I started blogging to enhance my writing and give me a creative outlet. As a novice blogger, I wrote once or twice per week. It wasn’t until I decided to blog daily that I saw a change in my writing. I forced myself to write about something every day, which was a challenge in and of itself. I asked bloggers I admired about their routines and began shaping my own norms.
1. Topics, topics, topics. People who know me personally and read Nursetopia frequently ask how I can find something to write about every day. It’s not always easy; I find inspiration everywhere. I read a lot of other blogs, books, and social networking sites, which provide intriguing fodder. I use Evernote to capture ideas and random thoughts, which may quickly develop into a post or take months for me to think about or re-read. It’s a treasure trove of creative randomness.
2. Time. With the busyness of life, time to write is important. I typically blog at the end of each day and schedule posts to publish the next morning. If I have more time than expected or am feeling particularly inspired, I may write a few posts and save them for the moments that I cannot or do not want to write. Sometimes I already know what to write and how to present it. Other times I work through the unknown to laboriously capture elusive prose. Growth occurs with each post – whether “easy” or “difficult.”
3. Diversity. I enjoy posting a range of writings – prose, poetry, graphics I’ve created, videos, polls, and giveaways. I find when words escape me, when I can’t string complete sentences together or the paragraphs just don’t seem to convey my emotions, poetry is easiest for me to relay my thoughts.
4. Genuine thoughts. I try to write so everyone can understand, without unnecessary words or cryptic messages. I hope it’s working that way, at least. I’m an optimistic person, which my writing reflects. It’s not feigned. I want my writing to mirror my “regular” conversations as much as possible, and writing portrays even more of myself than I allow in face-to-face discussions, which is a little scary.
Those are a few insights into my writing style. How do you write?
Erica Moss
April 25, 2012 3:57 pmThanks for writing this post, Joni! During the day, I’m the community manager for Nursing@Georgetown (we have a blog on our site), and I also have my own personal blog that I need to keep up with as well. Coming up with content isn’t easy no matter who you are or what field you’re in, so I appreciate you sharing some of your tips with us.
I find that reading blogs and books that — seemingly — have nothing to do with what you need to write about can be a great way to spark creativity as well.
Nursetopia
April 25, 2012 8:08 pmI definitely agree, Erica. Reading unrelated material keeps creativity flowing, for sure. Thanks for that tip! What are your blog addresses?
Erica Moss
April 25, 2012 8:13 pmYou can find the Nursing@Georgetown blog here: http://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/nursing-georgetown-blog/
And my personal blog here: http://www.ericajmoss.com
Nursetopia
April 25, 2012 8:31 pmAwesome. Thanks!