Bloggers Are Terrible Writers

There are so many bad writers on the Internet, especially in the blogging world, so here are some amusing rules to help you become a world-class writer.

34 Rules For Kick ass Writing

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually)
unnecessary.

9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren’t necessary and shouldn’t be used unless you don’t want to seem too formal.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not always apropos.
13. Do not use more words, phrases, sentences, or other linguistic elements than you, yourself, actually really and definitely need to use or employ when expressing yourself or otherwise giving voice to what you may or may not be thinking when you are trying to say how many words you should use or not use when using words.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don’t use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, i.e. etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill excessive exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others elude to them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it’s proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate distracting quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson is said to have once remarked, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”
28. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
And finally…
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Credit: I have spent the past few hours trying to find the original source of this, I have asked numerous people, and done numerous searches, and the best I could do was to narrow it down to 8,400 webpages and two possible authors.

I apologise if I am wrong, but the closest I can find to an original source is here: Source

Dean

  • http://PreciseEdit.com David Bowman

    Trying to find sources for some of these–came across this:

    Do not put statements in the negative form.
    And don’t start sentences with a conjunction.
    If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
    Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
    Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
    De-accession euphemisms.
    If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
    Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
    Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
    ~William Safire, “Great Rules of Writing”

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  • Robert Jaques

    When writing, one should always use proper grammar.
    Like what I do.

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  • http://writertabish.blogspot.com Faraz

    Lol… Loved that.

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  • http://www.MindPowerMarketing.com Robert@MindPower Marketing

    Thanks for sharing this list. I’d seen a shoter version of this a long time ago and many of them stick in my mind. Well done on your efforts to credit the original source – though I suspect it combines more than one.

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  • http://blog.achieve-momentum.com Joan Schramm

    Dean –

    A funny, to-the-point list that, unfortunately, many people won’t quite “get”.

    Some of the things are writing style choices — I think I’m an excellent writer, but I know I tend to use dashes way too often — and in my blog posts I frequently use sentence fragments, or start with “And”, as part of my writing voice. Correct grammer? No, just part of my style. It wouldn’t pass muster in an English class, but luckily my English teacher isn’t reviewing my writing any longer.

    What drives me buggy are people who use the wrong word consistently. I’m a member of several listserv groups and one phrase that tends to crop up again and again is some version of “I totally understand what your going threw.” Arrrggghhh….makes my teeth hurt.

    Thanks for a great post!

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  • http://www.CapitalGig.com David A.

    Very clever! You forgot #35 which is to avoid lists. I have 5 top reasons why…

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  • http://www.bigmarketingonline.com big jason

    dean,

    no, hilarious second time around. guess that is what you get when reading genius with an average of 2-3 hours of sleep on a reality show ;)

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  • http://3magin8.com/1 3magin8

    haha funny.
    Thanks for the free English course ;)
    This will definitely make me a better blogger :)

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  • http://www.beawesomeinstead.com aaron

    Have you been reading my blog again?

    Seriously… very funny. Thanks for the laugh.

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  • http://cfcl.com/vlb Vicki

    I have also always heard these “rules attributed to William Safire.

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  • Amanda

    The only thing this list is missing: never say y’all on your blog. It didn’t work for Brittany Spears and it’s not working for you. Trust me on this one.

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  • http://www.emersondirect.wordpress.com Marc Meyer

    After laughing out loud in an empty room,I guess it doesn’t matter what time period they actually came from since the blogging community is as guilty as anyone of not only these, but plenty of others. Good stuff Dean, love the fact that some actually did not see the tongue firmly planted in cheek.

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  • http://www.deanryanmartin.blogspot.com survivordean

    hey dean,

    like this post… lol can you take a look at my blog and tell me if i am a terrible blogger?

    nice blog here…. i like the way you explain things that are seem so boring and you are always using first person point of view. continue that!

    i’ve decided you to add you on my blogroll and if you have a kind heart, add me on yours.

    we have same name,

    Dean

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  • http://onlinepassiveincome.com/ Sam Migs

    Funny post man, I’m glad somebody took a little bit of a stab and some humour at bloggers. We take ourselves too seriously sometimes I really think. Keep up the funny posts and laughs – we all need more of them!

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  • http://legitimateonlineincomeopportunities.blogspot.com/2009/01/find-legitimate-online-income.html Christine

    Great to see some humour which gives us something to think about too

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  • http://www.internet-business-income.com Sanjeev Bhadresa from internet business income

    Very good, though it looks like it may have been lost on some!
    Sanjeev Bhadresa from internet business income´s last blog ..Another way to create internet business income. My ComLuv Profile

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  • http://www.d3so.com d3so

    What a clever way to use examples in the statements themselves.
    I too am guilty of comitting most of the acts listed but I don’t think that I’m going to change because that’s who I am lol.

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  • http://g-business.org Home Business Ideas and Opportunities

    Hi Dean,

    First of all your post really made me laugh. But it also helps many Bloggers to refine their writing skills. Thanks for pointing these points out.

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  • http://best-workout-for-abs.com Best Workout For Abs

    This is a very nice set of rules. This should help not only the bloggers but all the writers that are writing for article directories, press releases etc. Indeed a nice post.
    Best Workout For Abs´s last blog ..Best Workout For Abs is Just Not Working Out – Know The Truth About Abs My ComLuv Profile

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  • http://www.torontofreelancer.com Alise Ramey

    Pretty funny.

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  • Paolo Gumagay

    Some of the rules here were by William Safire…

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