Discover and share the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.
20 Must-Read Blogs For Freelance Writers
freelancefolder.com — Reading blogs with good writing is a must if you want to improve your skills as a writer/blogger. Keeping this in mind, I decided to list 20 blogs which should be on every freelance blogger ’s RSS feed reading list. This is not a definitive list as there are many more good blogs and I can’t possibly name all of them.
v666- 816 diggs
- digg it
- liamuk7, on 06/24/2008, -1/+10Great links - a lot of which are new to me :) Thanks.
- bcuban, on 06/24/2008, -1/+12As someone who writes 99 percent of his own content, I found some of these sites very useful.
- HanSolo69, on 06/24/2008, -0/+8Who writes the other 1% of your own content?
- JakeyG14, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3If he's in college then I'm guessing Wikipedia.
- HanSolo69, on 06/24/2008, -0/+8Who writes the other 1% of your own content?
- LaurenElder, on 06/24/2008, -1/+7I love DumbLittleMan and also DoshDosh. I'd also recommend OfficeArrow.com. It's not about writing, but it is well-written and there are some great tips for productivity there.
- Zenls, on 06/24/2008, -3/+5WHAT! no tucker max??
- hijohnmark, on 06/24/2008, -3/+7Whoever wrote this article could use some proofreading skills...Anyone else noticing the irony here?
Also, I would add the Penny Arcade bloggers to this list. Their stuff is incredible, from a writer's standpoint. - MrSarcasm, on 06/24/2008, -2/+6Starbucs.com - so that other people can see you're a freelance writer...
- Jackson0909, on 06/24/2008, -0/+5Nothing makes me angrier than when I walk into a Starbucks and see some pretentious-***** taking up a four-person table with his laptop while "writing" the next great American novel.
- asskicker32, on 06/24/2008, -1/+8oh the ironing.
The article proclaims the wonders of writing well, yet fails to do so quite magnificently.- iamjames, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2ironing? who's ironing?
think you meant irony ;)
- iamjames, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2ironing? who's ironing?
- SoopaflySAM, on 06/24/2008, -1/+7No Maddox?? Buried.
maddox.xmission.com - Ascendancy5, on 06/24/2008, -2/+1None of these are must-read blogs, they have nothing to do with grape juice.
source: http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+must&ie=u ... - hollywoodphony, on 06/24/2008, -1/+1None of these blogs are written by commercial actors.
- HanSolo69, on 06/24/2008, -1/+4"Reading well-written article and blog is a very good start! "
"Not only he writes great content but has an amazing style of writing which is simple yet captivating."
So....step 1...don't read this post. - RationalXubrnce, on 06/24/2008, -1/+2 No list is complete without the master of a blog essay Fred Reed. http://www.fredoneverything.net/FOE_Frame_Column.h ...
- agsinger, on 06/24/2008, -1/+2all great sites, i subscribe to almost all of them !
- DecoBelle, on 06/24/2008, -1/+1Thanks for all the info!
- seedplanter, on 06/24/2008, -1/+1*Star - Thank you for the information. I am always trying to improve my writing, for I have a lone way to go.
- twiztedambience, on 06/24/2008, -2/+5Honestly half these blogs remind me of infomercials on TV where the guy in a cheesy looking suit tells you that you'll be a billionaire like him if you just buy and sell real estate.
Look, you're either a writer or you're not. You can try to be a blogger, but about 10 million other people are doing that too so you better have something unique to say. Or you could just be a writer and do what you do best. After the basic schooling and maybe a good mentor, you should be well on your way. Then find a niche or research something really well, reach out to other writers, brainstorm and write.
One thing is for sure, if you suck every last drop out of these blogs you'll be spending so much time feeding other people's adsense accounts that you'll fail to have time for yourself. No wonder the bloggers on this site are doing so well blogging, they're too busy telling suckers like you how to write. I'd rather stick news sites, or other interesting things on my google homepage so I know what's going on in the world and am not living in my own little bubble. Your writing will suffer the most if you have your head in the sand reading all this crap constantly.
Those are just my two cents, since many of the sites on this list seemed like they were a bunch of bs. Hey, maybe I should just start a blog telling you why you're wasting your time reading it? I bet people would read it.- nartz, on 06/25/2008, -1/+0I completely agree. While I enjoy much of the motivational content, I would NOT read these for improving your writing.
While I love the content of zenhabits, how can you warrant the writing? Today on zenhabits, we have an article about running, and the first sentence:
"As a runner, there is almost nothing in this world that can take me to the places that running does"
Let's analyze it real quick. The most obvious trauma is its repetition of the root run in both the noun and gerand form; in general, this sentence could easily be reconstructed using only one in a much 'simpler' and 'clear' manner. Similarly, why would you say 'there is almost nothing' and 'can take'? While this may be argued as style, from a writing comprehension standpoint it is completely unnecessary. Let's just rewrite it using these two quick observations:
"As a runner, there is almost nothing in this world that can take me to the places that running does"
To -->
"There is nothing in this world that takes me to the places running does."
Removing the cliche ' in this world' (again completely unnecessary"
"Nothing takes me to the places running does."
Again, later in the post, he again mentions he is an 'intermediate runner' repeating what he already explained in the first sentence.
This is NOT what you read to improve your writing!- ragingflamerboy, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2It's must-read blogging, not English 101.
I think the blogging world needs to be read conversationally, and casually. not like your book report. Yes, you write well. You can probably out-write myself, and a lot of other people here. (infact many, diggers are kind of stupid.)
That being said though, it's all casual.
- ragingflamerboy, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2It's must-read blogging, not English 101.
- nartz, on 06/25/2008, -1/+0I completely agree. While I enjoy much of the motivational content, I would NOT read these for improving your writing.
- crazytaxi, on 06/24/2008, -1/+5After struggling through the posted story, I found myself wondering if this was actually some sort of entry-level exam for proofreaders. I expected this comment thread to be a tidal wave of criticism, but it appears only two or three others have commented on the absolutely awful writing in the post itself. Even when the writer is not making some blatant error in grammar, spelling, or syntax, the piece sputters along in fits of poor phrasing.
To be fair, the links may well be good ones. And I am supposing from the author's name that English may not be his first language.
I am just going to scratch my head and move along now. - irgeorge, on 06/25/2008, -1/+7I think aspiring writers would be better off reading a range of really well written books to be honest. Nabokov, Woolf, Kafka... writers who use language in a particularly unique and considered manner. Really opens your eyes to the possibilities available to you as a writer, even if you're only churning out blog posts. I'd also recommend George Orwell's essay "Politics and The English Language."
- MadHarvey, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3I would feel strange studying works for their use of language when the book itself was originally written in a different language. I always feel like I'm probably missing some subtly when reading great russian or german authors like you cited.
- irgeorge, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2I'm not sure about Kafka, although I know that whilst English wasn't Nabokov's first language he sure wrote pretty bloody well in it! In fact, I think he wrote his novels in English first, then translated them back to Russian.
- frozzenst, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3good Lord, George. I was desperate that there are no more people reading the above-mentioned classic writers! What's more, no more reading people among the pc-world-population. Do you have a girlfriend by any chance? :) Seriously, you're absolutely right!
- MadHarvey, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3I would feel strange studying works for their use of language when the book itself was originally written in a different language. I always feel like I'm probably missing some subtly when reading great russian or german authors like you cited.
- frozzenst, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3despite all criticism, still good. I'd add up a couple more but the author himself says: "This is not a definitive list as there are many more good blogs and I can’t possibly name all of them.". Yup, indeed, keep an eye on the writing.
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2008 —
Content posted by