2024-04-21 17:43:00 +07:00 by Mark Smith
About the most difficult thing in blogging is to do it regularly. Ideally you really want to be writing posts every day, but it's difficult to always be inspired, to always have something interesting to talk about.
I've been writing on the web since 2005, with a few failed blogs and later social medias like Twitter. I've been striving to find a blogging virtuous circle, which I think is likely possible with enough practice, and with the right tools.
A blogging virtuous circle is a repeatable way to write on the web that is sort of like a perpetual energy machine. The end result is a consistent output of, hopefully well written and interesting blog posts. I'm not claiming I have found the way yet but here's what I'm aiming for.
- Post links to a linkblog
- Write short notes posts
- Write longer blog posts
The web is all about discovery and sharing. Reading stimulating content online will result in you thinking about new topics and discovering new things.
The start of the virtuous circle is super easy and frictionless. When you find something interesting online, share it on your linkblog, along with a short description of what it is. Then move on with your day's activities. I like to do this early in the morning. It's an easy way to start off the day. Get some quick wins, with a few short links. If nothing else, you'll know that you have contributed to the global commons and made the web a little bit better.
As you go about your day you are likely to spend some time thinking about what you've read and posted, and you'll have some relevant ideas, or perhaps just a realisation of a specific part of something you posted that you find really interesting. This is a good time to write a few notes, with your ideas, or perhaps extracting a short quote that you think is particularly poigniant. The aim here is to not spend too much time on it. Once again, keep on with the rest of your day.
Then at some point hopefully enough ideas will have coallesced that you will be ready to write a full on blog post. You'll have links you can add to it, quotes, and various ideas you can expand on. But if you don't, no worries, once again, hopefully your notes will have made the web a little but better. Maybe you will have inspired someone else to write something great. Sometimes that person is future you. It's amazing how often I find myself resding back through my old notes.
That's the blogging virtuous circle. It's pretty simple really, but it's actually quite difficult to get the balance right. You can also expand it to include a newsletter and a podcast, but start with the writing side of things.
One thing to remember is that blogging isn't like writing a novel or a university disertation or even an essay. It doesn't have to be perfect. There's always the next day. Anything you write will be replaced within a few days so it doesn't really matter all that much if it isn't the best prose you've ever writen. The funny thing is though, the more you write, the better your writing will get.