How Do You Write Your Blog Posts?
Posted 29th May 2013
Category: Chit-Chat Genres: N/A
17 Comments
The emphasis today is on the ‘how’. In my case I am historically (if such a word can be used in reference to someone who is 27), a pen and paper person. Although my handwriting has deteriorated over the years, thanks to my desire to write out study notes and the ensuing speed that soon accompanies the tediousness, there is just something about literal writing that I love. It might be the stationary, it might be the sound of the pen, the nib of the type I choose, or it might be the romance of it. Whatever the reason, because I’m not really sure which it is, writing is ‘it’ for me.
However writing can also be a pain. It takes longer to write than to type and therefore occasionally you find you’ve forgotten how you were going to end the sentence as you inscribed the first half of it. Typing is instant and quicker all round. In general I prefer typing my posts, with a few forays into writing when the sun is out and I want to pretend I’m back in the 90s.
But recently it’s occurred to me that my love of typing is perhaps more intertwined with the computer I’m using. Up until a few months ago I was pounding away on my laptop, loving the professional sound of the keys, and the idea of the portability even if I didn’t move location much. Sitting here, in front of my keyboard, which for comfort is necessarily at the edge of the desk whilst the computer screen is at the back, I aptly feel disconnected. As though pen and paper would be preferable. That extra distance between me and the screen often results in a lack of interest in writing blog posts, and because I know I actually am interested overall, I either procrastinate or go and find my notepad.
This post has changed topic since the opening question, but if I’m to speak personally then it had to be that way. I think having a tidier desk would help; mine is currently a mess of books and paper, but I don’t think neatness will ‘cure’ it. There is definitely something to be said about getting too used to electronic devices that were never going to stand the test of time, though I do know that preferring notebooks isn’t a bad thing. I’ll have to see how it goes.
So, to clarify, how do you write your blog posts and do you have a preference that affects your mindset and the resulting content?
May 29, 2013, 6:09 am
I have to say I love writing in paper but, as you said, I don’t have time to sit down and spend a lot of time writing (and then typing what I have written to the blog). So in the end, I only write in the computer and that’s that.
But my writing experience is absolutely different in my two blogs. In the Spanish blog I just write in the wordpress, I check once what I’ve written, and everything is OK; but for the English one I need to write in “word” program because it checks the spelling, I read it a million of times and check mistakes, I leave it for a few days and then I check it again before sending to my teacher. That’s a long process :)
May 29, 2013, 9:42 am
I also love to write but don’t get a huge chance to do it. I often write letters to my mother and few other family members. I don’t like making notes when I’m reading it takes away from the escapism for me. So instead I wait till I’ve finished the book then write up my thoughts on my laptop. Now you mention it I do prefer to write on my laptop. I pretty much avoid the family desktop computer. I feel more in touch when on my laptop as it is more personal and closer physically to me.
May 29, 2013, 10:35 am
I have to say I have been somewhat shocked to observe myself now preferring to type since it goes so much faster!
May 29, 2013, 2:05 pm
I have never liked writing by hand; it’s all slow and crampy for me. I love typing. When I started blogging I was writing directly on the blogspot composing window, but when I switched to WordPress I began composing posts in Word and then copying them over, because (especially for poems) I didn’t find the WordPress composer easy to use. So I still do that, and I have a copy of what I’ve written, which is good in terms of backup.
May 29, 2013, 9:45 pm
I sometimes make a few notes with pen and paper while I’m reading, but I always type my blog posts rather than write them. I usually type them in Word first because I worry that if I type directly into WordPress I might hit publish too early by mistake!
May 30, 2013, 12:48 am
I like the idea of writing by hand, but I do much better when I type on a computer. I’ve been known to type something up and then hand write it if it’s supposed to be hand written.
I definitely type faster than I hand write, but I also like the idea of being able to edit and move paragraphs around so my thoughts are a bit more concise and make sense.
May 30, 2013, 1:02 am
I write my posts on the computer, on my laptop. I had an iPad but I don’t use that for blog stuff, and while I’m a fan of pen & paper, it’s easy for me to get all my thoughts out on the computer. But I usually jot down notes physically on paper while/before writing.
May 30, 2013, 12:52 pm
My rule is generally to sit down as soon as possible at the laptop after finishing the book / film / play / whatever, and just write, and see what comes out. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s much more difficult! But this helps to capture my immediate feeling on something and then I go back and revise it and try to make it flow. I certainly find it easier to type than to write by hand, partly because it saves having to copy it over, and partly because writing by hand can’t keep up with my thoughts so easily.
