A Sneak Peek Behind My Laptop Keyboard: My Writing Process Blog Tour

Last week Ase at A Spoonful of Style invited me to take part in the “Writing Process Blog Tour.” A Spoonful of Style is delightful, charming, and so very chic. It’s chock full of beautiful photographs, yummy recipes, inspiring interior design ideas, and trendy fashion-forward finds. I’ve been a fan of Ase’s blog for several months, and I can’t recommend it enough! Thanks again for inviting me to participate and for your all-too-kind words, Ase!

You may be wondering what exactly this blog tour is all about. Well, it starts off with an invitation from a fellow blogger and is essentially a brief Q&A session about your own blog writing process. In order to keep the tour moving along, the blogger who just posted their answers (in this case, me) then invites three other bloggers to answer the same questions in a post exactly one week later. It’s a never-ending tour, my friends! Join us, won’t you? Here we go!

1. What are you working on?

I admit it: there’s nothing but a DIY Harry Potter coffee mug and accouterments from Ikea behind my laptop keyboard.

I’m not working on anything in particular at the moment, to be quite honest. I’m in the middle of studying for the bar exam (for those of you who are unfamiliar with the process of becoming a lawyer in the United States, after you graduate from law school, you must still pass another exam in order to be licensed in the particular state you want to practice law in. The exam covers a wide range of legal topics, from criminal law and procedure to property law to contract law and more. The exam itself can last anywhere from two to three days and is only offered twice a year), so I’ve been devoting less time to the blog over the past week or so.

However, I am constantly on the hunt for new quotes to incorporate in my “Monday Motivation” posts. I often run across quotes on Pinterest that are worded beautifully, but aren’t visually depicted very well, so I will design a new image with the same quote. Graphic design can take a fair amount of time, especially if you’re using apps on your phone instead of Photoshop on a computer.

2. How does your work differ from others in its genre?

The answer to that question depends on what genre my blog falls into in the first place, and I’ve had a rather difficult time trying to figure that out. It seems that most of the blogs I love are lifestyle blogs, but I don’t know if T#G falls into that category. Maybe this is a culture blog? I have a tendency to write posts that make references to reading, television, and pop culture in general. I suppose even the posts about fashion and technology are tied to Western culture.

I don’t know. Oh, man, now I’m all flustered. Excuse me while I try to figure out my blog’s identity. #BlogLifeCrisis

3. Why do you write what you do?

I think I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but I started writing this blog with the intention of discussing topics related to Generation Y/Millennials/my generation’s interests. I decided not to stick to that mission statement so strictly, mainly because there is already an overload of news websites, and everyone doesn’t want to read blog posts about how much the economy sucks all the time.

Nevertheless, I think there’s a bit of a void when it comes to discussing youth issues in the blogosphere, and hopefully this blog helps fill a tiny piece of that void. So, from time to time, I still post my thoughts on articles about Generation Y’s attitudes, work lives (too many unpaid internships!), education, etc.; scientific studies that may affect our generation’s health; and this generation’s pop culture obsessions (Jennifer Lawrence, anyone?). This generation wants to keep track of its job prospects and vent about the trials and tribulations while pursuing higher education just as much as it wants to keep track of what new shows Netflix is streaming and what gorgeous outfit Emma Stone is going to wear next.

4. How does your writing process work?

My writing process, just like pretty much everything else in my life, is all over the place. There are two different writing processes I may use. Regardless of which I use, it’s safe to say that I don’t have a post outlined properly in my head before I begin writing. I usually just go with the flow and edit as I go along. I try to use my reporting skills from my journalism classes as much as I can in order to help make each piece as readable as possible.

Writing Process #1: I find a cool article, see a cool YouTube video, or experience something that makes me think, “Hey, this has ‘BLOG POST’ written all over it!” Then I start writing and either
a) decide my writing is nowhere witty enough and abandon my endeavor all together,
b) write the post, decide “Meh, this is something I can post whenever. I’ll let it live in the drafts folder for a little bit,” and then “a little bit” turns into “eternity,”
c) spend an insane amount of time writing the post and then schedule it to post later, or
d) write it, post it, and then realize that not very many people think it is quite as cool as I did. #SadFace #NeverAgain

Writing Process #2: I realize that people really liked a certain post (for example, fashion at the Oscars), and decide I need to make more of those kinds of posts. This was the main reason why I had Kate Middleton fashion posts twice in one month (see here and here). In other words, I post things that I know y’all will like to read – or at least I hope you will like to read.

On a somewhat related note, I make the Monday Motivation posts weeks in advance and schedule them to post on their own. Like I mentioned above, I often design the quotes myself, but I also find a bunch of them on Pinterest as well.

Some Well-Written Blogs

A Worried Student | This blog tells the tale of my life better than I ever could. This British student is incredibly insightful, witty, and well spoken. While he often discusses the trials and tribulations of studying, taking tests, and trying to survive school, he also ventures into non-school-related territory to talk about cool apps, current events, and cultural issues. It’s a great mix of topics, and the blog will be a great addition to your WordPress Reader!

The Fashion Huntress | She’s a young professional with an eye for style and savings, and her blog features some trendy outfits that you can wear to work or when you’re out with friends. The photos themselves are works of art, and each post comes with tips on how to make certain pieces work for you and your budget. Love it!

Cupid or Cats | A sometimes quirky, sometimes silly, sometimes serious, but always intriguing blog. One of my favorite posts was Janey’s story about trying to save an unintentionally rogue bird that was flying around her home. It was beautifully written and really struck a chord with me. I just recently began following Cupid or Cats, but it has quickly become one of my favorites.