I am not a journalist or anyone who does writing for living but I am definitely a writer, when it comes to expressing myself. As I am much of a visual person, I like seeing my words written down, as it gives me the possibility to carefully read over them before finally letting them go. I guess what gives me peace is that I can actually reflect on my thoughts much better compared to speaking up right away.
But what about writing an article or a blog post for example? Do I actually like it? Do my words actually roll off my tongue easily? Did I ever think about that in detail? Definitely not.
Within my master studies (Content Strategy at FH Joanneum Graz) we’re frequently asked to regularly write and reflect about our courses, about content strategy related topics and our personal condition as part-time students. You can find the blogposts that I wrote so far on my profile. However, this time we actually got challenged to think about our writing process itself by answering the following questions.
So, here we go — let’s see what happens.
- What do you think when you write the first words?
I actually do not think much. In most cases, the words just sputter and I try to put them together in full sentences. But, to be a bit more specific, in this very moment that’s what’s going on my brain “How the heck will everything my brain is thinking about right now ever make sense? Thank god I can write/rewrite/erase and arrange all these words over and over again in this document”
2. What are the first words (title, footnotes, …?)
When writing a blog post I try to set up a framework. So the first things I am writing are the headlines, like title and subtitles and then I simply start filling the spaces in between. This way my document is never fully blank and it feels like less “work” to do.
3. Do you have the whole picture of the post already in your head when you start?
I’d say that 80% of the blog post and especially the structure are already set in my head before I start, and the remaining 20% just appear during the writing process.
4. How does the post evolve?
Most times, I succeed in just going with the flow. Header here, text there, researching, searching for pictures…
5. What is easy for you? What difficult? What needs a lot of time? When do you feel insecure?
Setting up a structure, coming up with a topic is most of the times quite easy. Filling in the blank spaces however can sometimes take some time. Especially if I have to do research in between. So writing about personal thoughts, just like right now, is always easier thank writing a case article. Researching often takes most of my time because I easily get carried away and ramble on.
6. How is your mood? Are you confident that your post will be good enough?
Yes, this is actually quite nice and so far, I did not find writing any trouble.
7. What do you hate when writing a blog post? When does this hate emerge?
I hate writing blogposts whenever I do not feel comfortable with the topic and if I cannot relate. This often means that I need to do a lot of research what costs me quite some time. Which brings me to another factor — I hate writing if there is a certain time pressure. Also, if I am writing blogposts/marketing text etc., I want someone to actually read it… otherwise I would not have to publish it and could keep it in a personal journal. Thus, I do not like writing official blogposts “just for fun”, therefor my time as a full time working student is to precious, to be honest.
If you are interested in how some of my colleagues answered the questions above, here are some articles you might want to read:
Did this blogpost make you reflect on your writing? I would be happy to hear about your perceptions. Leave me a comment!
