Basic Writing for Squidoo

When I started my journey towards Giant Squidom, I started out with 15 lenses. That means I had to do a whole lot of writing to get to 50 by the deadline. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome is writers block.

Ideas are everywhere. Your best bet is to get into the habit of carrying a small booklet with you, and whenever you see, read or hear an interesting idea, write it down so you don't forget. You can also take a look at your hobbies. For example, I read a lot. I usually read two novels a week, so naturally I started building book review lenses. I'm interested in dogs, so I built a few lenses on my favorite dogs. I enjoy writing and that's why I built a series of lenses on that topic.

I'm sure you get the idea.

The point is that if you write about something you know and love, your lens will turn out better and you'll have fun at the same time. As most of you know, when you're having fun doing something, it's a whole lot easier to keep doing it than it is if you hate what you're doing.

Another way of breaking through writers block is to read or watch the news. Magazines are also another great source of inspiration. In short, any subject that interests you (short of porn or spam) is just waiting for you to explore. There are no limits to what you can create if you put your mind to it. That's the great thing about Squidoo. You can create lenses for profit, but usually the best lenses are about topics that the lensmaster cares a great deal about, and the monetary factor is secondary.

Here are a few more ideas for getting past writers block:

-Search the internet for news stories or ideas.

-Take up a new hobby and write about your experience.

-Taking a family trip? Take some pictures and build a lens around them.

-Build a lensography and add your new lenses to it. I recommend you do this as soon as possible. I know I did and I thanked God every day afterwards. It's a lot harder to sort through 50 lenses than 10 or less.

-Write a lens about your favorite charity.

-Write a lens about other lensmasters who inspire you.

Hell, just write about anything that piques your interest! The important thing is that you get down to work. A lot of times writers allow self-doubt to hold them up. It isn't really writers block, but writers fear. Keep in mind that you can always edit your lens later, and the important factor is getting something done. The longer you put it off, the more self-doubt will infect you, and the less you'll get done.

The mini-sites found on Squidoo are called lenses for a reason. The idea is to focus in on one specific subject.

Here's an example; if you wanted to write about Stephen King, you'd be tackling a pretty broad subject. It would be easier to make multiple lenses on each of his books. Not only would these targeted lenses be easier to write, but you could link them all and boost your visibility.

You can apply this to almost anything. Instead of writing about dogs in general, tackle a new breed for each lens. You could also focus even further by writing about individual things about each breed, such as their health concerns.

Not only are targeted lenses easier to write, but they also ensure that you get the best traffic to your lens. People who search for your topic will find your lens to be exactly what they're looking for in terms of information, making it more likely that they'll stick around, hopefully buying something from your lens in the process.

Targeted lens building will speed the process up considerably, making your rise to Giant faster, easier and more successful in the long run.

The introduction is very important to your lens. It may be the most important part of your entire lens. If your introduction blows chunks, your reader is unlikely to read the rest of your lens.

Before writing a single word, try to figure out who your audience is likely to be. For example, if you're writing about skateboards, I very much doubt that middle aged or elderly people are going to be hip to your lens. Teenagers and young people in general are probably going to be your target audience.

With this in mind, you should try to write your copy in a friendly, easy to read manner. Leave out the big words and replace them with 'normal' language. Make your lens light, inject a little bit of humor and keep it short. Young people very rarely enjoy reading long blocks of text. They want their information fast, and you'll have to satisfy them if you want to get your point across.

Your introduction should contain two things: a) Tell the reader exactly what you're going to tell them and give them a reason to stay b) Tell the reader why they should listen to you.

Reason 'a' will keep them on your lens and reason 'b' will convince them you know what you're talking about. For example, let's say you were writing a lens on tennis elbow. Would you as a reader stick around if it was just someone blowing hot air, or would you be more convinced if the writer had suffered through tennis elbow and knew of ways to prevent and ease the pain?

See my point?

Your introduction should be friendly, but to the point. That's the key to success. Pique their interest and lead them onward to the meat of your lens.

The written word is very powerful. Search engines know that and so do excellent lensmasters. However, that doesn't mean you need to fill each text module with 50 pages of content to get your point across. Instead, get your point across quickly.

Limit each text module to less than 700 words. The titles will work as subheadings, and your reader will feel better when they see small modules broken up into segments. Large blocks of text scare the crap out of readers, so save them the mess and keep it short.

For the majority of lenses, you want to make your reader feel at home. My best piece of advice to you is to pretend you're explaining the subject of your lens to your best friend. This will help you write friendly copy that your reader will enjoy.

Use pictures in the text modules to brighten your lens up. For the love of all that's holy, don't just produce lenses that are text and nothing else. I guarantee you that your reader will get bored and leave in most cases.

You can also use HTML code to play with your letters, but I'm going to leave that lesson to someone who is more qualified.

Also, remember to write your lens as if your reader knows next to nothing about your topic. If you start telling them about something as if they know what you're talking about, but they don't, they will become confused and leave.

Last but not least, the perspective that you use to write your copy is extremely important. In this lens I write as though I'm speaking to you. In most cases, I think that approach works best. It makes the reader feel more at home. In other words, use words like 'you' when you're writing your copy so that it sounds as though you're speaking directly to them. Also, use contractions like, 'you're' instead of 'you are'. Again, it makes your copy easier to read and it seems more natural, since that's generally how people speak, unless of course, you're Data from Star Trek.

Squidoo just came out with new templates. I personally like the highlighter template and the Zen template the best. I use the highlighter template when I want to make my lens shiny, bright and happy. I use the Zen when I think it's a more serious subject.

However, not everyone is me, thank God, but you can use the same formula. If you're using HTML code to brighten your lens, you can always pick the template to match.

Another great idea is to use the ready-made templates that Squidoo provides. Squid Boo and Squid Lit are two examples. These templates can help you turn out lenses faster, which is awesome when you're going for Giant Squid.

Hey, every little bit helps when you're chasing the prize! Use all of the resources that Squidoo has to offer.

Nothing is worse than poor grammar, atrocious spelling or no punctuation in a lens. I realize that some lensmasters aren't from an English speaking country, which makes it more difficult for them. But then again, that's what I'm here for!

If you're unsure about your lens, leave a link in my guestbook and I'll do my best to swing by and have a look. In the meantime, you should try reading your lens out loud. In most cases, you can find errors when reading aloud that you wouldn't find by reading in your head.

You should also contemplate having someone else read your lens. A lot of times, fresh eyes can find what weary eyes fail to see.

Word processors, such as Word, provide assistance. But they're not fool proof. One of the biggest mistakes I see is lensmasters who write their copy in Word and fail to double space it. This leads to jumbled up paragraphs with no breaks.

Some people might not notice bad punctuation, spelling or grammar, but some will and that means you lose credibility. You might know all there is to know on your subject, but some readers will see the poorly written content and assume that you know nothing and move on. It's sad but true.

I hope this lens helps you on your path towards becoming a Giant Squid. We're all in this together, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know in the guestbook. I'll answer as soon as I'm able. Same goes for if you have a lens that needs a proofread.

I want you to succeed. I know it's possible and I don't mind helping out in any way I can. Good luck and I'll see you soon on WiWon Ning!