This is how I blog.

I still haven’t fixed my wireless Internet, so I only get Internet if I plug in downstairs. This keeps me away from my computer more than I’d like, but it is probably a good thing, otherwise I can tend to find myself plunked in front of my laptop every time I start to feel bored. (And yes, I do come up with excuses to run downstairs so I can check my sites, I needed to switch the laundry to the dryer anyways right?)

So in order for me to blog, I have to jot down any of my crazy ideas with pen and paper when they pop into my head. Then later when I get the chance, I type the notes into a Google document and save it. I highlight the star next to that document so I know that it is an unfinished blog post. When I get a chance to spend a chunk of time in front of my computer (like if my kids are napping or watching a cartoon) I skim through my starred documents and write a bit more detail here and there. If I feel particularly inspired on one topic or another, I will write for a while on one post. And then later I might re-write it. Sometimes I cut and paste a half-finished post into a Word document and take my laptop outside where I can hang out with the kids and write at the same time.

Once feel satisfied that I am saying what I want say (Um yeah, this process can take weeks sometimes) I spell check (very necessary for me!) and then cut and paste what I’ve written into a new post on my blog. When I can, I add a few pictures, mess around with the font’s and figure out a title for the post. After I hit publish, I will invariably go back and edit SOMETHING, I just can’t stand it leaving it alone if I’ve thought of a better word to express what I was getting at.

I try not to publish comments until I’ve read each one and I have time to respond to them if I want to respond. So sometimes they can sit in my inbox for hours. But I will eventually publish them. Just like I eventually reply to all my email, it just takes time.

The way I follow blogs is even more convoluted.

If I really like a blog that I come across, I will typically follow them on Twitter or Facebook. If I find that I keep reading and getting edified by their writing for months, I may follow them anonymously on Blogger. If I find them mentally exhausting or mean, I can unfollow them on Twitter or Facebook and not feel as guilty as if I’ve abandoned them on Blogger.

If I find myself commenting regularly on a blog that I follow anonymously on Blogger, I may switch to following publicly. If the blog owner isn’t on Twitter or Facebook, and I really really like them, I will put the blog into a folder of blogs I like in my favorites, where I will check on them once in blue moon and reevaluate whether or not they continue to interest me.

I check the blogs I follow on Blogger once a day, skimming through all the titles of posts published that day. If a title jumps out at me, I open that post and save it to my favorites to read when I have time. At the end of the day (after the kids are in bed and my husband is in the shower) I read the half-dozen posts that I’ve saved in my favorites, comment and delete them out of my favorites or if I feel like it is so encouraging that I am going to read it a few more times then I save it into a different folder.

So yeah, I have a weird system for blogging. But it works for me.