#OOTD & My Writing Process Tour

Dress: c/o OASAP
Boots: c/o LovelyShoes

I was invited by Min to participate in My Writing Process Tour tag. I’m not usually that into tags, but this one was right up my street.

Read on to find out about why I write and how I plan my posts so I’m able to ensure I get a post ready 7 days a week.

What am I working on? 

I’m currently working on getting some posts ready for the middle of September, I’m going to be working a lot and have  a 10 day stint so I need to make sure I’ve got enough posts to keep my blog going. I’ve got all the ideas planned, it’s just getting them into a finalised posts with photos! My goal I’m working on is to daily post for a year. This started last March so I’m halfway there now!

How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

I don’t really know if my blog is a lot different from others out there, its hard to stand out amongst so many other blogs. I think my writing style is unique and I would hope that my audience can see my humour/personality through my posts as I do like to keep things light hearted, funny and very honest.

Why do I write? 

I love writing. I always have. It’s my favourite part of blogging. I’ve had online journals, live journals, xangas and other blogs for years, so documenting things that are important to me comes pretty naturally, as I’ve spent most of my life over the age of 16 doing it.

I’m in love with words. I used to be very into poetry and saw myself as quite the word smith at one point, putting together clever imagery with double meanings and spending hours consuming and critiquing the work of others. I think being able to express yourself through words is a very clever thing, especially in this day and age when sites like Facebook make it perfectly clear that a lot of people are wank at grammar and don’t know the difference between your and you’re.

Writing. It’s just my thing. And I love it.

How does my writing process work? 

Well, this is a complicated one. I’ll split it into sections..

Planning the posts.

I have a list of blog post ideas in a document and also an editorial calendar. Every time I come up with the idea for a blog post or a product I want to review, I put it on my idea list. I fit all this into my editorial calendar so I know what I need to post when.

I’ll have posts I must post on the days they are in the calendar, such as the #socialbloggers post every Monday, or a PR sample that I’ve committed too. The rest are in there purely for planning and I may swap them about from time to time if something comes up. Such as the delivery of a Glossybox, which I like to get up as soon as possible.

Planning the drafts.

My process has changed slightly since my new job started. I would usually then plan when I would take photographs and write the posts depending on my schedule, but now what I usually do is start taking photos for the following weeks posts and edit them  after work. I also try to get my title graphic created and uploaded during the week. I may start writing parts of the review or post during the week.

Writing and scheduling the posts.

My main aim is that when it gets to Sunday, I’ll have all the photos uploaded into draft posts for the next 5-7 days, then I’ll spend around 6 hours writing the posts. Obviously the time varies depending on the posts and depending on if I’ve managed to write any in advance.  I

I’ll give you a current example of where I am now. It’s 9:22am on Sunday morning, the 31st August. I’m laid in bed with a coffee and my laptop writing this post. Here is my calendar for the next week and I’m going to be trying to get all posts scheduled for the 1st September – 7th September today.

Here is where I am with up to with each post:

Monday: Socialbloggers-

I’ve already inserted all the Tweets into the post, this takes around 30-45 minutes to get the HTML code  into the post. I just need to write a couple of paragraphs before the Tweets and create a blog graphic for it.

Tuesday: Corinstagram –

I’ve got the graphic done and most of the photos uploaded. I just need to put the last set in which I’ve not prepared incase I take anymore instagram photos today. I’ve also wrote the post so just need to proof read it.

Wednesday: Equip –

This is a giveaway I’m holding on my blog that I need to get up, photos already taken but need editing, uploaded and the post needs fully writing.

Thursday: Essence mascara –

The photos of the products are already uploaded into draft. I’ve also taken some photos of the product on me but they need editing. I need to do a blog graphic and write this post also.

Friday: How to save iPhone battery –

This post is pretty much done, just needs proof reading and maybe tweeking. Although I may swap this post out for the SEO tips part 2, which I will need to fully write.

Saturday: OOTD.

The photos for this are uploaded already and this is the post I’m currently writing, so I need to finish this, proof read and put some text on the blog graphic.

Sunday: Hotel:

This post is fully complete and ready to go, I had it planned for today, but changed my scheduled when my Degustabox was delivered. So that’s pretty easy!

Last thoughts.

So, as you can see – when it comes down to writing and scheduling my posts on a Sunday, I don’t have 7 full posts to write from start to finish. I’ll probably have 3 to write and the rest to just tweak and finalise.

Having a very clear plan of what I need to blog about really helps as if I ever have a spare hour or two after work, I’ll start writing, proof reading or editing photos. I take the photos in bulk too and try to get them in draft form ready to go!

At the end of today, I’ll have 7 days posts scheduled and it’s time to start working here and there on the following weeks 7 posts, which are all planned and some already in draft form, photos taken and part written.

I tag India, Laura and Sarah.

How do you plan your blog?