The Blog Planning Process

Either before I started blogging or just a little while after, one of my FB friends had posted a big of advice about the process that really stuck with me. One of her scrapbooking gurus told her that with scrapbooks or blogs, the best thing you can do is always start with the NOW. Don't try to go back to the beginning. Don't try to play catch-up with your life. Just dive in to whatever is happening in the moment and move from there.

I think it was really important for me to read that it's helped me to focus with the blog, and with a lot of stuff, really. I can really be a procrastinator, and one of the ways I do this is 'structured procrastination.' You know, where I plan and plan things, get bogged down in the plans, get overwhelmed, and just quit. It's a quagmire that sinks a lot of people. Plan, plan more, freak out, stop. In the end, you get no where.

It's very easy to do this when you're blog (or you scrapbook) is fairly autobiographical. You're telling YOUR story. The problem is, our stories are vast. Our stories have thousands of hours and events. If you start trying to find time for them all and try to plan that out, it will never work. The best thing to do, is just to focus on what is happening or on your mind today and go with that.

And you'll notice, I tend to actually fill in the blanks as I go along. While I do write mostly about the now, I've spent time in my past, written about my relatives, talked about how I have been shaped as a person, and even discussed childhood toys (like the evil doll).

That isn't to say that I haven't had time when I got stuck and overwhelmed in the blog. I used to have about 10-15 unpublished posts that were all complex entries that needed lots of time and attention. About six months ago, I deleted all of them. I didn't WANT them hanging over my head anymore. If I ever decide to go back to them, I will. But it will be when I feel inspired to do so.

Okay, so on a typical day, this is my process.

• I like to have the blog idea ready in my head by noon. This doesn't always happen, but for the most part, it does. During my morning hours, I'll look through news articles and whatnot for ideas about what I might want to discuss. Other times, like today, I wake up knowing what I want to write about.
  
  The exception to this would be anything where I allow someone else to choose my topic. I would usually write the blog almost instantly after I was given the topic, so it would be as organic as possible.
  
  Now, if I don't think of a topic by noon, I tend to be distracted by something or ill. This is usually when you get posts where I rant or just complain about being sick. But hey, at least you get something.
  
• Once I have my topic in mind, I usually cluster ideas off of it. Clustering is a technique where you write down a central idea and begin to branch words/ideas off of it as they hit you. I tend to do this because I know that with any given topic, I might have a lot of things to say about it. Best to get all ideas out in the open first and see where I most want to place emphasis.
  
  I used to write out my clusters and sometimes still do. I can usually do them in my head now, or just begin to type words. If you are new to the concept, here is a link that explains it and gives a nice visual.
  
• Once I have my clustering finished, I decide on what part of it is most important for the purpose of the blog. Sometimes I pick on what I'm more emotionally drawn towards. Other times, I pick due to one of the reoccurring themes and theories of the blog.
  
  For instance, I talk a lot about politics. Sometimes, I will do this based on how I personally feel about a topic. Marriage equality, for instance. Other times, I will ignore issues and focus on communication successes or failures, as communication is a central theme of the blog.
  
  Narrowing your topic is VITAL to the writing process. To ANY writing process. Blog entry, novel, even a scrapbook. You need one centralized idea to make it function in a way that is enjoyable and understandable.

• Now I outline.  Okay, I taught many a class of English back in the day and I remember students rolling their eyes at me over the idea of outlining. Stop it. Outlining works. It gives you structure and focus and allows you to see possible holes in your post.
  
  For instance, once I got to this point in my outline, I realized that this point, in a way, seems to contradict what I said above about people getting bogged down in structure.  Sigh. Just because you can get bogged down in it doesn't negate the need for it. Structure is still important. Just don't let it destroy your creative process. You'll notice I didn't get to structure until I'd decided on a topic and narrowed that topic down to something manageable.
  
• Next, I get support material and visuals. I don't always have to do this step, but when I do, it usually happens in the hours before the blog is written. I'll look up links, draw pictures, find songs off Youtube, or whatever else I think needs to happen to back up or otherwise enhance the writing.
  
  However, I never let this part get too overwhelming. I don't link to too many things. I don't add tons of pictures. I'm not criticizing blogs that do this because their process is different than mine, but for me, I know that if I get too involved in prep, I'll loose my momentum for writing the blog.
  
• Once I finally write, I can JUST write. I already know what I'm doing. I already know how I want to approach the subject, and I know the order in which I want to discuss it. With all of this already developed, I can just write it all out. I don't have to stop and look up crap or try to remember where I was going with this or erase half of the post because I rambled about something that had nothing to do with my topic. I can just write.
  
  And, really, JUST WRITING is the point here. My blog is about my writing, my ability to translate my strange thoughts into words. Writing is the reason I do this and it should always be the place where I put most of my energy. 

Now, I'm sure you're wondering if I always do all of this before I write a post. Of course not! This is usually more for posts that are of a slightly more serious nature. Not just the ones where I ramble about my Sims and the fact that my knee hurts.

However, if you decide to start blogging, keep in mind that the rambling posts are valid as well. They are still your writing. They are still development of your writing voice. They will still aid in making you a stronger author and they are still a record of who you are at this point in your life.

So if you start blogging, just dive into the NOW. Pick topics, brainstorm about them, decide how you want to approach them, outline, gather materials, and, most importantly WRITE.  Soon you'll have over 500 posts and 7 followers too!