Things to Keep in Mind If You Write about Politics without Being a Political Writer

Darren Rowse reports for Allen McDuffee:

"There certainly are some risks involved [in political writing] but if you get it right, the potential rewards can range from sparking a heated debate to informing your readers about something important to testing the waters on going a little off the beaten path in the future...Do your best to simplify the post as much as possible. If your readers are interested, you can always tease out some of the nuances in the comments section. Or, if there is real interest, you can write follow-up posts. Think about your organizing principal...Focus on the exact reason the issue is important to your readers, who the key players are, and what the potential outcome is. Once you’re done, edit away anything that isn’t necessary...On more than one occasion when I’ve written about subjects that I knew would be important to my readers but weren’t exactly comfortable, I received reader emails asking if somebody else wrote the post or why I was dispassionate (unfortunately, politics writing has a higher propensity for getting boring). Work hard to make it your own and what your readers are used to seeing from you stylistically...If readers aren’t used to seeing politics posts on your blog, you should help them understand why it’s there. And right away! Try tying it into a previous post you’ve written. Or express outrage that your readers would likely share...Get an official statement. This sounds daunting, but you don’t always have to call a press officer to get one. Almost every governmental agency posts dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of press releases on their website each week...You don’t have to agree with the statement, but using it lends credibility to your post and your readers will know exactly what you’re standing for (or against), officially...Sometimes all the background knowledge required to write a good politics post can scare bloggers with otherwise good ideas away. Let seasoned reporters take that pressure off of you...The great thing about writing on political issues is that you can use photographs from governmental websites on your blog because you’ve already paid for them in taxes. Not only does it dress up your post, but it also connects a name with a face...Check to see if you’ve reached the outcome you wanted...These tips might not make you Andrew Sullivan, but who wants to post every 90 seconds anyway?"