What sort of writer are you? That is, how do you go about preparing and composing your blog posts, and the other articles, you write?
Do you plan, or schedule, your posts? Or do you prefer to work on the fly, inspired by something you just saw on say your RSS aggregator, or in a discussion forum?
Do you, like me, have lists of ideas, together with a rough synopsis or outline for potential articles, on a notepad or whiteboard?
And once you have set yourself a topic what happens next? Does the article virtually write itself? Is the process of converting your thoughts to text a mere formality because you can see a clear and complete draft of the proposed post in your mind?
Or are there one or two key lines missing from this abstract in your mind’s eye?
I am writing this now, not because of any writer’s block, but rather what seems to be an especially acute case of opening line block.
Call me odd, but if for some reason I cannot write the first, or opening sentence of a post, I can’t seem to do anything else. It’s like the first line is a trigger, or catalyst, that kick starts the writing process for me.
Being without this essential ingredient can be frustrating to say the least.
Especially as I’ve had the idea for what was meant to be today’s post for sometime. I’d jotted down a few ideas, found a few posts on other blogs I wanted to reference in the piece, but instead of it being virtually complete, there’s a few very pathetic attempts at opening lines building up at the top of my draft.
And instead of developing the body of the article I am instead pacing the room, re-checking my stats, looking at Facebook, all the while hoping some inspiration for that pivotal first line will somehow manifest itself.
I am glad no one else is around while I am blogging, or rather faced with this particular conundrum. I doubt anyone would understand why I am looking for an opening line under the sofa or in the fridge. And once or twice I have found one in the dryer or closet, but alas not today…
Thankfully it’s not a problem that crops up too often, but it’s no fun when it does.
Has something like this happened to you? What impedes your writing? Do you have trouble starting, or finishing, a post? How do you overcome obstacles like these?
Let me know, I’m interested to hear. In the meantime I’m going to see if I can find anything inspiring out on the balcony…
For me keeping a list of ideas and planning ahead is very important.
Great post, John. I have actually been working a similar one out in my head. Now I’m going to look like a copy cat. Oh, well. Too bad ;)
When I get stuck I just start writing. I find it normal to write my opening line half way through the article. A lot of times I’ll change the headline several times as well.
I never know what a post will look like until I hit the submit button. I have to get it all typed in and then read it through thoroughly a few times to check the flow, then I go back and add or remove spacing and add bolding and such to get the appearance the way I want it.
In reality it takes me way too long to publish a post but getting it right is pretty important to me.
Hi John. I’m enjoying your blog!
A lot of my blogging to date (and I’m fairly new to it) is generally spontaneous and occasionally I’ve written an odd post or two that seemed to come out of nowhere.
However, I’m rethinking my strategy to go to more of a “planned” blogging approach where I think of subject areas or topics in advance to write about, similar to your own approach.
I’ve never of “opening line block” before, although I’ve certainly experienced problems with starting any kind of writing project. Maybe you just need to put the words down, regardless of how good or bad they are, then come back and revise the post before publishing.
From my own experience, I think I can greatly improve on “finishing” blog posts instead of just letting the metaphorical train screech to a halt when it reaches the station, so to speak.
Thanks for stimulating my thoughts today!
The Uncanny Broadcasting Brain
@ Steven - indeed. While I have a plan of sorts, I do occasionally get spur of the moment ideas, so it’s a pretty flexible sort of plan :)
@ Ady - d’oh! Hope I didn’t preempt you too much :)
Sometimes I can push on and look for an opener at a later stage. When I do newspaper or magazine work, editors are far more critical of openers, or hooks, so I spend a lot more time working on then in that case.
While blog writing tends to be a little more to the point, and there isn’t quite the same emphasis on the opener, I think I am still subconsciously giving it thought!
@ Mark - thanks for your visit and thoughts on the writing process :)
I think every blogger should have a plan of some sort, but it should be able to make allowance for spontaneous posts, should you wish to write about an issue that arises unexpectedly, or at very short notice.
And yes good point about concluding posts… sometimes that can be difficult… all over again!
I am an impulsive blogger and happy with that. I find that I just have to dive in and things follow. The hard thing is the Title and the beginning and end. I think if I waited to get those right before the rest, the post would not be written.
Hey Colin, I find the titles tricky also, especially as I try and limit myself to only one word most of the time!