What and When to Write

WordPress is great, you can write whatever you want whenever you want.  Lets do the whenever first.  By using the simple Post Timestamp on the lower right hand side of the Write Post page you can change the day that the article that you just wrote will post.  This is an excellent tool.  I am no English major, nor am I even a good writer.  When I get inspired to write I just have to sit down and do it.  I may bust out two or three articles in one sitting, then not get inspired to do so again for a week or two.  Using the Post Timestamp lets me spread those articles out and seem to have a constantly updating site.  What a great tool.

Now what to write.  This is the hard one for most of us non writing types of people, but lets face it, even if we want to be a hermit in todays world we need to communicate a little bit with some people.  If it is midnight or 1am, or in my case when I wake up at 5am there are not many people available to talk to, so we are back to writing.

I keep a notebook with me at all times.  I prefer the little note pad with a spiral binding about big enough to keep in your back pocket.  I also keep a “Mini Pilot G-2″ pen along with it.  It is a system that works flawlessly for me.  The pen hooks right onto the spiral notebook part and is always there when I need it.  If I have an idea I will jot it down immediately.  I am always getting ideas, some good, some bad, but they are always coming and going.  I am trying to eliminate the going part.  By writing down a word or two about them I can remember them when I get home.

Once I get home the geek in me comes out and I put it in a spreadsheet of ideas.  I even use the strikethrough font if I have written about one.  I never delete them because usually they will spark another idea for me, and the cycle continues.  This way if I get in the mood to write, I will begin writing, if I have a little writers block, I open my spread sheet and away I go.

My recommendation to you is find a system, a notebook, note card, whatever works for you and use it to keep track of ideas as they pop into your head.   When you get the time sit down and write a few out.  Then use the Post Timestamp and forget about it.  An hour worth of writing on your blog can produce weeks and weeks of articles posting right on schedule.  Having articles posting on a regular schedule not only keeps people interested in your topic, but it lets the search engines and ranking tools know you have something to say thus putting your website higher and higher on the search engines.