Be Consistent to Write Better

(Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes)

I was a creative writer for ten years before I became a Technical Writer. When that happened, when I started learning all the tips and tricks Technical Writers use to improve the quality and efficiency of their work. I was astonished by how much I didn’t know while I was writing my first (and even second) novel.

I immediately began reviewing my creative writing process, looking for ways to improve it. I found plenty. I had ten-year-old habits that I needed to break, but it was worth it for the rewards.

Consistent Style

One of the main differences between creative writing and technical writing is the significance of style — specifically of visual design. As a Tech Writer I have to manage tables and figures and schematic diagrams. I have to handle Caution and Warning notes that could save people from serious injury (or even death).

As a novelist, all I’ve really got to worry about is chapter headings. Everything else is the publisher’s problem (if I can ever get a publisher to make my books his problem, anyway).

As I became a better Tech Writer and started studying some of its fundamental principles, though, I started applying techniques I didn’t necessarily need. I paid attention to the difference between content and presentation. I started limiting my use of custom formatting within the document, and always assigning that formatting to a particular style so I could reuse it in the same way.

I learned to use the standard Heading styles for my chapter headings, too — instead of just hitting Ctrl-E to center and Ctrl-B to bold. That made it easy for me to make Tables of Contents at the front of my documents, and compare chapter sizes, rearrange my plot more effectively during revisions, and manage the book’s overall experience.

All of that should sound familiar to you. That’s exactly what you should be doing with your blog, using <h3> and <h4> for your headings and subheadings within your document, <em> and <strong> to decorate your words, and letting your site’s CSS and theme handle your styles in a way that creates a consistent visual style across everything you write.

Consistent Content

That consistency in your site design appeals to readers, and it can be an extraordinarily effective tool in your writing, too.

Practice saying things in the same way, so your readers can easily recognize when you’re discussing something you’ve talked about before. You already use your tags to capture the phrases that are most important in your posts, so get in the habit of referring back to your tag list whenever you’re ready to discuss the same topic again. Use the same words, and your readers will thank you for it.

On a larger scale, I’ve found it incredibly valuable to use a consistent structure across all of my blog posts. Every one starts with a short, entertaining story, transitions into a topic sentence that introduces my main message, and then supports that message with two or three short sections.

That might not be the right structure for your blog — for your writing style, or for your audience — but it’s worth spending some time trying to find the structure that is right for your blog.

Consistent Rewards

Now, unless you’re a Tech Writer with ten years of good writing habits, all of that consistency takes a little effort. It’s not difficult, by any means, but it’s something else you need to worry about when you’re writing.

There’s big rewards, though. Consistent style and structure not only makes your site easier to read, it makes it easier to write, too. When you know what needs to go into every blog post (and where it needs to go), writing a new one is just a matter of filling in the blanks. It’s amazingly efficient.

If you want to make your writing better and easier — and who wouldn’t? — start by looking to improve your consistency. It’s a little bit of work now that will pay dividends for years.

So take a moment right now to consider what you’ve been doing. Look over some of your recent blog posts, and try to find the structure and organization behind each of them. Figure out what works and what doesn’t, and then design an appealing, effective structure you can use for all your future blog posts.

If possible, keep it short and general like my description above. That way you can tell us all about it in the comments.

Aaron Pogue is the creator of Unstressed Syllables, a general writing advice site featuring interesting, useful articles on topics ranging from business to storytelling. His decades of experience in creative and technical writing makes good writing easy for you.