How do I blog? A peek behind the scenes
A reader left this comment recently:
I'd like to read more about the routine you have to write the blog. How do you do it? I mean, do you keep notes? How do you have your writing space set up? Etc. It amazes me how consistent you are.
You know, my "routine" for blog writing has never felt exactly like a routine.
I have been doing this for 18 years now, and in that time, my life has looked a lot of different ways! I had four little kids when I started, and I blogged all through their childhoods and teen years, and then through my divorce and nursing school, so my blogging routine has been pretty varied.
My variable routines
I suppose one consistent thing is that my blogging has usually had to fit in the cracks of my life, which is one reason that I have never managed much of a routine.
For... reasons, when I was married, I generally did not ever blog in the evenings or on weekends, so I had to squeeze it in wherever else I could.
For instance, when I first started blogging, I know I wrote posts during Zoe's nap time. Ha. Sometimes, when I was going to bed and getting up crazy early to match a certain someone's work schedule, I would write posts in the early morning hours, after he left for work.
When the schedule was flipped to a later time, I wrote posts at night, after the kids went to bed, while I waited up for him to come home.
In the years when my younger two went to a tutorial one day a week, I did my best to batch-write some posts.
During nursing school, I worked blogging in wherever it fit, in the random empty slots between nursing classes, labs, clinicals, and exams.
In the last year of working full-time, I've had to batch-write posts on my days off and then schedule them to publish.
For instance, if I work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I try to have those three posts done and scheduled, along with Thursday's post (because after a string of shifts, I don't usually feel like getting up early and writing!)
In that sense, it is actually much easier to work weekend shifts because those require less post-prepping.
At any rate, blogging's flexible nature is actually what has allowed me to keep it going through all of these life stages.
How I get ideas
This too has basically zero routine.
(As I always say, I kinda blog by the seat of my pants!)
Since I have been doing this for so long, my brain is well-accustomed to thinking in blogging terms. So, some ideas are usually percolating in my brain.
I don't keep a notebook, but I do sometimes start a quick draft in WordPress when I have an idea, even if it's just a title. Sometimes, I email a little idea to myself if I'm away from home when an idea occurs to me.
I get ideas from my own brain, from news happenings, from reader questions, from things I see on social media, and of course, sometimes I'm just writing about things I'm up to (like cooking or deal-finding).
Three post themes, two free-form posts
One thing that helps is having some themes: on Tuesdays, I do Five Frugal Things. Thursdays are always a thankful list, and Fridays are always What I Spent, What We Ate.
Those posts still require time and effort, of course, but I'm not starting from scratch with ideas.
Then on Mondays and Wednesdays, I have no pattern; those posts are probably the most time-consuming to do because I am starting with a blank slate.
I have a low-prep style
Some people have a fairly elaborate writing process, but I do not.
I have a vague idea of what I want to write about before I sit down, but I never prepare some kind of outline or main points. I just sit down and go.
I know this is not how they teach writing in English classes, but it is what works for me. And given that it has worked for me for almost two decades, I have decided to dismiss any "I really should be doing it the right way" thoughts. 😉
I take pictures as I live life
I happen to be a person who likes taking pictures, so this part of blogging prep is easy for me! I tend to photograph my life without thinking too hard about it, so I generally have enough pictures to illustrate what I'm writing about.
Plus, after this many years of blogging, I have a pretty extensive media library on my site, and I can usually find what I need there.
How I stay consistent
Mainly, I do this by always working ahead a little bit. I mean, obviously I sometimes still miss days here and there, but having a little bit of margin usually keeps me on track.
(Many years ago, when I missed a day of blogging, a reader said, "Why don't you prep posts ahead of time?" and I laughed because she probably hadn't realized that working ahead was how I'd already produced so many blog posts!)
In an ideal world, I would have many completed posts in my Drafts folder, ready to go. But I have never attained that ideal, and I have made some kind of peace with the reality that I probably never will!*
Also helpful: I keep things pretty simple, especially right now. There are endless platforms to create content on, but I stick to my blog. I barely post on Instagram, I haven't made a YouTube video in eons, I don't have a podcast, and so on. I write blog posts and I do it consistently; that's about it!
Another thing that helps: I like writing. Putting words and pictures together is still fun for me, even after all these years. It's easier to stay consistent when you like the work.
