Wednesday, March 16, 2016

How I Write Blog Posts


A while ago, Katie @ A Writer’s Faith explained her method for writing blog posts, and she encouraged other bloggers to do the same. Since her post-writing process is so different from mine, I thought it would be fun to share my own method and compare notes with other bloggers. (Imogen @ Gossiping with Dragons has done her own post on the subject, and it is hilarious. You should definitely check it out.) 

So here it is, a rough breakdown of how I write blog posts: 


Have Idea. As a general rule, I like to keep a handy-dandy list of topics on my computer so I can consult it every time I need to write a post. Occasionally I don’t find anything on that list that works for me in the moment. I’m not always in the mood to tackle old ideas, and if I’m not excited about writing something, I can’t expect you to be excited about reading it. Which means it’s back to the drawing board. 

Write Rough Draft. Either way, once I’ve decided what I’m going to write about, I have to take on the sleeping dragon—my least favorite step in the entire process. I don’t need to spend a lot of time writing the rough draft. I just have to get some of my thoughts down. Typically, I end up with several poorly-fleshed out paragraphs and a few random, unconnected sentences tacked on to the end, just enough to give me the necessary framework for editing. 

Time: All in all, this step generally takes about fifteen to twenty minutes. 

Freak Out/Reevaluate/Break. After finishing my rough draft and realizing how awful it truly is, I have a minor panic attack. At this point, I’m scared that I’ve ruined the post idea entirely and that I’ll have to come up with something new. Approximately one fourth of my first drafts never make it past this point because this is the stage where I determine how sound my post idea is, how much I have to work with, and where I see the piece going. If I’m sufficiently unhappy with it, I set it aside (with the idea that I might come back to it in the future) and start the process with a different topic. But, if I’m happy, I take a break from the rough draft to let it settle in my mind. 

Edits // Round One. After taking a good long break (if I can manage it, schedule-wise), my confidence starts to return. Sometimes I skim my rough draft before beginning edits (just to remind myself of what I’m working with), but usually I don’t even do that. From thereon in, my revision process for blog posts is almost identical to my revision process for novels. So at this stage, I rewrite the entire post—line for line, word for word—implementing all the changes I can think of along the way. During this stage, the post ends up lengthening by about 60%, which makes it way too long, so I make a mental note to worry about that later. As I rewrite everything, I flesh out my thoughts, organize them semi-strategically, and focus on saying what I want to say. I enjoy this stage of revisions the most because, during this part, my brain starts to feel like it’s actually working. This stage is also fun because, while I avoid coffee when I’m drafting a post (it only heightens my anxiety), I make sure to drink at least one cup while revising (since it helps me get in the zone and stay in the zone). 

Time: This step usually takes about one to two hours. 

Break. Even if I’m scrambling to write and edit a post on the day it’s supposed to go up (like I did with this one and this one), I make sure to take at least a thirty minute break between drafts. Ideally, I like to let each draft sit overnight, but that’s not always possible. 

Have Small Panic Attack. At this point, my deadline is getting close, and I realize I’ve procrastinated too much. I need to start working if I’m going to get my post up. 

Edits // Round Two. Here's where I get nitpicky. My post is structurally okay, but now I need to trim it down to a more readable length. I evaluate every paragraph, sentence, and word, and try to determine what’s necessary and what isn’t. About 50% of the time, I find it easier to rewrite the entire post (again), line by line, word by word (like I did with the post you’re reading right now). Because I write everything in Scrivener (I used Word before I switched to Mac), if I want something bolded or linked or italicized or you name it, I need to make a note about that in the document itself. Otherwise I’ll forget when it comes time to format everything. And I need to make sure my memos stand out so I don’t miss them and publish my post with notes like [INSERT LINK HERE] still in it. That would be awkward. 

Time: Overall, this step takes about an hour. 

Break. Once I’m confident the post is tight enough, I take another break. 

Edits // Round Three. For this phase, I read through the entire post, keeping an eye out for typos, missing words, awkward or confusing sentences, grammatical errors, messed up punctuation, repeated words, and more. This is also the stage where I forget literally everything I know about grammar and punctuation. 

Time: All told, this part take about thirty minutes. 

Break, Again. I just love taking breaks, okay. Breaks are like my favorite thing ever, along with books and pizza and Twenty One Pilots. 

Formatting. At long last, it’s time to copy and paste my post into the Blogger dashboard (or whatever it’s called). This is my second favorite step in the whole process. (Also, you might be wondering why I don’t just write the post directly in Blogger. It would make sense. But I have this minor phobia of accidentally publishing my unfinished work, so I take measures to keep that from happening. Capiche?) 

Here’s where I add pictures and check spacing and try to make sure everything looks at least halfway decent. After I’m happy with the formatting, I put it in preview mode and read the post in that window. Usually, in this pass, I notice a handful of smaller typos and punctuation issues that didn’t show up well in Scrivener, although sometimes I end up reworking large sections. For instance, in Monday’s post, I ended up deleting three entire paragraphs because I realized they just weren’t working for me. (Seriously, if you want to catch errors and problem spots you’ve grown blind to, changing the formatting helps a lot.) Once I’ve input these changes, I put the whole thing in preview mode again and do one more read-through, mostly to make sure I didn’t introduce any new errors when I was making my last round of edits. Then I muster my feeble courage, breathe a small prayer, and press the publish button. 

Time: Depending on how much formatting and editing needs to be done, this stage can take anywhere from one to three hours. 

