In four separate posts, Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll from The Incidental Economist will describe their translation and dissemination process, specifically how they turn academic papers into interesting blog posts. Each of their posts will cover one of these questions:
- How do we read research papers?
- How do we decide what to write about?
- How do we make our posts interesting?
- How do we decide where to publish them?
This is the third post:
How do we write posts people want to read?
Austin: There is not one answer. Each person wants a lot of things, and different people want different things. Here are five rules of thumb — things that usually improve posts.
First, one can rarely go wrong by writing less. Blog posts should usually be under 1,000 words, preferably closer to 700. But less is fine, so long as it clearly makes a point.
Second, and related, make a point. One is enough. It's all people really want. Two is possible, but risky. People will only remember one. Three or more is nuts.
Third, and also related, don't hide the ball. If you've got a point, come clean with it at or near the top. The academic style of belaboring the context and background is not engaging. You've got to work that in far more briefly and creatively after giving the reader a reason to read the post.
Fourth, keep the language simple and the jargon to a minimum. What "minimum" means varies by audience. It's OK for a TIE or AcademyHealth post that's directed at researchers and wonks to be a bit jargony. JAMA Forum language should be simpler. Upshot should be nearly jargon free.
Fifth, making it personal is usually helpful. I rarely succeed at this, but I do try. If I can think of a way to put myself in a post — tell a personal story that relates to the point — I do so. For example, one of my Upshot posts in 2014 began, "A confession: I am a health economist, and I cannot rationally select a health plan."
Or, when I can't make it personal, I try to make it relevant to others' experiences. For example, one of my recent Upshot posts begins, "Aside from whatever a visit to the doctor costs you in money, it also costs you in time. A lot of it." Devoting a big part of one's day just to see a doctor is a common experience. Nobody likes it. That's a reason to read the post.
Aaron: I have such a hard time getting people to believe this, but the truth is that writing is like any other skill. You get better at it the more that you do it. One of the reasons I committed to a blog in 2009 was that I wanted to become a better writer. It was a huge part of my job, and I wasn't very good at it. I committed to getting up every day and writing 600-800 words, assuming that eventually, writing 600-800 words wouldn't be a big deal. That happened.
A key for me was figuring out that writing doesn't need to be complicated. The simpler the better. I don't shoot for very long sentences or complex constructions. I write the way that I think I would talk. I think I succeed, because many people, when they meet me, tell me that talking to me is very much like reading my columns. I take that as a compliment.
Paragraphs should be kept short, for the most part. Posts aren't novels, and you don't want people getting bogged down.
I agree with Austin on the lack of jargon. I'm a doctor, and I constantly rebel against that. You will never see me write (or say) something like "elevated erythematous papules accompanied by severe pruritus" when I can simply say "hives".
When I'm feeling fancy, I will try and start the post with some vignette or story that relates the column to me or something people can identify with. Here's an example.
The most important advice I can give is to edit. I still go back and edit posts I wrote years ago. My writing is never perfect, and I'm always tinkering it. If you're lucky in life, you get to work with editors who can help clean up your writing. I learn a ton from them all the time. You can also get people you trust to edit your pieces. I find Nicholas Bagley to be invaluable. I am never attached to my writing in such a way that I refuse edits or help. I find that editors generally tend to appreciate that, which hasn't hurt my career.
Finally, write stuff that people will want to read. Make sure each post has a point. Make sure it's interesting. Make sure it's clear.
Always write with some idea in mind of where to publish. That's the topic of our next post.
Austin B. Frakt, PhD (@afrakt), is a health economist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, an Associate Professor at Boston University’s School of Medicine and School of Public Health, and a Visiting Associate Professor with the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Aaron E. Carroll, MD (@aaronecarroll), is a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. Both blog about health economics and policy at The Incidental Economist. The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston University, Harvard University, or Indiana University.