*I do have a fat backlog of Patreon posts, because I've had a lot to process, and writing helps me with the processing. Ideas for those frequently come to me when I'm walking in the woods, and I just use my phone to jot down the topic.
My writing set-up
It is super basic! I have a very old desktop Windows computer in my home office (a bedroom that I use as an office), and that's where I write almost all of my blog posts.
I had a desk in the basement office at my old house too, but when work-from-home became a thing during Covid, I ended up on the living room couch with my laptop (because his desk was in the home office too).
When Lisey moved out, the work-from-home situation was still going on, so I moved my desk out of the basement office and into her empty room, and I was thrilled to have my own little space again (although of course I missed Lisey!)
In both 2018 and 2022, I had several-month stints of maintaining my blog via laptop on the couch at my parents' house during my marital separations.
And of course, I already showed you my current-day office space.
Luckily, blogging doesn't require a fancy setup, so I have been able to make it work no matter what physical space I am in.
I do love, love, love having a dedicated office space, though! The set-up in my current house is by far my favorite. 🙂
I appreciate that you've stuck with blogging, even during busy and stressful periods!
Some English teachers encourage freeform writing! When I took a creative writing course the teacher asked who likes structured writing plans and who writes more 'by the seat of your pants' and it was around 50/50. I am in the latter category! We would often be given a theme to write about, but it was up to us how we wrote.
When I was in primary school sometimes we had lessons where the teacher would write a starting sentence on the board and we could write whatever we wanted to make it into a story. Those were my favourite lessons 🙂 I think I've always been a writer!
When I was in school, teachers would require outlines for larger writing projects. I would always write the paper first and then go back and produce the outline.
OMG
Hated the outlines; but even worse was when the nuns made us start with index cards. Excruciatingly boring to do and resulting in boring papers.
I remember from when paper writing was a routine thing for me (long, long ago at this point!) I'd create the outline as requested, then within about... 5 minutes of starting to write I would come up with a completely different outline that I liked way better. I wish I would have thought of this trick way back when! would have made life easier that's for sure.
LOL! That's what I always did in college English courses. I was a "J" (journalism) major and later worked for newspapers, and there is absolutely no time to do an outline and then write a story. Our journalism professors never, ever required or recommended an outline. You have to write on the fly, and you learn to quickly organize your thoughts. I never quite understood why you'd need to do an outline on paper. It seems to be an unnecessary extra step.
Hey Kristen, long time reader here from when your posts were written with all of your children home, and Food Waste Fridays was a thing. I loved those posts! I know that eventually morphed into WIS/WWA. There was also a lot of discussions about menu planning back then. My life has changed as well - I faithfully planned meals for years - I referred to the Steno notebook I used for it as my Bible, as it got me and my family through many busy, crazy times! My kids are older now, there's fewer people around, and my need for such strict planning has decreased.
Just some observations - there are not any photos of Chiquita or Shelley in this post. No cat interference of the keyboard was mentioned either. Also, your current home has a lot more color in it; your previous house had a lot of grey, black, and white in it. I'm guessing that's an external reflection of your current internal happiness.
Thank you for bringing us along and sharing your life with us. You are inspiring in more ways than you realize!
I noticed the sheer curtains casually puddled on top of the baseboard heat.
Yes, that too! Along with brighter, softer colors. I image it's like breathing out after having to hold your breath for so long...
I suspect that the fact that your blog has always had to fit into your life, rather than your life revolving around your blog, is what makes it so engaging. People often note that reading your writing feels like a friend talking. It's natural, and engaging, and I bet it wouldn't be if your life was all about your blog, like so many these days who make a living from them. Ditto writing without an outline or whatever.
I've been writing as long as you have, and mostly for the same reason: I love to write. I don't use outlines or anything--never even occurred to me--although I do post on the same days every week (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday), and two of those days have a permanent theme. It does help, both with the content and with the consistency. I work best when I have an obligation. Knowing I have to post on a certain day means I will. I used to post every single day, but three days a week is good for now.
As I've said before, I'm so glad you kept writing through everything. Almost all blogs now are basically businesses, and while you do make money from yours (as well you should), yours is way more fun than those other ones. 🙂
I know what you mean about a lot of blogs now being businesses; I understand the need and desire to monetize one's blog, but I've run into a few - mostly when looking for recipes - that are so full of ads and pop-up "boxes" that I can't even get to the blog post or recipe! Kristen has achieved just the right balance, in my opinion.