Have Minor Meltdown. Okay, I don’t really have a meltdown, don’t worry. But I do immediately check my blog one more time, just to see that the post went up without a problem and that I didn’t miss some glaring formatting error (about 10% of the time I do actually find something that needs fixing). Then, I share my post on Twitter (if I remember to) and on my Facebook (if I feel the post is extra special). 

Wait. And then I wait and try not to check too often for comments. 


Conclusion. If I fudge the numbers a little (since I don’t keep track of my actual times and since not every post is the same), I would say the entire process takes about four to seven hours from start to finish, not counting breaks. Obviously individual posts will require different treatment on a case-by-case basis, but this list is just to give you a general idea of what I do. 



Now it's your turn, my little coffee beans. If you’re a blogger, what is your blogging method? How long does it usually take you to write and edit a post? And, since I feel like throwing in a random question, what are some of your hobbies (aside from blogging and reading)?

16 comments:

  1. Dude. That's impressive. Seven hours is practically a whole day. xD

    HAAAA. People have hobbies aside from blogging, writing and reading? What? I suppose my biggest hobby ASIDE from that is probably youth group. Does that count? Probably not. But I spend a lot of time at Church, playing the piano for the worship team, and doing stuff there. So. *shrug*

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    1. It does take quite a while sometimes. :P

      I know. It was totally a joke. I'm glad you found it funny. :P I will count youth group. I guess maybe real life could be considered a hobby, since we dabble in it from time to time.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  2. This is awesome! I love your process. Also it is a lot better, more comprehensive, and responsible than mine. Less robot chickens. I love that you're organised enough to build breaks in. Personally, I always seem to leave this things until the day they're due, so I never have enough time for breaks. And thank you so much for linking to my post! You seriously made my day.

    There is life outside of reading and blogging? Haha, but seriously my hobbies basically are my life. I blog, I write, I read, and the other thing I do is make music. I have a YouTube channel I started at the beginning of the year, and a lot of my time goes into producing stuff for that. The real question is, what are your hobbies? Apart from writing, reading, blogging, and coffee drinking of course.

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    1. Aww, thank you! :) Robot chickens are fun though. *nods* I like to organize it nicely, so then I can feel like a responsible person who knows what they're doing. :P And you're so welcome! I really enjoyed reading it. :D

      I know, such a funny joke, Liz. You should be a comic. I'm the same, although I also throw in drawing/painting/coloring as well from time to time. I've checked out your YouTube videos, and I really liked them. :) You have a great voice.) I'm glad that you recognize coffee drinking as a legitimate hobby. My other hobbies include rearranging my bookshelves, binge-watching TV shows, art, and singing. I used to play guitar and piano all the time, but I don't have access to ze instruments at the moment.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  3. Wow, this is so interesting! Your process seems so neat and organized compared to mine. I don't think I've ever edited a post from start to finish, except for that last spelling/grammar check - I just jump around whenever I think of something that could be better. Maybe that's why my process feels so chaotic sometimes :P

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    1. Aww, thank you! I've always admired people who can manage to have a chaotic process and still get stuff done. I would just get glazed over eyes and a serious coffee need. I need order in writing, or I get nothing done. :P

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  4. 7 hours!! Wow!!

    I spend ages picking through drafts and rewriting as well :) And breaks are very important. I get up and down a lot when I'm writing a blog post.

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    1. It can be quite the process sometimes. :P

      They are so important. I wouldn't be able to get as much done without them. And they give me an excuse to read more. I need to walk around a lot too, or I get painfully stiff and brain-foggy.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  5. I love the breaking method! Although sometimes I get to the point where I'm doing more "breaking" then actually blogging.

    This is so impressive! I'm totally nosy, so I love reading these posts. Thanks for sharing:)

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    1. Haha, that can be a problem for me too. Breaks are so nice. I will call today one long break. You can't find fault with me now. *unhinged laughter*

      Aww, thank you! :) I'm nosey too. :P You're welcome, and thanks for commenting! :)

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  6. You're all way more organized than I'll ever be. xD I usually just pants it, with a quick look-over for spelling and grammar. But oh well.

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    1. I'm super OCD when it comes to writing. :P But hey, all your posts are wonderful, so your system totally does the trick. And if it ain't broke, no need to fix it.

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  7. It's cool seeing into your process! Mine takes a while but not this long! I plan on doing this sort of post next month. ^ ^

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

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    1. Aww, thank you! :) I'm looking forward to catching up on your blog so I can read about your process. :)

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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  8. DAAAAAAAAAAANG GIRL THAT IS SO LONG TO WRITE A POST. Seriously, I can't imagine taking more than 3-4 hours on the longest, most complicated posts I've ever written. Wow. (But, your work shows up in quality, no?)

    I also am a fan of taking breaks while blogging. It is highly good for me, I think. But I do also like writing multiple drafts of my posts and then waiting overnight to post them, though of course that doesn't always happen.

    It's muy interesante to get into your head like this. Thanks for giving us a peek!

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    1. I know. I don't even know why it takes so long, it just does. And you'd think if I can write a rough draft of a novel in two days, I could do a post in five minutes, but nooooo. *whines* (I'm glad you think so. :D )

      Waiting overnight is helpful when it's doable. I try to make it happen as often as possible.

      Thank you! :) I'm glad you liked it. And you're welcome! :)

      Thanks for commenting! :)

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