What if you blogged from the bottom up?
In this Blog Exercise I’d like you to take a look at the article you are working on, preparing to publish it on your site, and take the last paragraph and put it at the top.
We are often locked into our basic language education that taught us to write much like the reverse pyramid order of old newspaper writing. Put your most important information at the top and work your way down to the least information at the bottom. Or they write following the old rules of tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them.
What would happen to your article if you took the last paragraph and started with it?
Many people actually write their most profound statements at the very bottom of their posts. This is often the moment when they collect their thoughts and summarize what they’ve said. It is usually a call to action, to themselves or others.
What would happen if you started out with the last lines of your post?
Your blog exercise today is to write out an article for your site. Flesh out all the ideas and points you wish to make. Then take the last paragraph and move it to the top of the article.
Can you publish it this way? How does it change the tone and intent of the article?
See what happens and share your thoughts below in the comments or blog about it. If you do, remember to include a hat tip link back to this post to create a trackback, or leave a properly formed link in the comments so participants can check out your blog exercise task.
You can find more Blog Exercises on Lorelle on WordPress. This is a year-long challenge to help you flex your blogging muscles.
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7 Comments
I’d just been thinking about that this last week or so. Not so much the moving of the LAST paragraph up but to be mindful of a SOLID start with the post. I was in the midst of a blog series and realized I was starting the consecutive posts with a blurb about how it was part of the series, etc. When I starting paying attention to the READER environment (which I hadn’t really been using), it occurred to me that this blah-blah-blah blurb was all the readers would see if reading my posts through the READER. Duh! So, I took that first paragraph and put it last!! It’s the flip side of your suggestion, but with the same end result in mind.
LOL! Duh! Love it.
The most important point you make is that you need to pay attention to the reader environment, their experience with your content.
You’ve provided an excellent example! Thank you!!
Great idea! I just took a mental dry run with two older posts. I like this because it can reduce what I write to the basics without losing the message.
Well said. I always like turning things upside down.
Hi Lorelle,
Wow that is a great tip, one that I will have to try.
Thanks for today’s exercise
Vic
@Vic: Glad you liked it. Just trying to get everyone to flip their thinking about blogging around. Thanks!
wow that is a great tips
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