SiteHow to Write for the 21st Century
We’re finding more and more markets that are asking writers to include links in their online articles, create podcasts, write blog posts, and add other interactive media to their work. Here’s a quick list of resources that should help you get started.
• First, Michelle Rafter of the WordCount blog tells us why we should add interactive material to our story pitches.
• podcastFAQ has everything you need to know about creating a podcast.
• Rafter also has a great post on including links in your articles.
• Need to format your articles for the web? Webmonkey’s Cheatsheet gives you the scoop on creating links, headlines, colors, and more.
• Streamingmedia offers How to Create a Video Podcast in 3 Steps.
• Want to earn money through your own blog, or by blogging for others? ProBlogger is a great resource for newbies and advanced bloggers alike. You can also follow ProBlogger on Twitter — he often posts jobs for bloggers there.
• Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen gives details on writing for the web. Here are more links on how users scan webpages, designing press releases for the web, and more.
Can you recommend any other resources? Please post them in the Comments below! [lf]
6 Responses to “How to Write for the 21st Century”
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Mary
Said this on October 17th, 2008 at 7:58am:Thanks so much for these great resources. I do most of my writing online and could really use some good info. I try to be succinct, use bold type and bullets to set things apart, and write in chunks. But I really do need to read up on some good tips and techniques.
Mary
Said this on October 17th, 2008 at 8:49am:Just found this article. It’s helpful. http://www.journalism.co.uk/7/articles/532549.php First of a series. Check it out.
Nadine
Said this on October 17th, 2008 at 1:08pm:Thanks for all the useful links. I’ve already used a lot of interactive material in my writing, but I haven’t yet created any Podcasts, so the link to the FAQ is most appreciated.
It’s important to remember that interactive action should flow in many directions. For instance, when I wrote an article about Otis Redding last year for MSNBC.com, I asked the editor to add a link to my blog to my byline. You can see it at the very end (second page) of the story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22189146/
The link definitely generated traffic to my blog.
Stephanie
Said this on October 17th, 2008 at 2:13pm:I’m oddly intrigued with the idea of podcasting. Thanks for the link!
LindaFormichelli
Said this on October 17th, 2008 at 3:15pm:Mary, thanks for the link…will check it out.
nadine, great idea!
Erin Maher
Said this on October 17th, 2008 at 8:57pm:Those resources are really helpful. I just started writing for the web and formatting, inclusion of things like images, podcasts, lists and all that are so necessary. I started off with big chunks of text but know that they offer little in terms of readability. I’m slowly figuring out what helps to facilitate the reader and engage them through this medium. Being on the up and up helps to keep things interesting.
Thanks for the post!