Happy Saturday, everyone!
Maybe that's because other people aren't interested in knowing those types of things like I am. But I'm all nosy and like to know how bloggers do things. :P
For me, often if a post isn't working, I'll actually write it on paper, first. (Thankfully this post worked out alright and I didn't have to do that.) Sometimes it helps to write somewhere else than the Blogger site and let my mind think a little differently.
With this post I took some screenshots (of which the quality isn't perfect, but oh well. It's readable and I tried. :P) and went through the steps of how I draft a post. This isn't a tag, but I'd be super interested to see how you write a post, so go ahead and steal this idea! :D (I'd love to read it after you're done!)
Here we go.
ten minutes // THE "BRAINSTORMING" STEP
Once upon a time, I get an idea for a blog post. I plan to post it on an upcoming Saturday. The Friday night before I freak out and frantically try to put it together. (< Heh. Not always entirely true, but...)
The first step for me is the brainstorming step. I do everything in the Blogger post document... thing. (Is there an official name for this?) I jot down ideas for the post and ideas for how I want to go about it. My mind runs a million miles a minute, so I try to do this point as fast as I can. That's why my sentences are a mess. :P
This is what my brainstorming looks like: (hint: it's a mess.)
(One more apologize for the mediocre quality. Couldn't figure out how to make it clearer. *pouts*)
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seven minutes // THE "OUTLINING BUNNY TRAIL BRAINSTORMING" STEP
Step number two is supposedly the outlining phrase, but I get distracted way too easily. So for this post, step number two turned into the I-tried-to-outline-but-then-got-distracted-with-other-thoughts-for-this-post step. It happens more than you think with blogging. *headdesk*
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seventeen minutes // THE ACTUAL OUTLINING PHASE
After I get distracted with the step above, THEN it's time for outlining the body of my post. If I'm doing a step by step post (like this one), I'll summarize what my point will be in a short sentence. I don't get very wordy with this step. My main goal here is to get the skeleton of the post down.
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one hour and thirty-nine minutes// THE "WRITE THE POST" STEP
THIS PART OF THE POST TAKE SO LONG. (as you can see above. Ack.) Even though I'm able to write 1,000 words in 20 minutes, drafting a blog post is an entirely different story. *flops* I think it's the thought of letting my words onto the internet where anyone can read it. Um, frightening.
So I dawdle with this part. I hem and haw over which words to use and when to start a new paragraph. Maybe someday, when I get more experienced, this step will come easier. I can only hope.
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eleven minutes // THE "MAKE THINGS PRETTY" STEP
I love this step. I love making my post easy to read and pleasing to the eye. This is the step where I bold phrases and italicize words to emphasize certain parts. I also justify my post so each individual line stacks up all nicely.
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one hour and twenty-five minutes // THE "PICTURE EDITING" STEP
There are three different kinds of picture I upload to my posts. I used all three in this post.
1 // THE MAIN IMAGE: This is the image you will see at the top of each post. It includes the title of the post and a link to my blog.
2 // TEXT IMAGES: Often for text headers or points I will download a picture of some text since that font isn't available for blogger. I'll make up these images in Picmonkey and then insert them into my post.
3 // OTHER IMAGES: Sometimes I'll put in a picture of a book or a dragon egg. If the picture needs editing, I'll do that, otherwise I can just upload it right away. For this post, I had to number each image, so this step took a little longer than other times.
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twenty minutes // THE "PROOFREAD + EDITING" STEP
In this step I'll read over my post AT LEAST 2-3 times, looking for typos and oddly phrased sentences. I use the Blogger preview feature when I do this so I can be sure that everything looks right -- that all the pictures are centered and there aren't any odd spaces.
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// THE "FORCE MYSELF TO POST IT" STEP
After all the above steps... then I can post it! Since I can't actually bring myself to hit the "publish" button, I schedule all my posts for sometime after midnight. (because I'm usually up past finishing it up. Oops.) Then it'll post when I'm fast asleep and I don't have to second-guess my blogging skills. :P
Once it posts... I breathe a sigh of relief that I finished it on time. I answer comments, visit blogs, think up an idea for the next week, and the cycle starts all over again.
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And that's how I write a post. Under each step you can see how long each individual step took. And once I add it up? I spent a total of four hours and fifteen minutes on this post. I would say that most of my posts end up taking around 3-4 hours. *nod* And that's why I don't post more than once a week, ha.
Thanks for reading!
- Katie Grace
How long does it take you to write a post? Does your process looks somewhat similar to mine, or is it entirely different?
*whisper* And you should totally write a post on this, because I'm curious like that. :P
(Also, my wonderful critique partner, Abi, just started a blog! You should go follow it. :D*whisper* And you should totally write a post on this, because I'm curious like that. :P
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CONNECT WITH ME!
