Year 8

T2W9PDF2

Blogging has long been a popular way for people to express their passions, experiences and ideas with
readers worldwide.

The origin of the word ‘blog’ is as an abbreviation for ‘web-log’ – that is, an online diary. Blogs are written
by many people all over the world, for lots of different purposes. They can be diaries, or records of what
you cook, a travel log for people visiting different destinations or book review blogs, or many other sorts of
blogs.

A blog can be its own website, or an

add-on to an existing site. Whichever
option you choose, it serves as a space
to share your story or market your
expertise in your own words, with your
own visual language to match.

The purpose of the writing depends

on what kind of blog it is.

Blogs’ Features:

• are usually quite personal – written in the first person and written partly for the author’s own
benefit

• use rhetorical questions to engage the reader

• the language is semi-formal

 • often have lots of pictures to make them look attractive

• vary the size, font and appearance of text for effect

• use links to connect to other web-pages

• can include video clips

• may not have a clear audience other than ‘anyone who’s interested’

Blogs’ Structure:

• Start by an eye-catching title.

It should be informative, inspiring and innovative to grab the attention of the audience.
It sets the tone for the rest of the blog content.
Remember that the first 2 words matter the most.
(You should use powerful adjectives, such as stunning, breath-taking; rhetorical question, How to
.. ; or The 5 best ways for ….)
• Hook your audience.
• Organize the body paragraphs using subheadings.
They help you stay focused and help the reader follow and make sense of what you’re writing.
• Use lists or bullet points.
They help readers skim rapidly. They make your post more organized.
• Tie it together with a conclusion.
Summarize the blog post and make sure to remind your readers what the main idea is.
• Ask the reader to comment. Ask them a specific question, so they have a prompt to respond to.

REMEMBER:

Stay focused on your main idea and keep it conversational. You want your readers to feel like you’re
talking to them.
Sample #1

Blogger ‘Amira Adeeb’

In this post, I will be telling you about my childhood and how it affected me.

Growing up:

Do you think I’ve been talented since I was young? When I was growing up, I was always surrounded by
art. My whole family is in the profession; I also used to go with my mom to sets and things like that, so I
think I grew up seeing these things and wanting to be a part of it so much. My dad also told me that I used
to make all these little videos when I was younger and go show them to him.

Childhood:

My childhood had its ups and downs.

• When I was younger, I had those teachers who would tell me that my family were not good people
and things like that. I was a child; therefore, of course, it affected me. I’d go to my mum crying.

• Moreover, a lot of people would assume that I am arrogant, pretentious or egotistical because I
come from that family or when they know my last name. They just make assumptions and have
pre-conceived ideas that were not true.

• In school, it was slightly hard because some teachers wouldn’t like my uncle’s things or my
mum/dad; as a result, they would just treat me horribly sometimes.

If you were me, how would you feel about that?

Sample #2

This is a post from a blog for people studying English by Victoria Elliot. It talks about a visit to the garden
of CS Lewis, who wrote the Narnia books.

An Inkling of another world

This morning I went to Narnia. Sort of.

C.S. Lewis bought a house in 1930, jointly with his brother and the mother of one his friends who was
killed in the First World War, with whom he had lived ever since. The house in question was 'The Kilns', in
Risinghurst, a suburb of Oxford. The house then stood at one end of an 8-acre garden, which included a
large pond or lake, which was a water filled clay-pit, with a number of brick kilns scattered around it, and
a wooded headland. Five acres of this garden are now the CS Lewis Nature Reserve, administered by the
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and open to the public to wander around at
will.

Local lore has it that this woodland is the inspiration

for the Narnia books, written after Lewis moved to the
Kilns. This morning it was quiet and empty, despite the
sun. A couple of coots were making circles on the lake,
although a few ducks emerged later on. The trees
were ankle-deep in dead leaves, and there were more
than a few muddy holes, some of which were bridged,
some not.

But this woodland isn't Narnia; it's the Wood Between the Worlds. It's the place from which you can get
to other worlds - the place that Lewis leapt off from. And here and there I began to see where Narnia had
crept in. In the clearing at the top, I observed the place where Caspian encounters the inhabitants of the
forest dancing and vows to restore their country to them. Around the place lie round sandstone boulders,
covered with lichen, known as 'doggers': a board tells of the legend that they were used as marbles by the
giants who used to live in the mediaeval forests of England. The Silver Chair sprang to mind.

And what’s the best thing about it being the Wood Between the Worlds? It's not just Narnia you can get
to from there. There's a forest full of other worlds just waiting to be discovered. I'll be going back to find
them.
Analysis

This blog:

• Contains factual information.

• Shows the writer’s personal opinion: it is written in the first person.

• Written in informal language.

• Makes reference to the Narnia books, which the audience would be expected to know and be

interested in to read the blog.

• Has a photograph of the place that it is describing.

• Uses devices like rhetorical questions to help engage the reader.

• Makes a pun in the title – CS Lewis was a member of a group known as the Inklings. The word

Inkling now means a hint or suggestion.

