The small text area and the button labeled “Preview” removes a lot of the pressure from writing. The subject is  clear and delimited – you know what you want to say.

You’re  agreeing or disagreeing with something the author wrote. You thought of something when reading the post. Perhaps you gained some form of insight that you want to share. Or the post reminded you of an anecdote or that really really great quote.

No one expects your comment to be exceptional or perfect. You don’t try to write the ultimate, all-encompassing comment that nobody can critique.

There’s no pressure. It’s okay to suck, to be mediocre. Who tries to write the perfect comment? No one. Blog comments aren’t supposed to be perfect.

You don’t spend a lot of time writing the comment. 5-10 minutes? Sometimes a bit more. Seldom longer than fifteen or twenty minutes. There’s so many other posts you want to comment on, so many other blogs to read. You can’t waste too much time on a single comment.

Misspellings aren’t the end of the world. (Maybe you were in a hurry or distracted. Or just really tired.)

You stop writing when you run out of things to say. (Tip #13: Have something to say!) You don’t aim for a specific word count.

If you happen to write something really insightful, people will agree with you and give you props. Most likely a couple of readers will read your comment, and then go on with their lives.

Forget the articles for now. Write comments. Lots of comments.