Walking and Talking: A technique for writing blog posts

The words were all there when you talked about the topic in conversation yesterday, but when it comes to actually writing the post…impossible. But wait, that’s just it! Record yourself talking about it. I spend roughly 23% of my life walking (that’s an exaggeration, but I do walk a lot). Why not write a blog…


The words were all there when you talked about the topic in conversation yesterday, but when it comes to actually writing the post…impossible.

But wait, that’s just it! Record yourself talking about it.

blogpost

I spend roughly 23% of my life walking (that’s an exaggeration, but I do walk a lot). Why not write a blog post while walking? Everyone is talking to themselves on headphones anyway, so for all intents and purposes I am having a phone conversation, not talking to myself about WordPress development.

Phones are perfect for this – good ‘ol Siri becomes useful at long last! Open up Evernote or the Notes app, click the microphone on the keyboard, start talking, and watch as your blog post magically writes itself. This not only gets over the blank screen phenomenon, it keeps the tone natural and conversational. And when you sit down to actually write the post, you have a bunch of transcribed content to work from.

This brilliance comes from the book Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose by Kate Keifer Lee and Nicole Fenton. I definitely recommend grabbing a copy – they break down the writing process in very plain language, and touch on lots of nuances specific to the web.

So, if you see me walking and talking…now you know my secret.