My Blog Writing Process or Why It Takes Me So F*cking Long to Get Sh*t Written!

So, I’m sure that like me, many of you wonder what a blogger’s writing process is.  Mostly, I just marvel at how they can actually get shit done when it takes me nearly six months to write one post.  I mean seriously how do these bloggers do it?  I know they have lives because they write about them but damn how do they keep life from getting in the way of writing?  Then it hit me.  I should write a blog examining my writing process.  This blog would serve several purposes. 

1. It would make me write another blog
2. It would let you know why it takes me so fucking long to write a damn post
3. Most importantly, it would help me to examine, evaluate, and improve my process so I could actually get a blog out more than every six months.

 Good plan, right?  Well, let’s all hope so.

Getting Inspired

So, first I have to get inspired.  This is probably the least of my problems.  My life is filled with moments of deep thought and reflection.  I took this Strength Quest test last year for work.  The test basically tells you about your personality and what your strengths and weaknesses are.  Last year I found out my main strength is Intellection.  An Intellection likes to think.  We think a lot.  

 I’ve discovered that my best ideas usually come when I’m alone in  my car.  It’s one of the only times that my mind can naturally wander with little interruption from people talking to me.  I love driving down open roads just thinking.  While I’m driving ideas just seem to come to me and I start to write in my head but as soon as I get to pen and paper or a computer the paragraphs have all floated away.  Recently, I’ve started to pull over into a parking lot to jot the ideas down on either a notepad or on the notes app of my phone.  It has actually really helped.  I just gotta make sure I give myself enough time to do this and get to my destination on time.  I really wish I could get one of those Quick Quotes quills that Rita Skeeter used in the Harry Potter books. 

Succumbing to Distraction

 

After I get my idea, I generally manage to type a few sentences before I’m distracted by work, friends, family, cats…oh look it’s the Doctor and he’s reprimanding me, cool..er I mean sorry. 

I try not to get distracted.  Every day I swear I’m going to start over and write for an hour a day no matter what and then something unexpected happens.  I usually stay distracted until I either forget or convince myself that the idea sucks.

For the past two weeks I’ve been forcing myself (like I’m doing right now) to sit down and just type.  And the Tenth Doctor has helped, too.  So far I’m doing pretty good. 

Writing

Okay so once I “force” myself to sit down and just write.  I usually write everything in a Word document.  I like to save my drafts as I write them.  I can have up to 10 versions of one blog.  Often when editing I’ll remove whole pieces of writing that I’ve loved but just don’t fit well or aren’t relevant to the message I’m trying to convey.  I like to keep my blogs on the short side.  I feel that most people are like me and they don’t have the time to sit reading one blog for hours.  Also, the blogs I do read seem to be pretty short. 

Anyway, I write until I’ve gotten everything out.  Once I’ve got my draft I leave it.  I usually leave it for a day and then go back to it.  This is usually when the procrastination comes into play but as I said earlier I’m trying to kick the habit.  However, stepping away is important.   I learned during writing workshops that sometimes you have to step away in order to gain some perspective and distance from the piece.  It makes it easier to see the flaws you need to fix. 

When I go back to the piece I start by reading from the beginning and change and rewrite as I go along.  Anytime, I have to stop mid-editing I start over from the beginning.  This also holds true for when I stop while writing.  I will start by rereading what I’ve written to get an idea of where my thoughts are going.  As I’m reading I will edit and rewrite.  Hopefully, when all is said and done I’ve got a finished blog.

The Touches

Once my blog is written I read it once more to decide if I should add any pictures.  A lot of times this step will coincide with the writing process.  Sometimes, I print out the blog and make notes next to paragraphs on what picture or link I want to use.  I use pictures and video clips I’ve taken myself or found on the internet.

Posting

Once I’m done with everything I will log onto my blog and start posting.  I usually fiddle with the positioning of the pictures, the fonts, etc., until I like the way it looks.  Then I post, share it via FB and wait for it to be read.