I agree, Kristin....Frugal Girl makes me feel happy! 😃 I stopped reading one because it made me feel guilty for not being in the street picking up bottles and became depressed when I needed to buy things I really do need. (despite being bedfast with arthritis). Keep up the great work!
Linda, There is a book called "Frugality for Depressives," written by Abigail Perrry, the blogger who does "I Pick up Pennies." [She is also Donna Freedman's daughter; Donna used to do "Surviving and Thriving" for MSN and then on her own but seems to have retired now.] Anyway, Abigail has a chronic illness and works out of her home and has had many struggles. IMHO, her book is a good thing esp. if you are not feeling up to leaping tall buildings with a single bound...or picking up bottles if your arthritis is flaring up. Abigail reminds us that you don't have to do Every.Single.Thing. to be frugal, and recommends that you just go easy on yourself. Get off your guilt trip. Do what you can, and don't feel bad if you cannot do it all....none of us can do it all! Some days you might be able to do X, Y or Z, and some days, you probably don't feel up to it, and that's all OK. You can order her book online, or ask your library if they'll get you a copy, and you might want to check it out if you're feeling low. Hang in there!
Oh yes, I agree about that; it so often happens when people go full-time with blogging or with influencing. Their lives immediately become less relatable, so then their content also becomes less relatable.
I've been blogging for 14 years. It started as a blog for keeping track of my cancer. Multiple Myeloma. Then I started decluttering and going minimal, so I included that in my blog. Also, I have tried to live a simple life with food and lifestyle. I don't have the following you have at all, and I have not monetized my blog, although I've thought about it. I enjoy writing, and it keeps me accountable. Plus, it's a journal of things in my life. After my husband died last year of a very terrible cancer, some of my enthusiasm has waned, but I'm taking it one day at a time. I think if my blog were making money as yours is for you, I'd be more motivated.
Hey,
Thank you for sharing the process, very interesting. I deduce a key point to be consistent is being flexible. I agree with you with a dedicated workspace. Have a great week!
I'm not a regular blogger, though I do write occasional posts on my website ... but I AM an English prof who writes as a big part of my job and I certainly help my students to write well. I am personally anti-outline! I'm even anti "thesis statement"! I'm more on the side of just start writing what you have to say, and then go back and write the introduction when you know what you have to say ... because you've already said it! 😉 In other words, there is no "right way" to write for everyone. We all have to find our own best path forward. So if anyone reading this is looking for some kind of permission to just write the way you want instead of what you have been told is "correct," then I hereby absolve you of guilt and encourage you to just write the way that feels best to YOU!
In my first career as a newspaper reporter, the pressure of coming up with a snappy lead paragraph occasionally got to me and I would write the whole story and then fashion a lead. We were trained to write from the top down, so this felt rather subversive.
I would tell my students that writing the thesis statement first was like introducing someone you hadn't met...
I want that on a t-shirt...
I too have been blogging since 2008, 18 years. My web designer told me I’d probably enjoy blogging, to which I replied, “What is that?” She set me up, and I immediately slammed out 2 posts. It was thrilling to tell little stories to go along with my art, and I haven’t stopped since. Even when I think I’ve run out of ideas and will take a week or so off, the faucet keeps flowing.
Like you, I write titles, or just a paragraph, and save it to the drafts folder for further embellishment.
Like you, I continually photograph my life, so those photos, along with my art, provide all the illustration options needed.
Like you, I have a few routines (but not quite the weekly pattern): Once a month I do the Learned List of new information acquired about life throughout the month; on Fridays I post about the area in the Sierra where we have a cabin in a community. Those Mineral King posts are the most widely followed by my tens of readers. The second most popular posts are when I am painting a mural, and people watch the progress.
Finally, like you, blogging is my only social media, if it can even be classified as such.
Unlike you, I have very few followers, and even fewer commenters. Those who do follow and comment are either people I know in real life, or people I get to know via email (often through this blog—Hi Elisabeth, N, WilliamB, Jody S., Kathy Wolfe, Michelle G, Kristen her very self! . . . )
It is very encouraging and helpful to me to read and follow and connect with other bloggers because I know NOBODY in real life who blogs.
