How I Plan Blog Posts

I like to tweak my processes often when it comes to any sort of creative organising. Little improvements here and there let me keep getting a little bit better at doing things. At the moment I'm using this set of Emily the Strange sticky notes as a neat little grid of lists (and cute drawings, because... that's necessary). So here are the main facets of my blog post planning, I guess:

Keep a thousand lists.

As you can see above, I am a practised list-maker. I try to get ideas out of my head and onto paper as soon as possible and I find this not only saves ideas I would have otherwise forgotten, but also promotes the conception of new ideas. The more things I write down, the more things I think of. I also use listography for keeping lists online.

Alternate between taking photos/drawing and writing first.

Sometimes if I start to feel a little stale about blogging, it helps restart my brain a bit to build a post around the writing instead of the pictures (or vice versa). Swapping that format around can really help because it can feel exciting and invigorating to start off with the element of a post that I usually finish with. I would say generally that I always start with the pictures, but I try to switch it around with some frequency (whatever's comfortable).

Make space for a certain amount of spontaneity (#spon - oh hang on, that's not what #spon means).

I usually have a rough idea for a post before I make it, but sometimes it's really nice to open a blank post and start writing with no preconceived notion of what that post is going to be. I want my blog to have a level of spontaneity both in posts I've thought out and posts that are completely off the cuff.

Keep a "mega draft".

This is essentially a concentrated list plus bits and pieces of writing that I keep in a draft at the top of my blog post list so it's easy to add to right from my Blogger dashboard. That way I can also pluck things straight out to paste into a new post.

Make compilation posts with leftover photos or random things.

You don't need to be restrictive or stick to a particular subject with each post. Every so often I like to make a post around a bunch of pictures that have been sitting in a folder for a while, or a selection of different things that have recently inspired me. This is another way of creating a spontaneous atmosphere and it feels nice to scoop up some accumulated bits and pieces and make them into a blog post. I would say these are some of my favourite posts, but really every type of post is my favourite.