What Goes Into Writing a Post

Every blogger has their own method for writing their posts. There’s a zillion different blogs out there, so I assume there’s a zillion different ways to compose a blog post. I receive questions from time-to-time about how I write mine, so here’s what goes into writing a post for me.

I cannot write a blog post without photos. I’ve tried in the past, but it just blows up in my face. I know a few bloggers who write their posts before a meal or event and then plug-in the photos afterward, but my brain does not work like this. Photos drive my posts and without them I can’t blog. Even writing this post, I struggled until I found photos to guide my writing.

Because photos are such an integral part of my blog posts, they are the most time-consuming component for me. Of course, I have to upload, edit, and insert them into my post, but there’s also a lot of “behind the scenes” action that happens even before I sit down at my computer.

Before a blog post is even a thought in my mind, I snap photos. Lots of them. I take photos all day long. I always have my camera on me. Remember: the best camera you have is the one you have on you.

Basically, I take photos like any other “normal” (super enthusiastic) person would.

I snap pictures of landscapes, people, places, objects, pets, and, of course, food.

While snapping pictures, I always keep in mind how I can better improve them since many of them will end up on my blog.

Soon, the photos and the experiences start to come together and my brain starts formulating a story to tell through my photos.

I don’t think about what I am going to write; I think about how the photos will tell a story in my blog post.

Then, I start to look for happenings, activities, and things that will further tell my story.

Because, as you know, a picture says a thousand words.

Before I type a single word into a new blog post, I arrange my photos in a way that best tells my story. I typically obsess and change the photos around a million times, but, eventually, I get it right.

At this point, I create a title for my blog post. Usually, I have an idea what the “theme” of the post will be, so I try to find a title that reflects it.

Then, it’s finally time to write. Writing is not easy for me, but if I do a good job taking photos and putting them into my blog post in a way that makes sense, the words usually come right out.

Once I write my post, I re-read the entire thing from top to bottom and edit as needed. The final step in my blogging process is tagging and categorizing my posts.

As you can see, I have quite the process for writing a blog post, but, for me, I can’t blog any other way. Most posts take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to complete. For more involved posts with a lot of photos and/or text, it can take me up to two hours.

I have a busy morning, so I kept breakfast simple by making whole wheat toast with walnut butter and sliced banana. Quick, easy, delicious. I swear, the walnut butter tasted maple-y this morning!?

On the side, I enjoyed some cinnamon iced coffee with a splash of soy milk.

When it comes to writing/blogging, do you have a method to your madness?