Use Creative Writing Class to Blog!

I've only recently begun blogging. I started because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. After all, it's reported that thousands of blogs are started every hour. (I suspect that an equal number die each hour as well.)

I think that many blogs have the same lifespan as fruit flies.

That said, I've learned a lot about my writing style by blogging. I wish I was better at it. And I think it would be an interesting experiment if our high school students used blogging as a tool to hone their writing skills.

After all, the next generation will be communicating in "chunks" - snippets of information typically used in web communications. And I think that as Web 2.0 entrenches itself in our society, effective writing will be an even more valued skill than in past generations.

Here are four things I've learned from my blogging experience, so far.

1. Completely coherent thoughts (in draft mode) somehow become obscured as soon as I hit the "publish" button. I need to re-read everything I write. I probably re-edit 80% of my posts after they've been published.

2. My spell checker only catches about 90% of my spelling errors. I'm on my own for grammatical errors.

3. I use 20 words when 5 will do. Brevity is an art.

4. I'm not as interesting as I think I am!

After learning these lessons, I wince when I think of how many emails I've written and how many PowerPoint presentations I've composed over the years. Had I the opportunity to learn these lessons earlier, I might have saved myself some embarrassment and been a more effective communicator.

So, lobby your schools to introduce a blogging class. Effective writing is a skill that will serve your kids well over time. And a little reflection and introspection doesn't hurt either.