#first comment :D
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting to read- I don't think my process is nearly so organized. I used to just upload pictures and type stuff but now I take more time to edit pictures and such. So basically , this is what my process could look like:
1. Come up with an idea
2. Find some time to finally get on the computer
3. Edit pictures
4. Throw together post
5. Proofread it myself
6. Have my dad proofread it
7. Fix my mistakes
8. And finally, post and send out an email with a link to my friends + family.
I've never thought to time myself but it usually takes longer than I think it will haha :D
*hands you first comment cookies* ;)
DeleteOooh, I love that your dad proofreads it for you. My mom used to do that, but I'm getting better at proofreading my own posts. It took awhile, though. :P
This was a pretty interesting read. I've never really thought about my posting process . . . I guess because I feel like I don't have one. I come up with an idea, let it stew in my brain for a while, and then when I need to write a post, I just sit down and write it. Or if there's a topic, again, I just sit down and write it. And then I skim it to proofread/edit it, and then I either schedule it or post it. So . . . yeah.
ReplyDelete*nod* That makes sense. Thanks for sharing. :D
DeleteThis was so fun to read! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteUsually when I come up with an idea for a post, I just jot it down in my writing notebook, but if I'm near my computer and I already have ideas for points, I make a new draft post on blogger and add my ideas. Then I go back later and work on adding more ideas and filling out the points I've already added. I'm usually writing multiple blog posts at the same time.
Aaaand I just added this topic to my blog post ideas list! =)
You're welcome! Thank you for reading! :D
DeleteOooh, you write multiple blog posts at once? That's interesting. I should probably start on other posts ahead of time so I don't freak out last minute... but I'm not THAT organized. xD
YAY! I hope to see a post eventually on it. :D
Awesome post! I B-) might do a blog post about how I blog...hmm
ReplyDeleteThank you! You should. ;)
Deletebruh, this was a really good idea!
ReplyDeleteThank youuu. <3
DeleteYou're so much more dedicated to this than I am. I just write the post the day before and read over it a couple times and consider it good xD I'm hoping to get to a point where I can finish stuff at a good time and edit images for it. Speaking of that, how do you put that translucent white part behind the text? I'm usually pretty okay with editing images but I can't figure out how to do that.
ReplyDeleteBut your posts are still really good, so as long as they turn out it doesn't matter how organized or unorganized you are. xD You always SEEM organized, at least. :P
DeleteOH MY GOSH THIS TOOK ME AN ETERNITY AND FOREVER TO FIGURE THIS OUT. Okay so in Picmonkey go to the butterfly picture >> geometric shapes >> pick what shape >> change the color to white >> right click >> "send to back" >> and then place behind the text.
Hopefully that makes some sense? It took me so long to find out how to do it. xD
I'm either amazingly organized or a train wreck there is no in between xD
DeleteTHANK YOU. I never would have figured that out. I shall now proceed to use that for alllllll the pictures.
GIRL you are SO good at this. I loved reading this post; it's a really good idea :) You are definitely wayyy more organized that I am for SURE =) when i decide to write a post i usually just start typing then organize it, throw a picture in that i try to make look presentable, and then hit publish and RUN. Well....actually. Sort of. :) I loved this post!
ReplyDeleteAHAHAHA you're too kind. I'm no better than you are at your posts. :P I love your blog. <3
DeleteMost of my posts are covered in pictures... A lot of times I probably start uploading pictures, and then write whatever after that. I don't really have any structure like you do to write a post. But I don't do that much writing, so it's pretty easy just to write something to go along with my recipe, or photography... whatever I have. :)
ReplyDeletePICTURES ARE SO FUN! They're so important and pleasing to the eye. I try to have more than one picture per post... But sometimes I fail. :P Sometime I'll get better at that. *nod*
DeleteKatie, you are so organized!! :D My posting process generally goes something like this...
ReplyDelete"Hmm... I should make a blog post. What should I write about? --Oh, IDEA!!" *grabs laptop and frantically starts typing* "Eh, that doesn't sound good." *deletes* *rewrites* "mmm... Better." *designs picture & throws it in the header* *slaps a few bold & italics somewhere in there to get the point across* Aaaaaannnnnddd... *hesitates to post, but does it anyway* *rereads after the post is live* *cringes to find typo & frantically hits 'edit button*
The End.
Needless to say, your methods are much better & more professional. I applaud you, darling! Well done! <3
Ohmygosh I love your process. xD ESPECIALLY THE PART ABOUT FINDING TYPOS ONCE YOU'VE POSTED IT. That's the worst. I probably have it happen more than I realize. :P *sigh*
DeleteThank youuu!
