Mo is a software developer, late twenties. Lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with his wife and young daughter. Writer of the blog Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin, a wacky take on the world with a focus on observational humour, people-watching and literary quality. He loves nothing more than to sit in a pub with a pen and paper, sipping a strong dark beer and capturing life’s humour, richness and colour.
When you have been writing for a while churning out content can at times be fairly easy. You have a handful of pre-written posts and a collection of ideas for the weeks ahead. It’s not always easy. We all know those moments when time is short, ideas are sparse and the mind is tired. Right now, for example, I’m moving house for the third time in a year, my job is fulfilling but exceptionally busy and my young daughter seems to think that 6am is my ideal waking time. Producing regular content can be hard and I’m feeling it right now.
Despite this, over time I’ve got better at keeping to my posting schedule and creating time to improve the quality of the content. I’m sure many of you have too. The key is keeping the quality of your content high. Rushed content can be a real turn-off. I’m going to go layout three techniques I use to keep content varied of a high quality.
- Keep an active list of ideas
This sounds so obvious, but not everyone does this. In my Blackberry I currently have nineteen draft posts. The size, style and completeness of these vary tremendously. Some are embryonic, just consisting of a few points, observations or snippets of content. Some consist merely of the idea. I.e. they cover what I want the post to contain, but consist of hardly any of the final content. Some are pretty much finished, in draft form, but still require editing and review. In addition to this I have a memo which contains around about fifty thoughts, ideas, bits of conversation or things I have witnessed which do not yet have a place in a post, but invariably find their way into one.
- Maintain an active list of words, phrases or literary styles
This is a valuable technique. This is not an advert for Blackberry by the way but again, in that device I keep a memo full of a list of words, phrases and literary ideas. Why? If you want to keep your content fresh and improve your writing then this is invaluable. I constantly take note of words that I like, and want to use, and words that I’m unfamiliar with, but would like to find out what they mean. I take note of phrases or literary styles for a different reason. Sometimes I can learn from them and adjust content so that it reads better. I’m not talking about copying a phrase, but allowing content that grabs me shape my own content. It gives room for my own writing to evolve and improve.
- Allow a decent gap between completing and publishing content
I know most writers do this, but it can be tempting when you have finished something which you are pleased with to go ahead and publish it. However this is what I do. I try to allow several days between finishing a post and publishing it. In that gap I then give myself time to proof-read, edit and tweak the content. I use the lists mentioned above. This varies from the obvious types of editing – fixing typos, misplaced apostrophes, breaking up or combining paragraphs – to using the lists mentioned above. I’ll go through my list of words and see if any of them can be used to improve the content. Or I’ll look at the form of any phrases I’ve taken note of and see if I can tweak the order of words so that the content reads better.
I hope these techniques are helpful to you. What do people think? What techniques do you use to keep the quality of your content high.
Mo is a software developer, late twenties. Lives in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, with his wife and young daughter. Writer of the blog Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin, a wacky take on the world with a focus on observational humour, people-watching and literary quality. He loves nothing more than to sit in a pub with a pen and paper, sipping a strong dark beer and capturing life’s humour, richness and colour.
I especially like the idea of keeping a file/notes on words, phrases, etc., to use in the future. Scrolling back through a file full of good ideas sounds much more inspirational than my “sometimes” practice of staring out the window waiting for ideas to fall from the sky
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..57 Smokin’ Tips to Thaw Blogging Brain Freeze =-.
Ideas sometimes do fall from the sky, but in my experience they normally fall when I’m not waiting for them! Actually a lot my ideas are taken from such moments but they build up over time.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
Great first post Mo.
Ideas… I get a fair few of them when I am in the bath, gotta theory about that too, think thoughts lock up in water…
Ideas, yeah… and sometimes when I am just out walking about, so I agree with that, they do very often come when least expected and usually turn out to be the better ones.
I really should do more of the last point you make though, I too often publish post after writing them, then sometimes they are just on impulse, though I have 45 in gmail, I quite often use gmail to write post, save drafts etc, good to have tags for the ease too and it stops me hitting publish.
Must be loving it up there in Yorkshire, great place to bring the daughter up, oh, yeah, and the beer is good, real ale.
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Portland community, Portland Bill, you and me =-.
Yeah Rob that’s the great thing about being up here is real beer with great beer gardens!
Aye mate…. I like it up there. great driving roads too
NOT to done after that real ale though!!
