OK so, you want to blog about gaming but you’re not sure where to start or what to write? Funnily enough… that’s exactly how I feel right now! This blog is mostly an online gaming diary with a few creative efforts, guides etc thrown in, so the advice I give will be from this angle.
host:
I use the free wordpress.com, I do like as it has a fairly easy interface, a good choice of themes and some customisability. It does have it’s niggles though.
Naming your blog:
I think the best advice is to keep it general in case your blogging topics shift. I started with Suzita Starshadow (named after my EQ2 character), which to be frank, sounds really naff. StarShadow is only marginally better, but it is at least general, short, and easy to spell.
Subjects:
The first thing that I feel is important is that you write about what you enjoy, not what you think others will enjoy. If you have a great screenshot, post it up. If you’re proud of an outfit you’ve created or a house you’ve decorated post that up. If you’ve had a blast running around X dungeon – describe your adventures. If you roleplay, try developing your character on your blog. Experiment too – you don’t have to publish the results and your blog can change and develop over time. The subjects you write about may stay varied and personal or they may develop into a theme – follow your interests.
Writing:
Read your posts back to yourself, make sure it flows. Ask someone to proof read for you if you’d like an opinion before you publish. One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to write your post as a draft, let it sit for a few days and revise and revise and then revise some more before you publish. I would also recommend trying to illustrate your post with a screenshot as blogs are very visual and it really can catch your reader’s attention. Having said that, it may not suit some type of articles or your style of blogging so down to you. You can also preview your posts to check formatting and it can be easier to proof read too.
Writing about more than one game:
I tend to write about most games I’m playing, rather than just concentrating on just one. Generally I tend to have one MMO going interspersed with various single RPG games. I try to keep the majority of my posts about my long term MMO and throw in a few posts about the single RPGs here and there. There may be other ways to combine this but I find this style of blogging works well with my gaming habits.
Schedule:
Writing regularly is really helpful to keep readers coming back to your blogs (something I’m not very good at!) When I’m organised I like to have a schedule along the lines of a screenshot twice a week, thoughts and descriptions of my adventures once or twice a week and occasionally a guide.
Finally:
It is perfectly OK to blog as a hobby, without worrying about site stats and similar, if that’s what you enjoy.