Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the thirty-first day of the month is "Activity."
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| Look at her heartbroken little face. She really likes to walk on the rivewalk and it's still closed because of all the melting snow flooding it. |
It has come to my attention that some of my loyal readers are under the impression that I actually write on this blog every day. Just because I post daily does not mean that I actually write daily. Most of the time, I write the majority of my blog posts on the weekends and it's relatively rare for me to be writing a post the day of or the day before something is posted. I mean, it happens, of course, but it sort of stresses me out if I'm not a day or two ahead of my own internalized deadlines.
There are some posts that are harder to do ahead of time (e.g., Snapshot posts, Message posts when I post about the most recent photo message I've sent, library holds posts), but I like to be able to sort of write when I have several hours set aside to work on writing all at once. I really hate a empty page, so sometimes I just start typing nonsense into a draft post and most if it will end up getting deleted because as much as I think my stream of consciousness ramblings are interesting, I hardly think someone else will. Having a chunk of two or three hours to just sit down and write all at once makes it easier for me to just get something on the page, even if I have to go back and change it later.
The daily prompts I use actually make it easier in some ways for me to know what to write about. I mean, sure I wish I had picked prompts that were more tailored to me personally, but there's something interesting that's happening to me with these prompts, which is that I'm now living my life thinking about "safety" and "control" and "atmosphere" far more than I ever have in my life. It's almost as if they've become mini-guide words for the year. So even though I don't know what I'm going to write about "safety" next month, I'm pretty sure it's going to be about the mammogram I'm going to get. I would have had the mammogram without these prompts, probably, but I doubt I would have written about it.
I've written about this before, but I am reader, not really a writer. I must read every day or I feel like a part of me is missing. If I skip a day of writing, that's perfectly fine with me.
Do you write every day? Do you consider yourself a reader or a writer?
While I post almost daily, I often have several posts in the queue. Even if I don’t have a line-up, it is quite likely that I have at least written a post on the previous day. I wrote today’s yesterday and am thinking of tomorrow. It will be Caturday, and it has been awhile, so . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm so impressed when people say they write daily. I guess it's a habit like my reading habit and you just do it! But I don't know where I'd find the time and most people are way busier than me. Very impressive habit.
DeleteI am so much better at writing when I have a prompt. Of all the canons, invention is the toughest for me
ReplyDeleteFor sure. The blank page is a nightmare!
DeleteI'm always impressed by the people who have posts lined up and ready to go in advance. That is so not me. While I consider myself a Writer, I am not a disciplined Writer. I am a fussy, procrastinating, perfection-obsessed Writer who must be dragged to the page. By Guilt, by Deadline, by Inspiration...it doesn't matter what, but I have to be compelled to do it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have a theme or a daily prompt, I'm much better. I've done the alphabet thing a couple of times--very helpful. It's about time again for a post, so I'll be ruminating and on the alert.
I think the thing is that I am not a perfectionist about anything, really. So if I put out a post and it's not great, at least I know it will be replaced the next day! It takes away a lot of pressure that I imagine perfectionist people feel.
DeleteI admire people who can blog ahead of time. But for my own purposes, I blog every day before I head to bed as a snapshot of the day--the immediacy of the day just doesn't translate otherwise. I like reading my past posts and remembering how I felt the day I got that award or hurt myself or had a Title IX case go my way.
ReplyDeleteWe have a very similar riverwalk with similar flooding problems! I'm currently in Denver for a conference and missing my babies so much so I'm glad to see Hannah's sweet face here <3
The flooding this year has been intense and ongoing. The ground was frozen when we had a crazy unusual February thunderstorm. Then it got warm and the ground sort of thawed, but then we had a ton of snow. The freeze/thaw cycle is not helping the flooding. Oh, well. Soon the spring storms will start in earnest and so I'm pretty sure that riverwalk is going to be out of commission for at least another month. Hopefully I'm wrong about that and hopefully your riverwalk is in better shape than ours.
DeleteTeam Reader! I mean I guess we're all writers or we wouldn't be doing this but writing is hard work.
ReplyDeleteWriting is much more enjoyable when I plan it in advance. My "process" is to blurt it out and then fix it. In a perfect world I'd write my posts on Sunday and publish on Monday, but the weekend does have a way of getting away from me, so sometimes it's bits and pieces of writing on Monday and run with whatever I have at the end of the day. I wrote a few NaBloPo's in advance but most of them were by the seat of my pants.
Ha. I mean, I guess I'm a writer, but I don't really identify as one. I guess I always think you have to be like a Pulitzer prize winner to really claim the title of writer, but there are no awards for good/great readers, so it always seems a lot less like I'm taking credit for something I shouldn't! Ha. I think I need to reexamine why I feel this way.
DeleteThe thing about your posts that I enjoy is that you follow the same format in terms of what you talk about eats/workouts/reads/watches. I think having a format like that would make it a lot easier for me to just get started because I need prompts, apparently.
