Greetings People ~
If only that was really me ~
Photo Credit: s723.photobucket.com
Yes, I am a curious cat. I told Le Clown that it was a secret, but really, it’s not. I pretended to be a cat my entire childhood. Other kids obsessively wore cowboy boots day in/day out or princess attire or underoos – but not me. I stepped it up a notch. My grandmother knitted me a scarf when I was five. I decided it was useless as such- but it made a fabulous cat tail. Yes, I stuck that scarf down the back of my pants and a cat I became. I wore that tail for god knows how long. I even started the girl cat ‘club’ in 1st grade – which was really just a front for rounding up innocent boy creatures and scratching them with my jagged bitten nails. I’m pretty sure I had to disband the club under duress at the insistence of the elementary school authorities. Bastards.
Ironically, this post is not about my feline tendencies – it’s about a question I am curious about.
Writers, I beseech of you to answer me this –
When preparing a post do you:
A) write it in the WP environment first?
B) write it in Word (or some other word processor of a similar affinity)?
C) write days in advance and continually revamp/revise/rewrite?
D) write it ‘off the cuff’?
E) write then publish immediately?
F) write and schedule its release (especially from you multi-posts-a-day-people)?
G) something else entirely?
I would say I have done a bit of each but my tendencies are towards B, D & E.
So give it up – I’m curious; I yearn to know…
Else I’ll have to scratch you with my jagged bitten nails.
The Mercenary Researcher 
A, D, E mostly. For complicated ones I will use a Wordprocessor.
I have a hard time writing in WP but I’m slowly doing that more and more these days.
I did too at one point, but have now managed to figure out how to edit, save drafts etc in the WP editor itself.
I’m so old skool
Mostly C, I guess, but my habits are changing.
🙂
I don’t really belong commenting here because my blog is just silly. (off the cuff totally)i just wanted to say hello 🙂
You can comment ANYWHERE on my blog that you like –
HELLO!
I always write in Word. Even when writing this comment I am currently in Word, for fear that I will bust out a spelling error, because I am a terrible speller (already I have several red lines indicating the misspelling of words!) I usually post and then publish immediately because I have no patience really to wait for anything! My blog is about my children and the life of Motherhood, so usually I write in the moment, when something weird or funny happens I have to go write it down, because if I don’t I will more than likely forget it! 🙂 Great post, I really enjoyed it!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting – another Word user! Yay!! On a positive note, Chrome’s browser shows me all the misspelled words I’m typing in any environment on a webpage – so it’s something to consider for typing replies if you’re inclined to switch browsers.
I like to write in the moment too – else it zings by – or I write the stories I’ve been telling for AGES;
A: for the stuff that gets published to WordPress… the stuff I write just for my wife or my other projects I’m working on all get written in Word.
D: When responding to the daily prompts, or when typing up something else that popped into my head that I wanted to share – these are always written by the seat of my pants and E) published immediatly.
F: For my recurring weekly posts (Thursday writing updates and Friday Q and A silliness) I’ve written those ahead of time and scheduled them to post.
djmatticus – you are very prolific!
Thanks for responding – I was a very curious cat about you in particular b/c you do often post.
🙂 happy to have “given up the goods” as it were..
Though, I suspect the real question is: “How do I have time for all of that?”
I cheat. 😉
Better than “I plagiarize”
LOL
No, no, no. I certainly don’t do that. Hmm, perhaps instead of “cheat” I should say – I’m a champion multi-tasker. How about that?
I never doubted
A) and E). I write in WordPress and go until it’s done then hit the publish button! I don’t trust scheduling for some reason lol, though I’m sure there will come a time when I have to use it 🙂
I like your cat story, pity about the club!! I used to love running around like a T-Rex.
RWAR!
Rohan.
I’m pretty sure I’d have rounded you up if you were a boy creature at my school.
Haha, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t’ have minded 🙂
Rohan.
cheeky monkey.
Pretty smooth right! Haha, hope you’re having a nice warm weekend 🙂
Rohan.
I’m writing about hot yoga RIGHT now!
Psychic! Doesn’t get much warmer than hot yoga! I look forward to reading it 🙂
Rohan.