Ooh, you're post writing process is quite different from mine, but it's also really cool, and I really enjoyed reading about it. *nods* But I do tend to take about the same amount of time (if not more?) on each post, so at least that's similar. I'm totally going to do this. I was going to tell you a bit about my process here, but I should just write a post about instead and make you wait to find out. *evil laugh*
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for sharing! This was such a good idea! :)
YAY! I'm so excited to see this post. xD You seem like type of blogger who would spend a lot of time on your posts as well. *nod* They're always so put together and worded well. :P *is excited to read it*
DeleteYour brainstorming step... xD All of your brainstorming looks remarkably like mine. ^-^
ReplyDeleteBrainstorming is fun because I can be as wacky as I want and no one will see it. xD Well... except for the example in this post. Oh well. :P
DeleteI wing it, but I'm starting to think you have something here with planning ahead.
ReplyDeleteWinging it works, too. xD
DeleteThis is such a awesome post! I think we go about posting quite differently, which is cool, I've never really thought about people not doing it how I do :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, do we? How do you normally draft a post?
DeleteThis is pretty neat! You sound very organized. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a sort of not routine. I don't often write a post the same I did before. Sometimes I can have a post simmering on backfile for a month, other times I'll type it up and immediately publish it. I really don't like doing the latter though because I usually have more typos if I do.
I might do a similar post. It sounds fun. For March perhaps.
Ahhh, that makes sense. I've had certain ideas simmering in the back of my mind for awhile, but never have gotten around to posting them. I can never make them come out right. :P
DeleteYou should! I'd love to read it. :D
Wow, this is really organized!I just type stuff and upload pictures and call it good. :)
ReplyDeleteAs long as that works for you, great! xD I admire bloggers who can do that.
DeleteEverytime I think I cannot be less organized, there is someone to prove me wrong :D Your blog posts seem to be so well thought-out! I just think of an idea, write it down, then let it sit for some time and then read it again, maybe edit mistakes or add things and then I upload photos and it's done. Photos take the most of my time, because I need to take them and them also edit them. But I enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, it was interesting to read! :)
Photos are soooo time consuming. Especially if I'm uploading some photos of my own, because they almost always need to be edited.
DeleteI love your idea of letting the post sit for some time. That's a great way to catch mistakes.
Thanks for reading! <3
Oh wow, girl! I love your system. You are so organized!!
ReplyDeleteMy method is basically: Sit down, start typing, hope something awesome comes out. And there we go. So professional. XD Although making it pretty and finding and/or editing pics, etc. ends up taking me forever. So I'm like you, just one post a week. It takes too much TIME to do more than that. o.o
Heyyy, that works! xD BUT YES I HAVE NO IDEA HOW PEOPLE DO MORE THAN ONE POST A WEEK. Some bloggers post every couple days and I just... Wow. No idea how that's even possible with how I write blog posts. :P
DeleteThanks for commenting, Christine! <3
It must have been so weird to write a post on writing a post! :)
ReplyDeleteSince most of my posts are Friday's new installments of my serial blog story they take a while to write. I have to write the actual story, and then my ramblings before and after it.
But then I've been doing a couple on Monday as well that are just random. They're harder. I actually have to think up something (unless I've been tagged) and then try write it without killing everyone with my awful humour. XD I also try have some kind of cool picture with every post so it can look cool (naturally) and so I can put it on Pintrest too.
Great post! I was really interested to find out how you write!
Oh my goodness, it WAS. It became confusing on how to keep track of all the steps and when to take screenshots. xD
DeleteEep, I admire people SO MUCH who write a serial story. It must take a LOT of planning, yeah? I'm a huge pantser, so that part would be hard for me. :P
Thank you! <3
It's not just you! I really enjoyed this post...I might have to steal it!
ReplyDeleteI basically skip step seven and proof read it after I've published it and then go back to the draft and fix errors. I know that's terrible practice, but I get to excited to publish it. Every. single. time.
Really enjoyed this; keep up the good work!
You should totally steal it. ;)
DeleteHeh. I've gotten better at number seven, but when I first started blogging it was quite easy to skip that step. xD It's just a hard and time-consuming step when I want to shove it in people's faces. :P
You are really organized. :)
ReplyDeleteI love Picmonkey. Adding overlays and text to photos is so much fun. :)
Quick question: Which Picmonkey font did you use to create the text in your post header that says 'blog post'? I believe you used the same font for your header. I searched Picmonkey, but couldn't seem to find that particular font. Do you happen to know its title? Is it under the 'yours' or 'ours' section?
Anyway, I LOVE your blog. It's always such fun to read. :)
-Emily
PICMONKEY IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST! <3
DeleteWell... It's not actually a Picmonkey font. :P I downloaded it on my own so it appeared in the "yours" font section. It's called "Pennellino."
Thank you so much, Emily!
Ah, I see. May I ask for a link of the site from which you downloaded it?
