Today is my 25th blog post and I’m celebrating! The topic today is Four Things I’ve learned from blogging.
How shall we celebrate? Hum… Take me to a nice Mexican restaurant that makes their own beans daily. I can tell canned beans from fresh because of my Mexican heritage. The ingredients make a difference, fresh is best. I know that much and I’m not much of a cook.
Cooking is like blogging, fresh is best.
Did you know that different groups of Latinos eat different kinds of beans. Mexicans like pinto beans. Guatemalans and Cubans like black beans. Salvadorans like red beans. That’s the extent of my knowledge. Back to blogging.
Here is what I’ve learned about blogging
Write down all your ideas in searchable folders
Capture thoughts while they are fresh. I’ve created file folders on my computer by topic. Every time I get a fresh idea, I type it up before I forget. I might be driving down the road and a great sentence forms in my head. I grab my phone and record it. I have a collection of voice recordings that I will type up.
Old journals are another resource for me. I go back and read through them, flagging sections that might make a good post. Then I type it up later.
Other times I’ll start writing about a topic that stirs my passion. I have over 100 potential articles.
Save quotes, pictures, and articles
I have learned not to work from scratch. It’s easier to produce a weekly blog post when I have something to draw from. I created three files that are valuable to me.
One is a quote file. I collect quotes mostly from reading. When you look for good quotes, you will find them everywhere.
Two is a picture gallery on my computer. In my leisure time, I collect pictures from the internet from Pixabay.com (Images for free for commercial use, no attribution required). This is something I can do while I watch (or listen) to a TV show.
Three, like a soup starter, I have a file of articles-starters that I described above. I collect ideas for articles and then start writing. Writing a weekly post is not as hard when I start with an partially written article. I combine these three: pictures, quotes and articles to make a great blog post.
Blogging promotes personal growth
All my fears and insecurities surface when I write. I ask myself the usual questions. “Who am I to write?” “Why would anyone listen to me?” “Who do you think you are?” I come face to face with my struggle to embrace my own self-worth. Blogging is an opportunity to journal, think and grow. When these thoughts surface, I challenge them. Yes, I talk back to the voices in my head. Then I read books from Brene Brown, who is my mentor from afar. And I challenge myself to be vulnerable. It’s not easy.
Create Original Graphics using Canva
I love combining photos and quotes to create graphics with Canva.com. Images grab people’s attention. This process also forces me to be concise, which is hard for me. I tend to be long-winded. If I’m too tired to write, I create graphic art. It’s fun.
I’ve discovered that blogging is fun if I break down the process into small activities. Collect thoughts, ideas, quotes, article topics, pictures and graphic. Mix together weekly and present on a nicely decorated platform. Once a week when I sit down to post a blog, I have plenty of ingredients or rather resources to draw from. This makes blogging not so scary like it was in the beginning. Thank you for celebrating with me by reading, sharing and liking.
©2017 Belinda Perez McDanel
Belinda Perez McDanel 