How much detail should we give posts we make on our blog?
A lot of us are currently deep into the 90-day novel challenge. The goal being to write the manus riptide and save editing for when the draft is complete.
Do we do the same thing with blog posts? How much time should we spend writing a post and editing it? In what ways is it similar or different to what we are doing for our novels?
That’s an astute question, Tony.
Writing a blog post is fundamentally different because you’re capable of conceptualizing and executing it all at one time. It’s not like a novel manuscript where we need to make sure that you’re generating momentum and retaining the story day after day.
For that reason, when writing a blog post there’s a lot more tolerance for your personal method.
For me, I write a blog post in one sitting and typically allow myself about one hour, start to finish. Most blog posts are 800-1,500 words. Just like a novel manuscript, however, I know what I’m going to write about before I sit down. I’ve been thinking about it here and there before I put my butt in the seat.
Sometimes, if the ideas is still a little underdeveloped, I’ll just write a quick draft which allows me to find my point. By the end, I’ll know what I’m trying to say! Then I can revise with the thesis I found in mind, and make it all work together. When I do this, the second draft (which is also the final draft) will be much different than the first.
However, if I already have a pretty well-developed idea before I sit down, I’ll usually write and edit as I go. When I get to the end, all that’s left to do is proofread.
The difference with a blog post is that you can hold the whole thing in your mind at once, so it gives you more liberty to freewheel and do it however makes sense to you. Because a novel manuscript is too much to hold at once, we need to exercise more discipline to make sure that we get it done.
However, if you’re having trouble getting blog posts done, then you might experiment with some of the same disciplines you’d use for novel writing.
I hope that helps! Looking forward to reading more blog articles from you soon. 🙂
-Brad
This is a huge help Brad! Definitely provides some much needed clarity. I’ve definitely noticed a difference when I dwell on a topic before writing about it. I needed that reminder.
Thank you so much!