DeleteWow, I came here after you commented on my blog (thank you btw!), but did not expect to be so pleasantly surprised! I loved his post - it was super helpful, and interesting too! I'll be honest, I'm a teensy bit uncomfortable with how similar it looks to writing a paper...but that being said, it was very informative, and I enjoyed reading it! As for the way I write blog posts, it's a lot more...hum, how shall I say it, all over the place? I am MUCH less organized than you! I definitely prefer to write them out on paper first. For some reason I just don't concentrate near as well when I'm sitting in front of a screen. In the beginning when I only did card tutorials, I wouldn't write my posts out on paper first, because I had to match the words with each picture, and didn't add in many other words. Now though, I like to write out my posts, and it really helps. Even then, I spend foreeeeveeerrrrr on each post. I edit each picture before writing the post, which takes a while since my posts are pretty image heavy, and then I add in the words and tweak it a bunch, and then preview it, just like you. I never finish a post in one day. Ever. I don't know exactly how many hours it takes me (it varies), but it's always lots of hours. Anyway, this was interesting to read! It almost makes me want to write a post of my own like this! And again, thank you for your comment on my blog!
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you! I'm glad it surprised you in a good way. xD
DeleteOKAY I TOTALLY GET WHAT YOU MEAN. My mom comments on that a lot and says that writing a paper is similar to writing a blog post... but... it's not. :P Writing a blog post is a whole lot different because I get to write it how I want and use my own humor, style, and fun pictures. But I totally can see how it looks similar. xD It's just a lot more bearable. :P
It sounds like you take a lot of time to write a blog post, too. Writing a post about cards sounds time-consuming just because of all the images and text and... wow. :P
You're welcome! Thank YOU!
Hello Katie Grace! I wrote a blog post about how I write my blog posts! =) I can't believe you take so much time for each blog post! I am going to appreciate your posts more now. ;) 4 HOURS??? Wow...
ReplyDeletehttp://havingaheartlikehis.blogspot.com/2016/02/how-i-write-blog-post-in-5-steps.html
Hey, Hosanna! I read your post and LOVED it! :D
DeleteYeah. o.o I think most of my posts maybe just take three hours? But longer posts like this one definitely take 4+ hours. *collapses* :P
Thanks for sending me the link! I'm so excited that you decided to write a post on it. :D
Thanks Katie! =)
DeleteStill though...3 hours? I think I wouldn't blog then! Unless every post was totally awesome like yours. =) I love the way you write!!
This was such a cool post, Katie! I normally just think of something I feel like posting about, smack my thought into the post, then go through and edit before I publish it :D. Pictures are one of my favorite things about doing posts; I love finding ones that go well with the post I'm doing. The time it takes me to write a post differs every time, from few days to a few minutes :D. Guess it depends on how dedicated I am. *shrugs*
ReplyDeleteThanks, Savannah!
DeleteI agree -- pictures are SO much fun! It's sometimes difficult finding the right one (or trying to take a nice looking one), but they make a post look so much nicer.
This is such an awesome idea for a blog post. If you don't mind, I'd love to have a go at writing one of these myself sometime. It's so cool seeing your process and how different it is to mine. Some steps are the same as mine, and others I skip completely, or do very differently. It's interesting comparing them. There are a million ways to write anything, even a blog post it seems!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Imogen! You should totally do one. *nod* It'd be interesting for ME to compare my process to yours. :D
Delete*grins* I think I might try writing a blog post like you do yours! Mine is so messy and abstract and takes forever! Four hours would be an improvement. :P
ReplyDeleteIt feels that way sometimes, doesn't it? :P
DeleteHello Katie Grace!
ReplyDeleteI loved this post! I'm planning on doing a similar one in about a week on my blog. I had a couple questions for you whenever you have time to answer them. ( :
The first one is when you use PicMonkey for writing on your photos how do you get the white behind the words? (or whatever you call it) :D That is so neat.=)
Also do you mind telling me what program you used to make your header and blog button? I love them so much! :)
And the last thing is I would love to know the websites you use to get your photos for your posts?
Anyway, if it's a couple days before you respond to my questions that is totally fine!! Don't worry. :)
Hey, Hannah!
DeleteYay! You'll have to send me the link if I forget to check up on it. :P
1. This took me soooooo long to figure out! o.o Okay so in Picmonkey go to the butterfly picture >> geometric shapes >> pick what shape >> change the color to white >> right click >> "send to back" >> and then place behind the text. Hopefully that made sense. xD
2. I used Picmonkey! :D Picmonkey is great for everything. xD I used the "collage" feature for the header and then took it into the editing program.
3. I usually use Unsplash.com. They're free to use and they have a BUNCH of them.
Hope this helps! :D
Thanks Katie! This was super helpful!!
DeleteThis is cool getting some insight on how you do this! I have a similar process. The post writing time varies depending on what type of post I'm doing. Writerly Bundle posts take less time than Writing Lessons posts. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletestoritorigrace.blogspot.com