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Tip: Draft on Paper

I might be stating the obvious here, but this is a tip I’ve learned from my experience: when you have free time throughout the day away from your computer, draft entries for your blog on paper.

If you are anything like me then you have more free time at your job than anywhere else. At my current job I do not have a computer, but this doesn’t mean I can’t apply my free time to my blog. I carry a notepad every day and when I am on a break or waiting for someone I pull it out and start writing. At first this was just a way to keep up with all the ideas I had for new blog entries without quitting my job, but after two weeks of doing this I realized that it is actually more comfortable and productive than writing on the computer.

At the computer it’s far too easy to be distracted when trying to write a new entry. It’s very hard to avoid blogs, social websites, and e-mail, especially when I can’t think of what to write. Writing on paper can also be more natural. I was a traditional writer before I ever started blogging, and drafting on paper was where I always started. I don’t know why writing on a tangible surface like a notepad is more conducive to my thought process than the screen, but even with the web as my publishing medium, I still like to draft on paper. Also, I find that I proofread entries better when I have to type them up after having drafted them entirely, rather than starting from scratch on the computer.

There are some cases where it’s very hard to draft on paper, such as when you are writing an entry directly related to software and you are going through examples and screenshots as you write. For most everything else, however, I suggest you give it a try. You would be surprised at how much more blogging you can do when you put all that free time to good use!