Jesus vs Neil Peart: Which wisdom is better for a new world man?

Answer 1

Neil Peart, motorcycles rule, but not Rush.

Answer 2

Haha Neil Peart

Answer 3

Neil Peart is a pretty amazing man who touches on many spiritual and symbolic ideals in human life. He's also an amazing drummer who has travelled the world... But at the end of the day, Jesus was a great prophet and messenger of God.

Answer 4

I do not know Neil Peart but I do know Jesus. Jesus wisdom is life. There is no life outside of Jesus. So how "wise" do you have to be to make a choice between "life" or "death." Do I choose life? Or do I choose death? Those are the only two spiritual realities and they both revolve around what you choose to do with Jesus. What are You going to choose? Life or Death?

Answer 5

Peart exists, "jeebus" is a myth. Take a wild guess.


.

Answer 6

Like always Jesus Christ. There is no better wisdom than the Son of God!!!

Answer 7

Although there are well over 100 antibiotics, the majority come from only a few types of drugs. These are the main classes of antibiotics.



Penicillins such as penicillin and amoxicillin


Cephalosporins such as cephalexin (Keflex)


Macrolides such as erythromycin (E-Mycin), clarithromycin (Biaxin), and azithromycin (Zithromax)


Fluoroquinolones such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), and ofloxacin (Floxin)


Sulfonamides such as co-trimoxazole (Bactrim) and trimethoprim (Proloprim)


Tetracyclines such as tetracycline (Sumycin, Panmycin) and doxycycline (Vibramycin)


Aminoglycosides such as gentamicin (Garamycin) and tobramycin (Tobrex)
Most antibiotics have 2 names, the trade or brand name, created by the drug company that manufactures the drug, and a generic name, based on the antibiotic's chemical structure or chemical class. Trade names such as Keflex and Zithromax are capitalized. Generics such as cephalexin and azithromycin are not capitalized.

Each antibiotic is effective only for certain types of infections, and your doctor is best able to compare your needs with the available medicines. Also, a person may have allergies that eliminate a class of antibiotic from consideration, such as a penicillin allergy preventing your doctor from prescribing amoxicillin.

In most cases of antibiotic use, a doctor must choose an antibiotic based on the most likely cause of the infection. For example, if you have an earache, the doctor knows what kinds of bacteria cause most ear infections. He or she will choose the antibiotic that best combats those kinds of bacteria. In another example, a few bacteria cause about 90% of pneumonias in previously healthy people. If you are diagnosed with pneumonia, the doctor will choose an antibiotic that will kill these bacteria.

Other factors may be considered when choosing an antibiotic. Medication cost, dosing schedule, and common side effects are often taken into account. Patterns of infection in your community may be considered also.

In some cases, laboratories may help a doctor make an antibiotic choice. Special techniques such as Gram stains may help narrow down which species of bacteria is causing your infection. Certain bacterial species will take a stain, and others will not. Cultures may also be obtained. In this technique, a bacterial sample from your infection is allowed to grow in a laboratory. The way bacteria grow or what they look like when they grow can help to identify the bacterial species. Cultures may also be tested to determine antibiotic sensitivities. A sensitivity list is the roster of antibiotics that kill a particular bacterial type. This list can be used to double check that you are taking the right antibiotic.

Only your doctor can choose the best class and the best antibiotic from that class for your individual needs.
It is important to learn how to take antibiotics correctly. Read the label to see how many pills to take and how often to take your medicine. Also, ask your pharmacist if there is anything you should know about the medication.

An important question to ask is how the medication should be taken. Some medications need to be taken with something in your stomach such as a glass of milk or a few crackers, and others only with water. Taking your antibiotics incorrectly may affect their absorption, reducing or eliminating their effectiveness.

It is also important to store your medication correctly. Many children's antibiotics need to be refrigerated (amoxicillin), while others are best left at room temperature (Biaxin).

Take your entire course of antibiotics. Even though you may feel better before your medicine is entirely gone, follow through and take the entire course. This is important for your healing. If an antibiotic is stopped in midcourse, the bacteria may be partially treated and not completely killed, causing the bacteria to be resistant to the antibiotic. This can cause a serious problem if those now-resistant bacteria grow enough to cause a reinfection.
Antibiotics may have side effects. Some of the more common side effects may include:


Soft stools or diarrhea


Mild stomach upset


You should notify your doctor if you have any of the following side effects:


Vomiting


Severe watery diarrhea and abdominal cramps


Allergic reaction (shortness of breath, hives, swelling of your lips, face, or tongue, fainting)


Vaginal itching or discharge


White patches on your tongue
Allergy
Some people are allergic to certain types of antibiotics, most commonly penicillin. If you have a question about a potential allergy, ask your doctor or pharmacist before taking the medicine.

Allergic reactions commonly have the following symptoms:

Shortness of breath


Hives


Itching


Swelling of your lips, face, or tongue


Fainting
NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.


ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose
NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.


ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose
NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.


ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose
NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.


ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose
NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.


ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose
NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.


ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose
NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.


ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose