one of the most frequently asked questions i get about this monster of community you guys have created here at flowerdust.net is how i keep up with it all.
i don’t!
i wish i could, but i can’t.
some people have asked when i find time to write. a book…some articles…this blog…and at the deadly viper blog…not to mention the amount of stuff i write for my job at lifechurch.tv. it can and does suck the creative vibes from my head really fast!
so…i have learned to combine two things to master the madness.
1) write when the moment is right – i am writing this on tuesday, but i’m having it post on friday. some blog platforms let you schedule stuff out ahead of time. today i’ve written three (soon to be four) posts. obviously i’m not putting them all up on one day. even if your blog doesn’t let you schedule posts for the future, if you’re feeling the words, write them down now! save them in a word doc or something and then you will just need to copy/paste!
2) don’t write when the moment is wrong – i can’t tell you how many times i have stared at this screen and tried to force something, only to delete it or save it in a mass of unpublished (and quite terrible) drafts. thank goodness those things will never see the light of day.
by having some posts saved for a rainy day, i really don’t feel much pressure to have to write something each and every day. because let’s face it. sometimes the creative juices aren’t flowing, and you’d be better off keeping quiet than forcefully making something happen.
ya know?
Comments
22 responses to “warning: this blog is not live (all the time, anyway)”
Great advice.
I love the ability to schedule. In fact, I wrote this comment 2 weeks ago, even before you’d written your post. I scheduled it to appear after you’d not only written the post, but published it, thus providing the perfect synchronisation of post and reply.
My commodore 64 doesn’t allow for this type of posting… especially since my back up is on a cassette tape. Those over 40 might get this…
Writing them when you are in the mood is a great idea. I’ve often had some great blog ideas and forgot when I wanted to write it late in the week. I will now be copying and pasting. Thanks…I guess my brain couldn’t think of that!!!
got it, Michael, and still under 40! :)
I guess we all have to find what works best for us. I’m gonna have to try scheduling posts though…
Michael,
Got the Commodore 64 reference but better yet we still have a Texas Instrument TI 94A at home! Programming that gave me an aneurysm.
Anne,
I found you through Swerve and have followed you to Deadly Viper. Thanks for making the time to share your thoughts. I frequently connect personally with your words.
Got the Commodore 64 reference…that was cutting edge compared to the VIC 20 I had.
YES! I know…I actually have 11 drafts ready to publish at any time. LOVE IT!
totally agree. i do the exact same things. and i usually end up writing a weeks worth of posts on saturday.
I think the Commodore 64 hits the 30-40 range. I remember playing the 64 when I was about 10. Bird and Dr. J basketball was the best.
I follow those two guidelines, too. And someone really smart taught me how to post date my posts so they’ll post in the early morning.
Wait, that was you, my dear :)
Yeah! Bird and Dr J. And remember McHale amd Kareem with the enormous goggles. Isn’t this year great having the Lakers and Celtics back at it in the finals. I am feeling young again.
Michael Johnson, yep. I had one of those with my Trash-80 Coco. Many many years ago. (grin)
The Commodore 64 – gotta love old technology… I saw one the other day in a museum… talk about feeling old.
I love the ability to schedule as well. In fact, last week when I was away I had 5 posts for every day scheduled. Unfortunately, my blog went down after only two. Technology, got to love it.
On another note, sometimes it’s very hard for me to write something and then NOT post it. It’s like Christmas when you buy someone a gift and can’t wait for them to open it… Working on that one.
Yeah, I always have a draft or two hanging around for the less than creative day.
Alex: Yep, your second point is true as well. I always leave them slightly unfinished to keep me from posting them.
Scheduling… I didn’t know you could do that! Thanks for writing about this… you learn something new every day! This could really simplify my life! GREAT!
i couldn’t agree more. it’s been 2 weeks since i’ve written anything (due to crazy life disease), but now the flow is back. the joy is back. great, simple post.
Lately I have been carrying a headache thinking about this very blog stuff. I have taken some months off due to life but am now ready to jump in again.
Thanks.
I do the same thing… I wrote four blogs today… if I don’t have some on back-up I would never get anything out…
I really hate the blogging treadmill… that’s what sucks the creative juices out of me!
I like to wing it. It makes it more exciting for me as my own blog reader…. but I’m weird like that.
That is brilliant! *writes that one down*