One of the ever present problem with having a blog has to be coming up with posts. It is not actually writing them that can prove the main problem, it is infact coming up with something to say. For me, generally the ideas of what I want to post tend to come in batches. I am not one of those people that can just sit everytime at a blank screen and come up with posts. I don’t deny that sometimes the delivering is easier than others. I often find that a trigger point will be used in a later post that I have been thinking about. I think this is the usual way you collect posting content. The way each blogger collects information or comes up with posts is wide and varied. I thought I would take a bit of a time to go into how I work.
The greatest aid to me is the Stickies for mac or windows. I have an already prior post confessed post-it mania. This is present in the online and offline world. My desktop and workspace both used to look like some modern art project done in post-it notes. I was never even that strict as to them actually having to be post-it notes, my note fetish extended to random bits of note paper and till receipts. I even remember on one rather eco-conscious phase using recycled junk mail for dribbling the contents of my mind out.
Recently, I decided to take the day time TV approach to life and de-clutter. One main area I did this in was to try and reduce the amount of dead trees I had accumulated. This was also brought on by my husband developing a recycling hitler approach and rather odd bin delving obsession. Alternative digital methods of notes needed to be taken and these took the form of Stickies.
My posting process with regards to how I come up with ideas, thoughts and prompting to write begins often with these now digital post-it notes. I have a nice collection of growing to do posts that sit on my desktop and as I use them get removed and replaced. It is a system that works well for me. I find I can then put any links that might be prompting me to post, anything that leads to the final product. If I then need them they are there waiting to be entered. It also has the nice addition of everytime I see my desktop making sure I actually do post a blog and don’t get absorbed in some random css bashing.
I still have 2 long standing tree murdering pastimes in the form of a small notebook and a large A4 one. The smaller one I use for those pre-sleep 5 minutes before drop off flashes of inspiration. I use the larger A4 one as a concept and hard copy for all my sites. I have talked previously about the way in which I work and use this A4 book for all types of work and noting. I find this combination along with the building of my posts in reserve, helps me to come up with things to post. I use it as a nice backing up for the dryer blogging times. If I ever get enough money to have a laptop that is small and light enough I plan to promote this even to a digital stage.
Like with design, at times blogging is harder than others. If I am a blogging desert I just have to look at my desktop and I am lead into a post about something I might have noted a while ago. I also use it as a bank for those blogging feasts where I find inspiration after material after content at every turn. So, there you go this is how your posts on DOW are conceived, born and dragged kicking and screaming into pixelation.
