Blog Writing Process

When I used to teach college comp, a large component of my class was about the writing process. Along with the papers my students wrote, we put a lot of time and effort into exploring the writing process itself, which, in theory, afforded students an enhanced awareness of their writing strengths and weakness (a.k.a. "areas of growth"). Students could then, in theory, use this "vital" self-knowledge to exert greater control over their writing and, ultimately, implement changes to improve upon both their strengths and "areas of growth". 

I like writing process stuff. Although the data on whether exploring process actually improves writing is dubious. I would guess there is some benefit. But ultimately, to get better at writing, you have to continually practice the craft. So in exploring their writing processes in-depth, students also engaged in more writing practice. It was almost like sneaking in a second essay along with each of the "real" essays they were assigned. 

Yesterday's post got me thinking of my own process, specifically in relation to meeting my goal of writing and posting a new blog everyday.

So far, my process involves writing and/or thinking about ideas for the next day's post while working on my then current post.

Ideas and writing begets more ideas and more writing. 

I record my ideas, and sometimes passages, right away. If I wait even a little while, I'll forget. 

After I post the blog I was working on, I get a head start on the next day's blog while the ideas are fresh and feel more exciting. The next day, I complete my post, and then I revise and edit later that same day. 

Sometime in the evening after I feed the boys dinner (and before their bath time), I publish the blog and post it to my Google+, Facebook, and Twitter sites. 

I usually find more typos and other errors to correct after I post. Embarrassing, yes. But above all, I want these blogs to be honest. And so, I must confess that I fucking suck at typing. I sort of invented a half-baked method that allows me to type faster. But the by-product is typos and other errors. 

All throughout my blog writing process, I am thinking of and jotting down new ideas for upcoming blogs. I already have a few ideas lined up. Tomorrow's post is almost done. I anticipate I will accumulate a back log of ideas and partially completed posts, making my blog process faster and more refined as I continue writing them. 

Fuckin' A. 

(Tune in tomorrow to find out more about the random swear I ended today's blog post with.)