I can't choose. I write daily, but I also read daily. When it comes to blogging, sometimes I go on a tear and write a bunch of posts at once... other times (like now) I feel like I have nothing worthwhile or entertaining to say and will never blog again. I feel like writing definitely improves with practice. NaNoBloPoMo was really good for me because I knew I HAD to post daily, so that part of my brain leapt up to meet the challenge. But when I don't have a challenge or a deadline, I tend to be more lazy about it.
ReplyDeleteDo you find, with writing posts in batches, that you feel like there's a lag between Blog Life and Real Life? Sometimes, I will write and schedule things... but then they publish days or weeks after the fact, and I feel like I am misleading readers! But... if I didn't do it that way, I would have a week of posts and then several weeks of nothing, so it makes more sense to dole things out more slowly than they happen.
Hm. Well, I have some rules about posting things that I don't necessarily want out in the world until it has already happened. So, if I'm going to be out of town, I don't necessarily want to broadcast that to the internet ahead of time, so I don't go out of my way to mislead readers, but I also sometimes purposefully change things up by a day or two here and there.
DeleteIf something feels really out of date or old, I'll just delete it and start again. I guess I honestly don't feel like timeline matters much to my readers, but maybe I'm wrong? Please let me know if you feel like you're being deceived!
I have never felt deceived! And I don't go out of my way to mislead readers, either. It's just that sometimes, I write in the present tense... and then schedule that post for two weeks from now. So it eventually reads as though I am currently In It. Probably no one cares whether I ACTUALLY went to Target that morning or not, and this isn't even a problem frequently. I am clearly overthinking it, as is my habit.
DeleteSo fun! I have a post (in drafts) all about "behind the scenes" of my blogging schedule. So this is timely/ironic.
ReplyDeleteI am team draft all. the. way. I usually have at least 10 posts in queue at widely ranging amounts of readiness. I prefer to have Monday - Thursday posts 80% ready the week before, and then I write my Friday post during the week. I also write in bursts. Aside from answering comments, most of the time I don't create much content during the week.
I make notes of post ideas in my daytimer and then will sit down and write for a few hours every week or two to get those ideas more fully formed.
I used to be a daily reader - life didn't feel right without reading each day. Now I'd say I've switched to feeling that way about some form of writing - either editing a blog post (which I DO do during the week) or responding to comments.
Your third paragraph is where I need help. I need to be better about making notes when I have ideas for posts. The thing is that I usually have these ideas when I'm walking the dog or something and I need to just take the time to pull out my phone and jot down an idea because I think a lot of my ideas get lost in the flotsam of my daily thoughts and then I'm staring at a prompt knowing I had an idea, but I can't remember it. *sigh* I need to really get more organized about organizing my post ideas.
DeleteIt's funny, because I guess I did imagine you writing every day. Interesting that your prompts have become "mini-guide words" for the year- I can see how that would happen. I would be interested to hear if there are some you like better than others- for example, are you ever groaning "oh no... not "hats" again!"
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm a writer wannabe, I don't write everyday- but I do read everyday.
I am both! I definitely read every day. I set aside time in the morning to read posts and comments, respond to posts and comments and work on my own posts. Generally during the week I jot down any thoughts/ideas in a list I have on my phone, since ideas very often come to me as I am walking to work or waiting for the train etc. When I am home in the mornings (during my scheduled blog reading/writing time) I also have an ongoing email to myself where I put other ideas that maybe I would get from reading someone else's post (like your one about your daily walks!)
ReplyDeleteThen on the weekend, or if I have time on one of the weekday mornings, I work on draft posts. I do them in batches though and almost never write it and post it right away. Usually I write the bulk of it, go back and edit and add pictures if applicable and then either schedule a draft or go back and post it later after rereading it one more time. I almost always have three or four or more drafts half formed and needing to be finalized.
I love stuff like this! I definitely write things ahead of time but these days, I very rarely draft posts too far ahead of time. I'm usually writing my Monday post over the weekend and if I get it done before Sunday evening, I'll start working on my Wednesday post. Otherwise, I fix it up in spurts on Monday and Tuesday. And Friday's post, I'll usually write throughout the day on Thursday whenever I need a break from work. But it's rare for me to carve out a few hours of time JUST to write/draft blog posts. I'll usually do it in short, 15-20 minute bursts and then go back through it the night before it's published to make sure it sounds okay.
ReplyDeleteI was just working on a post for tomorrow (I'm usually the day before, or the day of in my writing/posting) and noted that some of my fellow bloggers BLOG daily. Now I know you don't, but still, it seems like a lot of work.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had more time to read AND write; hopefully one day I will.
This is so fun to read! I don't write every day, but do consider myself a writer who is getting back to reading. I use to write A LOT more on my blog then was sick of it for a while and am getting back to it.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who happens upon my blog knows that I am a blogger who never plans, never labels her posts, and usually hits "Publish" after minimal editing. I have no schedule, no plan, and it's kind of obvious. I wish I were more of a planner as a blogger but I'm not. And I am definitely not a writer. I'm a researcher. I can put together a manuscript like no one's business. Write? No way. (I am, however, a reader, and a day without reading is... well, not a day in my life.)
ReplyDelete