But bet non of your beer gardens are anything like ours here…
http://robsellen.com/happy-easter-to-you-all/ Yep, that on the right is the pub!
I am of up there in a minute… to soak up this sun… Bliss!
.-= rob sellen´s last blog ..Make money online, mining locally? =-.
Best thing about Yorkshire is the beer, though I do miss my Sussex favourites.
And yeah, I often end up with a ton of draft posts in gmail.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
Hi Mo!
I don’t have a Blackberry – but I do the same thing with my Samsung Eternity – I also make use of the voice recorder for when I’m in the car driving. It’s crazy how the best ideas will flood my mind when I’m alone in the car with no pen or paper available. I stopped letting it drive me nuts (pardon the pun) and started using my voice recorder to keep track of my ideas that I later go back and draft.
And I don’t care how good of a writer I think I am – I wouldn’t dare publish anything I just wrote (unless it’s some type of brief announcement) – no one would ever read my posts again.
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog ..5 Reasons Readers like Numbers in a Headline =-.
I read that Belloc did that – published books off-the-cuff, he would dictate to a typist while pacing the room and then the book would be sold…
…but as for the rest of us…
Voice recorder is a good idea. I’ve never used it, mainly because I hate listening to my own voice!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
Mo, you’re scaring me! I feel the exact same way – I even wrote about that in an upcoming post of mine
– but I have no choice, it’s either that or crash!
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog ..Be a Blessing: Tell them how special they are to you =-.
James,
The concept of walking around with “idea” book kinda sounds hokey… But I will tell you first hand it is the KEY to consistent quality content. You never know when a great topic is going to to hit you but if your in the mind frame and something comes to you and you don’t write it down you may never get that idea back.
Here’s to quality content!
Ryan H.
Hokey, or even hokey-cokey, but definitely necessary. One thing I do, if pictures can capture a moment or thought more than words, is to snap a quick photo too.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
Hey Ryan this post was by Mo
Mo,
I almost always get my phone out (not a Blackberry either) and go to the notes and type something up I just came up with. Later, I might sit and think quietly for a while and jot some notes down on paper. I also think about what message I want to get across to my readers in the near future and work with keywords specific to those ideas and then start writing what I feel I need to say.
All great ideas here. I think taking notes is extremely important when fresh ideas come in. You never know if they’ll come back again.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Where Do You Want To Go And Who Should You Listen To? =-.
A couple of times here and there I’ve (shame on me) whipped out my phone in a restaurant or something and tapped a few notes down. Ok, I’ll be fair, it WAS when my wife had nipped to the bathroom but still…
I love working on paper. Tend to find that when I write notes down by hand they flow more naturally.
Working with keywords is a smart idea, not something I’ve done a lot of.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
I have been using a combination of a small notebook, a digital voice recorder and my wordpress queue to keep post ideas and notes on the posts in. It works great just like you said.
I need to work on giving more time to review posts before they are published. I like to write, review and publish.
Thanks for the tips
-Justin
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..A list of People to Kill… =-.
I’m tempted to try the voice recorder thing. Do you ramble into it or simply use it to take verbal notes?
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
I ramble mostly. Mine has 4 folders on it, one is my shopping list, one is blog post ideas and how to write them, one is story ideas and paragraphs as I think of them. The other is misc. stuff. I find it is quicker than writing down things for me. I like to keep it close at night when I have a wacked out dream that may become a story. I am working on a couple of those right now. The recorder I have I can record something like 40 hours in high quality.
.-= Justin Matthews´s last blog ..A list of People to Kill… =-.
These are useful tips! I do have a list of ideas (in my Blackberry as well, actually), but I do not have a list of key phrases & I tend to write and post in short order. My wife tend to get annoyed if I look @ my BB at all, really, so I don’t use it around her. This is a good tip for most people, I would think.
But, I do tend to think about what I am going to write for a few hours before I do so.
I appreciate the suggestions! Anything to improve is worth the effort, I think.
Have a great day!
.-= mark´s last blog ..5 Tips to Reduce Stress and Increase Productivity =-.
Yeah I tend to keep the BB hidden when with my wife, but it does sometimes make an appearance!
Actually, one thing I do find is that if I have drafted a post, over the next few days my mind often finds itself mulling over the content and then I spot something, I read something, which sparks further improvements.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
Hey Mo, great first team post. I like the active word file. Sounds very useful. I personally use Evernote to record everything and I maintain a list of draft posts in the WordPress App for the iPhone.
