I’ve talked about topic planning and making time, but something that’s really saved my bacon is writing ahead. If nothing else, it’s nice to have a post or two sitting around ready to go for days when inspiration and/or time run short. Of course, you have to spend the time to write ahead which isn’t always easy.

When I finish a post a little early within my designated “writing time” and I feel adequately motivated, I go ahead and start on the next one, if I know what it is. I’m a little more cautious about this if I’m already a day ahead, though, because I occasionally like to talk about current events or news and like to do so in a timely manner. I wrote several days ahead last Blaugust and I felt like my posts were a little stale by the time they went live. I didn’t feel like I was writing about the present anymore and if I wanted to that meant I’d have to push a post out even further. I settled on one day for myself because I don’t mind delaying one post by one day in order to be more timely about a specific topic. I’m sure that balance is different for everyone.

It’s a little different with posts like this one. I have a vague timeline/schedule that I’m following and can write ahead and/or move these around as I please, within reason. For example, I’m actually writing this on Monday, or starting it at least, and if it was posted on Thursday then all is right in my world.

Notice, though, that I left gaps between those. That was done on purpose, to give me a chance to write about other things. I do this during events like Blaugust so that my topic ideas, which are on the opposite page, have a home. Even if I don’t write them until a day or so ahead of time, I know I’m going to be I spend some time thinking about what I want to say, gathering up some screenshots, images, and/or links to put in. Though I guess that’s more planning ahead than writing ahead.

A good example of using these gaps is that my post on the 31st about Drakore games was not the original intended and scheduled post for that morning, but I felt like writing about it while it was still timely. I had originally intended to do a commentary on the most recent FFXIV patch and even wrote about half of it, but decided I didn’t have a lot to add to what’s already been said, so I reverted it to draft status and haven’t gone back to it.

It’s not for everyone either. I thrive on consistency and planning, but I’m me and you’re you. My way of doing things certainly isn’t the only way, or even the best way, but it’s my way and I like it.

With this being my first post in August proper, I’m glad to have y’all here. I hope you enjoy and appreciate your time, as well as the time of all the other participants and contributors.

Good luck, take care, and stay safe. Let’s start this shit up.

In case you haven’t heard, we’re in the middle of an event called Blaugust. The goal is to simply promote and stimulate the blogging community by encouraging people of all skill levels and backgrounds to post. The official post can be found here and it’s never too late to start.