Q. Hi there!
I am trying to get a blog up and I need advice. I love the way you blog – short, informative, relaxed. I would like to do more of that, but each time I think of writing a post, I think, well…I can’t do that now. I need a lot of time, my computer, a cup of coffee, etc., and I never get to it. It seems like you do a lot of your posts while you are on the go – is that true? I guess I’m asking, how do I get more relaxed with my writing time and not think that I need to sit down and focus for hours to put a post together? How do you plan on what your posting? Do you write a bunch ahead of time and then just hit post during the week?
Thanks for your time!!!
Megan
[Update: Megan has since launched her blog, Real Clean Life, which offers great advice on clean eating, detoxing, and…cupcakes.]
A. Here’s the thing about blogging: the more you do it, the easier it gets. Oh my god, did I agonize over my first few posts. I think I had a panic attack the day my site went live. But that’s how I used to feel about all my writing: like it was a chore, a struggle. I mean, I loved doing it…but it definitely felt like work. Blogging daily changed all that: when you say to yourself that you will put something – at least one thing – up each and every single day, no excuses…you have no choice but to be true to your individual voice. Blogging is what helped me to find who I am as a writer, because the sheer volume of what I was producing left no other option than to be 100% myself.
Regarding finding time to blog, what I do is set aside a few hours each morning to write (I try to schedule meetings and appointments for the afternoons). If I know I’m going to have a particularly busy day/week coming up, I write a few things in advance and queue them, but usually I like to write about things inspired by my daily goings-on, so even if I was out of the house all day I’ll come home at night and get some stuff written up to post the next morning. So it’s a mix, but mostly it’s on the fly, because it’s easy to post quickly and often once you get used to it.
So here’s your challenge: tomorrow, while you walk around and do whatever it is that you do on a daily basis, take mental (or actual) notes on things that could be potential post topics (keeping in mind the theme of your blog, if you have one). They don’t have to be a big deal – anything from a necklace you spot and love to a restaurant that you pass that you remember having a great meal at – and then blog them. That very day. During lunch, put up a post. If you take an afternoon break, put up a post. Put up two when you get home that night. Don’t worry about being perfect – just be informational and talk to your readers as if you were talking to your friends, and then go back and fix the grammar and links afterwards.
And then do it all again the next day :).
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