I recently learned that the town I grew up in is the least educated in all of the entire USA; read in another source that it is the 2nd least educated. Is that why I feel all alone with my laptop here in Central California? And six of the ten least educated cities are located in Central California!!
My routine is that at the end of the day of working alone, I have many words to expend, so I bang out a post or two or three. I always preview the posts several times for typos, too many words, too much Nobody Cares, and of course TLDR. (Too long didn’t read). I try to warn my tens of readers if it is a long post that I couldn’t split into several “chapters”.
Good grief—see what I mean about a zillion words?? But since there are only 7 comments at the time of this posting, I don’t feel bad about it.
Thanks, Kristen!
P.S. I forgot Kris S on my list of people I’ve gotten to know in almost real life!! Kris, I’m sorry!
Ha ha, no offense taken, Jana! I've been pretty quiet in the commenting department this summer.
This place is always interesting. I like the variety and insights, which means Mon and Wed usually have my fave posts. I read every single one of them although I don't always comment. Thank you for your consistency.
The pattern I've noticed in your work is one of dedication and flexibility. You are dedicated to getting the thing done - homeschooling, exercising, walking, blogging, meal prepping - and you are very flexible about where and when to do it. If it ain't broke don't fix it, eh?
For this one post, I'd to suggest that blogging readers add their blog links, since that's the subject of the day.
@WilliamB, I was thinking the same thing but didn’t want to be pushy or “sellsy”. I’d love to know how to find the blogs of regulars to the Commentariat!
I would like that, too CCAJ!
I’m curious about how long it takes you to create a post. Also, had that changed with time? I used to contribute restaurant reviews for someone else’s blog, and it always seemed to take a long time. I love to write, though, and I have been kicking around starting my own blog.
I found your blog about 16 years ago and find your format engaging and your Commentariat kind.
Your writing style reads like a visit with a friend.
I have consistently written a daily journal for 50 yrs. I use it as a release of thought, once it is written, I can let go of it. Poof! Brain is reset for new memories.
My workspace is a reclaimed formal dining room turned into a quilt & craft studio with wall to wall cabinets filled with craft supplies. The computer and desk is the hub of the farm and our other businesses.
I feel like I’ve been reading your posts for quite a while. The kids were young and you took photos of your grocery hauls. You were finding which classes you could count as credit when going back to school—and now you’re a bonafide nurse! You’ve been a constant in my life. Weird, but very nice. I go back to work on Friday (middle school), I believe about the same day you go part time (congrats!), so I won’t be a daily reader again:( but will catch up as I can.
Teaching middle school? OMG! I hope they give you combat pay!!! LOL!
Have a great school year, and thank you for all you do.
I used to blog a lot, on 2 blogspot blogs and a WordPress blog. I was daily or close to daily on 1 of the blogspot blogs and the WordPress blogs. During those years it always seemed like there was something to blog about especially during the heyday of "paid to read" sites or survey sites or PTSU sites (that was the focus of the blogspot blog). I used the WordPress blog to deal with other things, like trying to find a job, running a garage sale or ten LOL, being creative on bringing money in, and just generally about my life.
The last few years have found me falling down on the job of blogging for several reasons. I was never really able to properly monetize either blog, and then I got the USPS job which often left with me with no time to do anything.
Aside from the fact that I've never blogged for money (why does that phraseology make earning an income via a blog sound risque? lol that's not at all what I mean), your blogging process sounds about identical to mine. No wonder I felt such a connection the very first time I ever read posts here! All my posts are pretty much off the cuff, no outlining, no preplanning, no subject that isn't of interest/doesn't relate to my life, I've never tried to be trendy or tackle current hot button subjects. In fact, I am consciously adverse to posting things like that, and over the years have probably only commented about or mentioned society-related current events type things. Current events I write about are all things going on in my life right now that get published same or next day rather than written and posted at some future date. Some of my posts are pounded out in their entirity in one sitting, others are ideas that I quick jot down, or maybe tack a picture onto and then come back to later as I have time. Like you, I have no set blogging schedule it's all fit in as the opportunity (time, laptop availability since DH and I share one laptop [for his engineering work stuff he has a company-issued laptop, but all personal stuff is done on our one shared computer]). Sometimes I'm able to write several complete posts and then schedule them for publishing and other times I jot ideas and maybe get one completed or just do brain dumping thoughts on several that I come back to later and make them coherent before publishing. Over the years, since this is now year 15 for me, the day and time of day that I write has varied, like you, as my kids have grown, my household has changed, my work in and out of the home has changed. For the first several years I was able to write and then publish something nearly every day, and often did not have a folder of completed drafts waiting their turn to go live. Some years things were so unpredictable, or my days and evenings so busy that I might have only gotten one post a week made, and there were a couple of years that I did assign themes to the posts so that I would definitely get that measly one a week actually done (knitting update, sewing/stitching update, horse related update. . .)Kris In the last two years I tend to batch write and try to get at least two of those posts completed and published in a week.
