Why should anyone read this? Why does any of this matter? Do I really care?
When I start writing, this is what I think about. I don't always have the correct answer but it's what goes through my head every time I open a new blog post. My writing process is something I've been working on for a long time, as we all should.
I work in marketing, but I write for a living. Everyday I write pieces of content, and then at night I work on my blog. I spend a lot of time writing, thinking about writing, researching how to write, reading about the proper way to write, and learning about how to be a better writer. I'm always learning. Especially when I get a frantic call from my mom, wondering what the hell I was talking about in my post, I know I need to go back and rethink.
Because I work full time, a lot of my writing is done on the weekends. This is the best time for me to sit down and get all my thoughts out on paper. I like to have an idea in mind about what I'm going to talk about – even if that might change. I absolutely love when Michael goes out of town. That means I can be a hermit and spend the weekend writing.
When I write a blog post, usually I get an idea that springs in my head from what seems like out of nowhere. Usually, it's in the middle of the night, while I'm driving, or when I read something that really impacts me. I keep a notes section on my phone for “blog ideas” but I also have a notebook where I store all my ideas. I like the idea of physically writing something down.
I tend to spit my idea out first. Stumbling over my words and writing furiously. Then I stop and think about it. Later, I'll go back and edit the writing.
With blogging, a lot of us just tend to do the first part without going back and really reading what we write, to see if it makes sense. Which I'm guilty of, but it's something I want to change.
I don't always do this, but I like there to be a point. Whether it's a silly point of view or something meaningful, I think I need to establish why I'm writing this in the first place. I like my last paragraph to make sense of the ones above it.
I have some quirky things I do as well. I like to write to music, then go back and read in silence. I also like to have caffeine nearby. Usually in the form of a Diet Coke. Lately, I really like using pictures from my instagram (as seen above) as the picture in my post. I feel like my pictures sometime inspire my post.
For me, my writing process is constantly evolving. I'm always learning and (hopefully) growing as a writer. I'm not the best writer out there. But we really are all writers- it's all part of what we do. Whether it's sending an email, typing a Facebook status, or having a blog.
What's your writing process? Do you have any tips or tricks you use?
