Drafty

A litte while back, Khoi—who, by the way, has a a book on grid principles for the web coming out soon—asked for some suggestions on Twitter:

Question for bloggers: what tools/methods do you use to manage your queue of future posts and ideas for future posts?

I responded with:

The submit button.

I wasn’t being facetious. I think keeping drafts can be counterproductive. The problem is that, once something is a draft rather than a blog post, it’s likely to stay a draft and never become a blog post. And the longer something stays in draft, the less likely it is to ever see the light of day. Or, as I posted to Twitter as The First Law of Blogodynamics:

A blog post in draft tends to stay in draft.

I have the functionality for draft posts in my DIY blogging software, but I’ve only used it once or twice. But maybe that’s just me. I still don’t really consider this a blog. I find the label “journal” to be more appropriate. And having a draft journal entry just doesn’t seem right.

So I write, and I hit submit. I can always go back and edit it afterwards.

Have you published a response to this? :

Responses

amberwilson.co.uk

A very mini list of things that I usually think of while I’m writing about life and tech, that have helped me to blog better!

  • My number one tip is that a blog post does not have to be polished and perfect (nothing is ever perfect!) before you post it. This blog post is a great example. It had been a draft for a long time, and I was hesitant to publish it. I waited and waited, just in case I could think of a few more tips. I mean, everyone would benefit from 15 tips rather than 10, right? Wrong. If I didn’t publish, then nobody would benefit from even 1 tip. A draft post tends to remain a draft. Get your posts published. I want to hear your ideas!

  • You don’t always have to write about the next big thing, or what everyone is currently talking about. Countless millions of websites use web technologies that are many years old. Write about whatever interests you and you will find an audience, trust me.

  • Blog about things that scratch your own itch. For example, you may have had trouble setting up a server, or found it hard to understand a JavaScript library. It can be anything. Posts that explain and describe how you solved a problem you experienced are really helpful to other developers.

  • If you are planning a complex or technical blog post and it seems intimidating, try breaking your plan into smaller steps. Limit the time you spend on each step–30 minutes, for example. Completing each step will help give your motivation a boost, and help you stop feeling lost in one huge task. You can use these regular motivational mini-boosts to keep going and help you write your post!

  • You may think of something you would like to write about, but do not know where to start, or have little idea how to structure the information. A good way to overcome this is to create headings, and place information under these headings. This can influence how you write and section your work and can help you get your awesome post out to the world faster.

  • As Anne Lamott, who wrote a book on how to write, says—get all your thoughts down in a “shitty first draft”. Don’t focus on editing grammar or spelling right at the beginning. Your draft will most likely change a lot as you are writing.

  • I don’t use grammar or spellcheckers much myself but there are definitely a number of tools that can help!

  • Don’t blog for attention or money! This will most likely make your motivation for blogging hit a roadblock, and fast. Blog for fun, let your creativity flow, and connect with other people. That’s all it should be about. Other rewards are just side effects.

# Thursday, February 11th, 2021 at 12:00am

Previously on this day

17 years ago I wrote Berlin, day 1

Touristische sachen.

18 years ago I wrote Geekend in Ironbridge

Five go to Shropshire… well, a lot more than five, actually.

21 years ago I wrote Less blog, more rock

It looks like I’m going to have to miss the Brighton Bloggers meetup tomorrow night in the Wi-Fi enabled Black Lion pub. There’s a Salter Cane gig happening down at the Freebutt and I have yet to master the art of bilocation.

22 years ago I wrote v-2

Adam Greenfield’s website just got even better. It now uses a lean mean combo of XHTML and CSS.

22 years ago I wrote Lost Weekend

It’s been a wild weekend of music.

23 years ago I wrote My new scarf

Despite the warmest October since records began, I’m not going to let the nice weather fool me.

23 years ago I wrote The world outside my window

It’s another lovely day in Brighton.