Sample #3

‘Top tips for creative writing’ by Jacqueline Wilson, 2016

Jacqueline Wilson is one of the most successful writers of stories for children and young adults. In the
following blog written for the website of the bookseller WH Smith, to tie in with their creative writing
competition, she shares her secrets about writing successful stories.

1. How to Come up with Ideas

It’s the most frequently asked question: Where do you get your ideas from?

Sometimes it can be something you see by chance. I noticed a heavily tattooed woman with two small
daughters in Central Park, and my own daughter, Emma, whispered that they looked like the sort of family
I’d write about. That’s how I wrote The Illustrated Mum.

Another gift was seeing photographs of children in my local newspaper, all needing foster parents – this
gave me the idea for The Story of Tracy Beaker.

Just occasionally other people give me ideas – talk about the Director of the Foundling Museum asking if
I’d ever consider writing a book about a foundling child – that’s how Hetty Feather sprang to life. Everyone
gets their ideas in different ways.

2. How to Create Characters

I think the most important part of writing a story is getting to know your characters and making them seem
real.

Did you ever have imaginary friends when you were little? It’s a similar process. Hold conversations with
your characters in your head. Don’t just think about their looks, though I always like to give some idea what
sort of hairstyle my girls have and what sort of outfits they wear. But mostly, I care what they’re like inside.
Are they happy, sad, shy, cheeky, funny, naughty, selfish? What are their hobbies? What are their favourite
television programmes? What’s their favourite food? Do they like school? What’s their best subject? Where
do they live? How do they get on with their mum or dad and siblings? Do they have a best friend? Do they
want a best friend? What are their dreams?
Think it all through, jot things down. You probably won’t need to put half these things in your story, but
somehow, it will help bring your characters alive on the page.

3. How to Start Your Story

This is the challenging bit! No-one likes looking at a blank page or screen. It’s so hard to know how to start.

Everyone always says a story needs a really good eye-catching beginning – but of course that makes you go
all self-conscious, puzzled and unable to think of even one simple sentence.

My tip would be to pretend you’ve got the most amazing piece of news and you’re dashing into school to
tell your best friend all about it, and you just have to seize hold of them and give them the whole story
straight away, making it as amusing and astonishing as possible so that you keep their full attention. I don’t
think you need several paragraphs of description and explanation before you get started on the story. Jump
straight in.

4. How to Make Something Happen

Think of all the stories you’ve ever read, short stories, small books, huge great long books with hundred of
pages. They start. Then something happens. Often lots of things. And then they finish.

It doesn’t matter what sort of story you write, it’s good to have a bit of conflict – a bit of a struggle,
something going wrong, something surprising – and your main character has to try to sort it all out.

A princess might be locked up in a castle and she has to escape. A boy has lost his dog and has to find him.
A dinosaur is abruptly spotted walking down the High Street, nibbling the treetops. It’s up to you to let the
story evolve. Preferably, it’s good to work it all out beforehand, so you don’t get stuck halfway through.

Though sometimes it works just to write at white-hot speed and see what happens without planning
anything at all. There’s no one way of writing. Everyone’s different. If you’ve got started on your story, but
are suck in the middle, try talking inside your head to your main character. Ask them what would really
worry them? Then write it and see how they cope.

5. How to End a Story

That’s the best bit. You’ve written and written, and now you’ve nearly finished the story. You can’t wait to
write THE END after the last line.
It’s a terrible temptation to hurry things along because if you’re anything like me, you just want to be
finished with the whole thing. I used to find I wrote the last few pages of my stories too rapidly, in a hasty
scrappy sort of way, and then an editor (they’re a bit like your teacher and even more picky) would suggest
I rewrite part and expand it and think it all through carefully.

Now, I try to give the last chapter even more time and attention than the first. I try to round everything off
in a satisfying way. That doesn’t mean I always spell everything out. Sometimes, I deliberately leave my
readers to work out what’s going to happen next, though I always give a heavy hint. (Lots of you want to
know if Lily gets reunited with her family in Lily Alone – or does Destiny make it as a famous singer in Little
Darlings – or will Hetty ever get together with Jem?) I wanted to keep all the options open – but if you find
my endings disconcerting, you’re always free to write your own versions.

So, let’s say you’ve taken your time over your ending and are pleased with your story. I’m afraid you’ve still
got a little work to do, especially if it’s a story for school, for a special project, for a competition. Read it
through. See if there are parts that don’t seem very vital, or they’re maybe simply a bit boring. How can
you improve them? Could you pop something new in that will make your story seem more interesting?
Have you checked all your spellings and remembered all your punctuation? I know, these are the boring
parts. I hate fussing over everything, too – but it’s truly worth it. It’s often only when I’ve got to this stage
that a sudden really good idea occurs to me. I don’t like rewriting – but it’s generally vitally necessary.

You want your story to be as good as possible, don’t you?

I hope you all feel inspired now.

Have a go!