What's Your Tone?

Tone varies from person to person, post to post, article to article.  There is a time and purpose for every tone.

Today, most online articles are written in a conversational tone, which is a giant leap from the "reporting" or "speech giving" tone of yesterday.

Even a conversational tone can vary.  You may chose to "converse" tongue-in-cheek, you may choose to use slang, you may choose to use sarcasm, you may use assertive or powerful words.

Practice a variety of styles and see what works for you. 

If you're trying to brand yourself, you will want to stay with one style.

To Write Well You Must READ

To develop as a writer:

Read.  When you read, watch what other publishers have done with punctuation.  There are so many rules around, but today, many are changing the rules.  Many are leaving commas out, for instance.

Read to develop your style.  Read to develop your vocabulary.  The Urban Dictionary may be a valuable resource to use.  Don't depend on Microsoft Word's grammar checker.  It is often incorrect and often isn't up-to-date with new words.

Read to stay current so you can write current.

Read online articles, magazine articles, books, blogs.

Practice writing summaries of what you've read.  Learn the art of highlighting and re-writing--putting things into your words.