I usually do leave time between writing the draft and publishing it but sometimes I just don’t have the time.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..A Response to “So What’s Your Problem?” =-.
Mate I know the time issue. Tend to stay on top of things but every now and then I suddenly find myself in a bit of a struggle time-wise and that’s when having some almost-ready drafts comes in handy. Occasionally I just wing it, but that’s rarer these days! Nothing like a quick winged post though!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
I also take notes in my mobile device but I don’t do it often. I have to agree that it is more ideal to use mobile devices as they let you save your thoughts wherever you are. Yeah I think I’ll do this tip more frequently.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..The Challenges of Blind Internet Users =-.
Until about six months ago I primarily used a notepad (a concrete, non-digital one!) to draft posts and maintain lists and ideas. But I found myself using the BB more, and then finding I was needing to take notes without having my pad. Still, I update my notepad with my lists every month or so, keeping a concrete handwritten hive of the ramblings of my mind!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
Hi Mo,
I must be the only blogger that doesn’t have a huge list of draft posts ready to go. I think I have something like 5 in draft mode with just the titles ready
I work well under stress and deadlines and I think when I’m feeling the pressure – that’s when I get most inspired. Some of the best received articles I’ve written literally at the 11th hour, when some of the ones that I researched and planned out, didn’t do so well.
The idea of the voice recorder is a great idea. I have that feature on my smartphone but never use it. I’m going to try to capture my ideas that way. I have a tendency to email myself article ideas and titles. The voice recorder will be faster and more conversational.
Great post with great ideas sprinkled throughout the comments, too.
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..The Only Words You Need To Overcome Your Fears =-.
I definitely think I’ll try the voice recorder too. Doesn’t work so well (for me at least!) when around people, but if I’m walking it makes total sense. It potentially captures your thoughts more accurately too, I guess, but I’ve yet to find out if that is the case!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
I have 80, ranging from titles, through bullet points, to more or less complete articles.
I’ll be moving a bunch of these out of drafts and publishing them elsewhere as snippets or “technical haiku.” With a link back of course.
This has been working well for the few I have done it with. I snip something to the third site, then when I need a “real” blog post, I go on a raid and use a snippet as a foundation. That keeps all my material actively working for me.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Road Ahead – David Risley got me to spill the beans =-.
Note to self. Use the term “technical haiku” within the next 24 hours.
I like the thought of you “raiding” snippets. That’s exactly what I feel I am doing as I snatch ideas out of the idea bucket.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
I use what I call “Publish, then Polish.”
Sometimes, letting articles gestate is good. Sometimes, they get stale.
Also, and especially with either 1. topical content, or 2. SEO driven content (technical articles, probably not what you think), I tend to put those out as fast as possible because the age of an article matters in SERPs. Older articles tend to rank higher, provided you have an active website.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..Road Ahead – David Risley got me to spill the beans =-.
Interesting points there, thanks Dave. I’ve not often written the types of articles that go stale – in the sense that most of my stuff has been humour-based and not necessarily coupled to the current day/time/week etc. But I see what you mean regarding SEO.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Someone, somewhere, is watching you =-.
Hi Mo,
I use the memo pad on my blackberry as well to come up with draft post, especially when I’m out on-the-go and away from my computer. I can just key away at my ideas and save them. Then I copy and paste it into an email and email it to myself, so that when I’m at my PC I can copy it out of my email onto Word where I can final proof it.
This technique works for me tremendously and keeps me from having to carry a note pad around. Plus I can actually key faster on my blackberry than I can write, so I stay on top of my ideas. Good to know I’m on the right track. Thanks for sharing, great article!!
I’ve also found I can key the BB quicker than I can write (though not quicker than real typing to be fair!).
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Enchanted Legumes: the other side of the bean =-.
Nearly all of my posts come from experiences… things I have witnessed, conversations I have had (or overheard… ahem!), mistakes I’ve made, and successes I have enjoyed. Keeping a note pad and pen handy at all times is a total MUST for me personally. Probably because I tend to forget very fast… unusually fast if I am totally honest :]
Love the pointers, and I’ll definately be taking your advice on using a list of fave words etc. Thanks for the tips mate. Top post.
.-= Phil Johnson´s last blog ..Food for Thought =-.
Glad you liked the pointers. I too forget very easily. I’ve often thought “what a great idea” and seriously believed that I could just store it in my brain and retrieve at a later date, before finding that I could remember the gist but NOT the stuff that mattered until the post is long up!
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Enchanted Legumes: the other side of the bean =-.