My Writing Process

Intro#

Recently, I finished writing a blog series over four months. During that time, I refined the process of me writing and publishing my work.

The changes I made to my writing process over that period have improved the structure of my writing and increased the frequency that I publish each post over time, especially the time between the last three in my "Making Four-In-A-Row" blog series.

In this post, I will reveal the process I use to plan, write and publish at a consistent rate.

The Process#

First, I plan and write using pen and paper. It is easier for my ideas to flow when writing with a pen. When I type, they come to me much slower. However, I do digitise my work after the first draft since I already have written down the points from my ideas. I prefer making edits to drafts on a computer.

Research#

I have a topic that I am interested in writing about at this point. I look at multiple resources surrounding it (books, articles, websites, videos etc.) to learn more about the topic and obtain sources to reference from.

Brainstorming#

I draw a mind map or write down my thoughts related to the topic, allowing me to discover a variety of points about a topic to address in my post.

Overview#

After brainstorming, I select points that interest me or would be most relevant to potential readers. I write them down in a list.

Outline#

The outline is where I expand on my main points by including sub-points under my main points, which helps form the overall structure of my post.

Draft#

In this stage, I use the outline to create a draft.

I fully expand on all points. Main points become sections. Sub-points become subsections or paragraphs under sections. Under sections, there may be a few paragraphs that introduce them.

Also, I make sure to include references to the sources and media to include in the post. I add placeholders where attachments and quotes (including code blocks) may be so that I remember where to add them during digitisation. Once I complete the draft, I may send it to friends and colleagues for feedback.

Redrafts and Digitisation#

After completing the first draft, I proofread, revealing typos, grammar mistakes and ways to improve the clarity and conciseness of my points.

If I receive feedback after sharing drafts, I will consider them too.

I fix the typos and grammar mistakes and then refine points using the solutions I found during the proofreading process and the feedback I obtained.

I repeat this process of improving my initial draft, proofreading and sending it to others for feedback until I believe it is ready to be published.

Conclusion#

I hope reading this post has encouraged you to start writing regularly (if you aren’t doing so already).

Personally, writing for the past three months has given me clearer thoughts and helped me improve how I express my opinions about topics.

You share a piece of who you are by stringing words together. You may move on to other things in life, but each piece of writing you create is a marker of who you were then.

Through writing, you’re able to connect with people. You can inspire people to engage in conversations about the topics you discuss. You’re able to propose ideas that become viral!

Writing is magical.