Freelance Switch recently posted an article titled 15 Must-read Blogs for Blog Writers. While it’s not a bad list – the chosen blogs certainly aren’t painful to read (I’ve seen plenty that are) – it could use a bit more creativity and fun. We are talking about more than just information. The creative style of writing isn’t akin to standard journalism. Without further ado, I give you Adam’s (shorter) List of Must-read Blogs for Creative Writers.
1. Penny-Arcade – Yes, it’s a web comic. No, it’s not running WordPress, but there are thrice-weekly written posts to accompany comics. Penny-Arcade is a videogame comic, a department at Wal-Mart that I usually skip over, but I still check out every update. The writing is amazing. Tycho (pseudonym) is a poet, a word sculpture. I can only aspire to reach his level of lingual transcendence.
2. Deep Jive Interests – DJI is a tech news site with a swirl of Tony’s (incredibly accurate) predictions and intelligent opinions. Also he’s a master of words. He may not update as often as TechCrunch, but whenever they cover the same topic, Tony’s post is definitely more interesting.
3. Copyblogger – Yea, Brian Clark was on the other list also, but this is one that I can agree with. Brian does know his stuff, and his vocabulary is outstanding. I find myself heading over to dictionary.com regularly from his site, which I love (aside: this is a tip I would offer to anyone attempting to improve their writing – look up any unfamiliar words that you come across while reading).
4. Scoreboard Media – Scoreboard Media is an SEO blog (I know – boo hiss, but stay with me). Even if you’re not into the content, Brian is a really funny writer. And he’s not afraid to tap-dance on that invisible line we’re all unsure about crossing.
5. Violent Acres – If you don’t read VA, you have to at least give it a shot. It’s raw (she’s no Shakespeare), but it’s very honest (as honest as an anonymous blog can be). The anonymous author pulls out all the stops and says whatever is on her mind. Needless to say, it can be very entertaining, and extremely edgy. I added VA to the list because she’s a very abnormal blogger, and abnormal is a great place to find inspiration.
I recommend everyone check out the blogs on this list. If you are an aspiring writer you should bookmark and revisit them often. They are all fantastic. There are some lessons to be learned from these bloggers. Sure, A-List bloggers usually are good writers (good grammar/spelling, succinct, clear), and they share a lot of great information. But if they are discussing a topic that I’m not interested in, I’m falling asleep. I’ll read a DJI post on a topic that I care nothing about just to see how he weaves his words together.
Interesting bloggers interject their personality into their writing, whether it’s their attitude or humor, metaphors or similes, or just straight-up insults. I can read a newspaper any day for information, but when a blogger’s words deliver the news wrapped up in a shiny lingual package, it hits my bookmarks, immediately. Sometimes, regardless of the gift, it’s just more fun to play with the box.
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About Mark Felix
Mark is an digital entrepreneur from New York City who recently acquired DBT. He started his ventures buying growing then selling several businesses and content blogs on Flippa. A perfect night for him constitutes pizza, wine, slow jazz and WordPress! He's an SEO expert and a growth strategist. When he's not working on his businesses he enjoys sharing his learned lessons with the DBT community.
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