to germinate in chronological steps. So you need to spend a few minutes reflecting on these steps, actions you as the expert normally perform automatically.

Next, you need to think about the people who will be reading your post and what you want them to do. If they don’t know how to germinate seeds properly, they are probably relatively new to gardening. They are looking to you for expertise. And they may be willing to pay you for more advice or helpful products like seed germination kits.

So you need to keep the scientific terms and garden jargon to a minimum. You need to supplement your copy with pictures or video. You need to avoid making them feel like losers if they don’t know the basics. You need to think about how germinating seeds would benefit them, from saving money to saving the planet. And you need to remind them how much your book or kit will help.

Quick trips too

The same goes for quick trips or short writing bits. If I’m driving to a friend’s new home in the Beach, it should take only five minutes and allow me to enjoy watching the waves curl. But if I don’t look at a map or type the address into the GPS, I might get lost. If I don’t turn on the radio for the traffic report, I could get snarled in traffic. A little planning makes for a fun, fast drive.

I don’t want to wreck the fun of writing by telling you to labor over a boring outline. But I do want you to save time and succeed in connecting with people. That’s why I stress the payback from some reflection on the what, how and who of your post before you start writing.

You’ll not only save time and achieve better results, but you’ll also find it easier to start writing. Once you have figured out what you want to say and who you are saying it to, you have practically written your introduction. You’ll know your route so well that you can press your foot to the accelerator—and enjoy the thrill of the writing ride.

Experience counts

Experience helps too. As with driving, skill grows with practice. I would have been too nervous to navigate the moutain roads had I been a new driver. Even with many years’ driving under my belt, I was sweating until I got used to the terrain.

Just as shifting gears becomes automatic for drivers, so will the basics of writing become second nature to you. Just as the roller coaster roads became less daunting,so will  trickier posts  become a welcome challenge.

Unlike driving, however, you can benefit from experience almost immediately. That’s because you get to revise before you hit Publish.

Smart return trips

Had I driven back to Vancouver, instead of flying home from there, I would known to avoid the maze of Calgary expressways during rush hour and the rambling  old road out of the Okanagan valley. I would have ordered the large cosmic smoothie. I would have hiked to the tidal flats. I would have taken more photos of my father with his brother Ted, who has since passed away.

Like return trips, revising can eliminate the disappointments and mistakes so you’ll have more time to focus on what’s important. You’ll have more energy to meet new people and renew old bonds.  And you’ll be free to experience the joy of writing on the open road.

1. Zoomit.ca says:

   July 20, 2010 at 5:57 pm

   Plan a road trip to your readers « Sticky Communication…

   Like studying the maps and sites before you leave on vacation, planning what you’re going to write can free you to enjoy the thrill of the open road….
2. Rain Boots says:

   January 29, 2011 at 12:47 am

   *’. I am very thankful to this topic because it really gives up to date information -..
3. Diego Vergara says:

   August 1, 2011 at 8:44 pm

   Keep in touch whilst functioning out of your home office without having all the need for purchasing or perhaps procurment expensive office equipment. Borrowers are allowed to use making use of their a bad credit score background any time.