Simon at Stuck In A Book said, a while ago, that he always tried to include at least a short quote to help people see what the book’s style was like and whether they’d like it. I thought that was a great idea and now try to do the same. Rather than taking notes while reading, I tend to ‘bookmark’ passages on my Kindle or sometimes fold down the corners of the relevant pages (even though it gives me an almost physical pain whenever I do that) so that I can easily go back to passages that represent the book particularly well…
May 30, 2013, 1:55 pm
I’m actually the opposite of you Charlie. I do all of my writing at a desktop computer because I find the act of writing on the laptop to be a little more cumbersome. All of my pictures are on my desktop so if I want to add pictures when typing on the laptop I would have to switch anyway. I also find it easier to type on the keyboard on the table rather than the keyboard in my lap (even though sometimes I’ll use the laptop on the kitchen table). It’s also easier for me to get links on the regular computer, especially if I don’t have a mouse hooked up to the laptop.
I WANT to be able to write/blog from the laptop because it would give me so much more flexibility (I also don’t like being in a different room from my husband in the evenings when we spend so little time together) but at the end of the day it just feels like more work.
In terms of pen and paper? Rarely. My handwriting has severely deteriorated as well! (as has my spelling without spellcheck!). My post writing is also very back and forth–worth on a paragraph here, a paragraph here, jump back and forth…easier on the screen than paper. Wow–I had more to say about this than I thought! ;)
May 30, 2013, 2:13 pm
Computer, computer, computer ;) To be specific, on a desktop computer in my very unorganized office!
May 30, 2013, 3:41 pm
I always find that I think more clearly when I’m writing by hand. Slowing the process down, and making it harder to delete and move things around, forces me to think more before committing anything to paper. When I’m typing, it’s more ‘type first, ask questions later’. Unfortunately, for the sake of speed, I increasingly end up typing more than hand-writing…
May 30, 2013, 6:34 pm
Great topic — one I’m intensely curious about as well — so please forgive me for going off the deep end in my reply!
Many years ago, I read a book about the ‘proprioceptive’ journaling technique which has the specific rules for doing emotional therapeutic/transformative journaling. One of their rules is that you have to hand write and not type, which I found limiting — I love typing b/c I can keep up with myself as I think. However, when I started using that journaling technique, I did find I wrote more creatively — as in, my sentences were more interesting. When I type, I’m less artsy!
I hand write my blog reviews if I’m not by a computer — so usually when on flights or traveling — and the feel of those reviews is different from ones I compose directly on the computer. Now some of that might also be timing/head space/relaxation, etc — but I’ve always found that interesting!
Very recently — last year or so — I’ve found I’ve actually started writing reviews on my phone — when I’m reading a book in bed and a strong response comes to mind, i email a sentence or two to myself. If I didn’t, I’m not sure I’d get out of bed to type it up or write it out, and I’m not sure I’m doing myself a favor — very often those thoughts are kneejerk, in the middle of an emotion, rather than at the end of the book when the whole arc has settled in my mind.
re your statement: here is definitely something to be said about getting too used to electronic devices that were never going to stand the test of time — I read the blog of an archivist a few years ago which stuck with me — she observed that we’re still reading physical documents nearly thousands of years after their creation — while things on floppy discs can’t be accessed anymore! So I’m still quite passionate for the paper to pen process.
May 31, 2013, 5:19 pm
I’m crouched over my laptop typing away, I don’t have a desk or a proper computer – and my handwriting is too ‘creative’ to write anything out that way.
I find I am grammatically correct when on the laptop, where as I am grammar inept when writing.
June 1, 2013, 6:21 pm
I usually write some notes out longhand, when I’m preparing to do a blog post, and then write the final post on my computer. It helps a lot if I’m somewhere that the rest of my stuff isn’t — like in a coffee shop or something. Fewer distractions (big surprise!) make me more productive.
June 1, 2013, 7:16 pm
When it comes to books, I’m a paper girl all the way, but when it comes to blogging, I can’t imagine doing the double work of writing long hand and then typing it up. I rarely take notes, so I try to get my thoughts typed out shortly after finishing a book. (Though I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit lately!) It may not be the case for everyone, but I definitely type faster than I can write.
June 2, 2013, 4:55 pm
I go through phases in how and where I do blog posts. I write drafts of most of them in Google Docs because I think the interface is less distracting than working directly in WP. Then I copy them over to add links and formatting.
My most productive writing lately has been on my tablet with a keyboard hooked up. I can write in different places and because the tablet is so small and without a mouse, I’m not tempted to go hop on Twitter or Facebook as a way to procrastinate. It’s just me and a blank screen, which seems to be very effective for productivity.
I still do most other blogging tasks — formatting, commenting, editing — on my desktop computer in my office though.
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May 29, 2013, 1:41 am
I have a post going up in a few hours on something similar – great minds think alike eh :-) But anyway, I’m strictly a computer person. I would hate to have to write it out on pen and paper and then type everything again. I also write it directly in my blog software, but when I have the idea for a post I add it to my Evernote calendar first. That way, I don’t have a ton of “draft” posts, which can seem overly cluttered.