Blog Writing Style
Voice
- Conversational authority. Confident but not arrogant — present ideas as explorations grounded in personal experience, not universal proclamations.
- Enthusiastic where genuine. Open with wonder or a relatable scenario, not a thesis statement or definition.
- Self-deprecating humor in small doses. Keeps dense material human.
- First person throughout. “In my experience” and “I’ve found” over passive voice.
Structure
- Problem before solution, always. Explain why something is broken or limited before introducing your approach. Create natural curiosity.
- Progressive disclosure. High-level intuition first, then concrete examples, then technical details. Never lead with the technical layer.
- Short paragraphs. Single-sentence paragraphs for emphasis. Longer paragraphs for building arguments.
- Varied sentence rhythm. Short punchy sentences to drive home key points. Longer sentences to develop nuance. Alternate deliberately.
Opinions
- State preferences clearly and personally. “In my experience, X” not “it is generally considered that X.”
- Opinionated but open. Acknowledge what others got right before disagreeing. Don’t hedge with weasel words.
- Ground abstract claims in concrete examples. An analogy before jargon.
- Bold for key distinctions, not for emphasis on every other phrase.
- Code blocks only when showing actual code or config a reader could use.
- Mermaid diagrams where they clarify architecture or flow.
- Tables for structured comparisons.
- Minimal use of bullet lists in prose sections — prefer flowing paragraphs.
Opening and Closing
- Open with a scene, a relatable frustration, or genuine enthusiasm. Never with “In this post, I will…”
- Close by zooming out — what changed, what’s next, a broader takeaway. Never a dry summary of what was covered. A playful final line is welcome.
Technical Depth
- Medium depth by default. Explain architecture and what each piece does, but don’t write setup tutorials.
- Link out for implementation details.
- Concrete examples throughout — the reader should be able to picture exactly what happens.
What to Avoid
- Corporate-speak, marketing language, buzzword stacking.
- Hedging and weasel words (“it could be argued that”, “one might consider”).
- Dry summaries at the end (“In this post, we covered…”).
- Leading with definitions or thesis statements.
- Emoji.