4 steps to blogging.
Although I blog a lot, I don’t consider myself a blog expert. Folks like Michael Hyatt and Seth Godin are blog experts. But sometimes people do ask about how I write this site so I thought it might be good to share a little about the steps I go through.
Step 1: The Idea
The first thing I do is come up with the initial idea. I usually write it down in my iPhone or on a piece of paper. It will be a single sentence that I think might work as a post. Or it will be an idea that a reader thinks will be funny. Regardless, I’ll make sure I capture it and then sit on it.
Step 2: Sprint Draft
I write first thing in the morning after my quiet time. I don’t worry about quality in this draft. I do the Anne Lamont thing and give myself the freedom to have a “crappy first draft.” For about 30 minutes I sprint as fast as I can and finish a concept. Sometimes, the night before, I will read the idea right before bed, with the hope that it will marinate all night before I sit down at the computer.
Step 3: Second Draft
A few days after writing the sprint draft I edit the entire piece as I put it into wordpress and schedule the go live date. I clean it up, I proof it and find the best day for it. I write ahead of time because Stuff Christians Like typically isn’t very timely. And that allows me to do two things. The first is that I can establish a rhythm. I can look at a week and think, “Wow, two posts in the same week about marriage? Let me move one of them.” The second thing it does is give me enough time to fall out of love with an idea. I need space between when I write and when I post to be as objective as I can with an idea.
Step 4: Go Live
On the morning a post is set to go live, I take one last look. Although this is more a QA edit than anything else, I often cut or add big chunks. For instance, I cut 300 words from something the other day. It was a really long, unfunny intro that was so egotistical it made my teeth hurt. I might also try to amp the funny at this point as well, adding a point or two that I might have missed the first times I worked on the post.
That’s the general process I follow and so far it’s been helpful. How about you? How do you write your blog?