oops fat fingers. should say *commented on society-related current events type things a handful of times.
As a fellow writer, I really appreciated this post. I admire your photography skills in particular. I've thought about starting a blog or a social media page or whatever many times, but what always stops me is the visual content I would have to produce.
I will also say, on this idea of "how we are supposed to write," I've never done it that way. I'm a historian, and I'm working on edits to my first book, based on my dissertation. So I'm early in my career, but I already have thousands and thousands of words under my belt. I have never once written with an outline. Instead, I just start writing what I am thinking. I imagine that this form of writing requires more editing on the back end than if you started with a clear outline, especially for an academic audience. But if I had to outline everything I was going to write, I would never get started. I need the inherent creativity of the free flow process to think through the ideas in my head. Blogging sounds similar.
@Amanda, I’m with you on the outlines. Feels like a waste of valuable writing time. Who can write an outline before one knows what will be said? I struggled with that requirement while in school. Doesn’t seem right to force everyone into the same mold. It reminds me of being forced to show how I arrived at an answer to a math problem, when sometimes the answer just appeared on its own, or sometimes my route differed from the teacher’s route so the answer was invalid. Ugh. School was rough. All these years later I am still so happy to be an adult!
YES! Sometimes writing is what helps me figure out what I think and what I want to say. I can't know it until I start writing it!
Thank you sharing your posts. They are very interesting and informative. I enjoy reading them.
My routine is somewhat similar, in that I have a few consistent posts (or, mostly consistent, because during weeks I'm traveling, everything kind of falls apart. That said, this isn't a job for me & no money is being made, minus $100 of ads revenue every few years, so the routine is for myself). I know I consistently like to blog about: menus (helps me stay organized), fitness (helps me stay on track & feel committed), monthly goals (I love to track progress), financial wins on Fridays. I also have recently started doing trips recaps, where I share how much I spend on various trips, any optimizations I've done with points, miles, etc. I also find that enjoyable & I like the tracking, so I can see how much things cost all in one place, vs it just getting lost in the bigger spreadsheet of our overall spending.
Your description of sneaking in your writing in between other tasks, reminded me of Jane Austen!
Back when we were living in a motorhome while traveling the USA (starting in 2008) I wrote a post every day. Now I try to post at least once a month so my few readers know I am still alive at age 79. I make quick notes on my phone when I have an idea. I write drafts on my computer to have ready to finish when I need them. Sometimes, I actually write and post in real time. All my writing is seat of the pants style. Sometimes my ideas come just as I am waking up so I have to remember enough long enough to get up and make notes.
I really loved this post, as someone who's followed you consistently for years and as a blogger myself. Although I am way less consistent and do it more as a hobby, I don't earn anything from it. I get you though about writing being a way to process thoughts.
I blog on a 5-day a week schedule and I have one weekly series which agree helps tremendously! (Happy Things Friday posts which is a bit like your Thankful Thursday lists... just on Friday).
I always feel accomplished when I have blog posts set up for a while. And I usually text you to let you know because you understand the satisfaction 😉
I would love to write every day, but it's just not feasible with my current life so I tend to write in batches. Usually I'll roughly sketch out whatever posts are bouncing around in my head and then another day I'll polish off 2-3 of those posts. So I always have an active draft folder which is sometimes, like you mentioned, just a title or a few sentences of an idea.
I think writing begets writing, too. So while posting consistently might seem hard, in a way the schedule does provide a concrete structure to aim for. I also feel like I do quite a few long-form posts, so if I don't have anything "big" to write about, I can just come up with something fun/light/silly on my mind and write a few paragraphs and post that! In those cases, it's usually the comment section that makes that particular post sing anyway.