Why blogging?

What are the reasons that stop you (as a student and creative professional) from blogging regularly?

Common answers:

• I don't know what to write about.
• I feel like I am no expert.
• Nobody is going to read it.
• It takes too long.
• It doesn't look good.
• I know what I'm doing so there's no need to write it down.

📓 Let's not call it a blog, but rather an online sketchbook.

Creative people have been using sketchbooks for centuries to jot down ideas, record conversations, collect inspirations, remember things, plan projects, doodle...

💭 It's place to think.

Sketching and writing (whether is on paper or digital) helps you:

• Learn from what you've made
• Figure out your next step
• Document your creative process
• Reflect on your progress
• ... realise that after all you have actually done or learned something today / this week 👌

It's a mindset.

Tools

• Collecting visual inspirations: Pinterest
• Bookmarking: Delicious
• Taking notes: Evernote, Google Docs, Hackpad, Quip, Paper, real paper and pens..
• Blogging (publishing platforms): Medium, WordPress, Tumblr
• Writing: PenFlip, Grammarly

Tips

1. Don't write a primary school log of what we've done in class (aka regurgitation). We know what we've done in class already.

   Note what you've learned and why you think it's relevant. Or boring, or confusing.

• Aim to explain and entertain. Make it enjoyable for people to read. Remember that you're primarily writing for yourself, but it's much more fun to write with someone else in mind!

• You can ask questions in your posts, from the obvious What do you think? to the specific Which colours should I use for my background?. Involve your reader(s)!

• The Web wouldn't be a Web without hyperlinks! Use plenty of them.

• Paragraphs are a good thing! When you see a block of text that is longer than 5 lines (for instance on FB), do you want to read it? Or do you find yourself skimming over it?

• Use headings, sub-headings, bold and italics to give your posts a visual rhythm. These will allow readers to scan for keywords before they actually start to read your posts.

• Images: make them big! There's nothing more painful (typographically) than squinting your eyes to try and make sense of an image, with text wrapping around it.

• Editing and proofreading

  Ask yourself: does this sentence making sense? Would someone else enjoy reading it? Could I make the same point with less words?

  Re-read your stuff and make sure your points are clear and sharp. Don't blabber on, edit out the unnecessary.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License