15 ms·

Ask HN: What's your process of writing a blog post?

I've made it a point to start blogging recently, and with a huge thanks to Octopress, I actually enjoy it now. I wrote about my typical process of writing a post here: http://cnnr.me/b/2012/01/my-blogging-process/ But I'm interested in hearing how HNers typically blog. Do you have any kind of process you usually follow before getting a post up?

sandipagr 15y ago
Clickable : http://cnnr.me/b/2012/01/my-blogging-process/ http://cnnr.me/b/2012/01/my-blogging-process/
jnorthrop 15y ago
My first step is to stumble across a topic I think others may find interesting. Then I just start writing. The first pass generally comes out as a bunch of poorly organized random thoughts, but once that process is done I tend to have a much clearer idea of how I want to present the topic. From there I can rearrange what I've already written, which is usually ~50% of the content, and fill in the rest. I will revise the post until I feel like it is coherent but I don't get too hung up on getting it perfect. I started blogging back in the Fall so I'm just forming the blogging-habit but I'm finding this method works well for me. It removes the writers block problems I've experienced in the past and makes the process much more enjoyable.
- c_t_montgomery 15y ago
  This makes sense, and I can see how you'd be able to crank out posts from it. How do you go about keeping track of any "excess topics"? Typically, whenever I find something I like and dive into it, my mind can diverge the post into a few separate posts, which helps keep them to a good size. Thanks for the comment and insight!
  - jnorthrop 15y ago
    > How do you go about keeping track of any "excess topics?" I usually have 2-3 posts going at any one time. I use a text editor to write my drafts and keep them in two local folders -- "posted" and "drafts." (I think there purposes are self-evident...). I'm sorry to say my system is neither sophisticated nor original but it works.

sandipagr 15y ago

Clickable : http://cnnr.me/b/2012/01/my-blogging-process/ http://cnnr.me/b/2012/01/my-blogging-process/

jnorthrop 15y ago

My first step is to stumble across a topic I think others may find interesting. Then I just start writing. The first pass generally comes out as a bunch of poorly organized random thoughts, but once that process is done I tend to have a much clearer idea of how I want to present the topic. From there I can rearrange what I've already written, which is usually ~50% of the content, and fill in the rest. I will revise the post until I feel like it is coherent but I don't get too hung up on getting it perfect. I started blogging back in the Fall so I'm just forming the blogging-habit but I'm finding this method works well for me. It removes the writers block problems I've experienced in the past and makes the process much more enjoyable.

c_t_montgomery 15y ago
This makes sense, and I can see how you'd be able to crank out posts from it. How do you go about keeping track of any "excess topics"? Typically, whenever I find something I like and dive into it, my mind can diverge the post into a few separate posts, which helps keep them to a good size. Thanks for the comment and insight!
- jnorthrop 15y ago
  > How do you go about keeping track of any "excess topics?" I usually have 2-3 posts going at any one time. I use a text editor to write my drafts and keep them in two local folders -- "posted" and "drafts." (I think there purposes are self-evident...). I'm sorry to say my system is neither sophisticated nor original but it works.