I write it in Word as it may take ages before I have the TIME OH THE TIME to finish it. Sigh. It’s frustrating. I want writing for a day job.
I used to like to think I was a mermaid & held my breath under water and swam around people’s legs as if I was of the underwater world!! Like cats too though… & never heard of underoos before?!
I love all the imagination games we played as kids -which now would render us institutionalized if we did it as adults.
Yes – TIME – where do you go???
I alternate between A and B, but both eventually lead to F. Kind of like my grades in high school.
Oh Calahan ~ I bet you were a straight A kid.
Far from it. I was the most apathetic student in HS, trust me.
so the glasses are just a front for the nerdy smarts?
Oh yeah, they’re not even prescription lenses.
GASP!
My hair? A wig.
Is your whole persona faux?
Of course!
I’m miffed.
oh no, I have a cat allergy, please don’t scratch!
I am BDE mostly with an occasional scheduled post if I happen to write two on one day.
If it helps, I used to pretend my bike was a horse…
Nice kitty 🙂
I’m like a poodle-cat – no allergies 🙂
I’m a B and F. B because I’m always afraid I’ll accidentally click the publish button before I’m done. And F because I’m a little scared of the Publish button. I don’t know why.
I want underoos!
Who doesn’t want Underoos!
I’m generally a B, D, E kind of gal. Lately, though, I’m stuck on wanting to write about a couple of topics, but nothing is coming out that I am in the least bit fond of.
I know that feeling! It must be ‘in the air’ as it were.
My blogs thus far are few and far between. When I do write them it is in WP and off the cuff. Then I call Michelle in to give it a read (she always says something nice) and I publish it. I rarely read it again.
Wow – never again? I can’t stop re-reading it 🙂
That’s cuz your stuff is good!
Ha! It’s cuz I’m looking for things that passed my eye. I haven’t really found a writer in this blog-world that I follow that is NOT good at what they do – which is amazing and daunting at the SAME time 🙂
I’m usually A, D, and E but I wish I had enough structure to plan, revise, and schedule.
I’m too impatient to think about scheduling!
Ditto
🙂
A,D, and E. And then I edit. And update. And find more typos. And update. Then add a picture. Then update. Fix my categories. And update.
That is, when I write. Which isn’t a lot lately.
Any pictures of you and your cat-tail?
I’ll have to look – but I am not sure – if so – I’ll post.
I do a lot of post publish changes – I always find things that aren’t quite ‘right’
I’m so overjoyed to hear both of those statements.
Hey–I wrote a post today! You inspired me to get back at it. I finished up my Little Guy’s Tale: my NICU story.
I’m there right now 🙂
B, D, and E for me too. Spontaneous mostly. If I am pissed off about something.
Ha! I know what you mean!
It’s B and C for me in terms of writing posts. As for your childhood cat thing, well, that explains a lot… 😉
Hee hee.. Probably 🙂
Yeah! Another Word writer –
I do A, D, E, and F. Most of my posts I write directly in WP, reread it once for proofreading, and then publish. Sometimes if I’ve already had multiple posts in a day I’ll schedule a post for the next day.
Occasionally, on a big, important post I’ll hold on to it a day or so and come back to it and proofread it so I’m coming at it with a fresh perspective before publishing it. It all depends on the post.
I can’t even IMAGINE doing multiple posts – too much pressure 🙂
I have the hardest time with scheduling a piece to publish – like I’ll chicken out if it’s too personal – I am too black/white sometimes…all or nothing…I’m trying to find shades of gray…so hard..
I normally do one a day. Sometimes, two. I don’t really stress out about it so I guess that’s why it doesn’t bother me. Idk…
I publish and then re-read what I wrote a thousand times online and make small changes… I’m a bit weird.
Haha! I do that sometimes, too. You’re not that weird. At least, not for that.
But the cat tail? Most definitely.
No different than tying a towel around my neck and pretending I’m Superman.
at school, at home, at church, at the store…
Ok, fine. You want me to say you’re weird! So, you’re weird. Geez…
hee hee…
How about H for all of the above?
Primarily, I keep a running Word doc for my weekend words posts, and I’ll add to and edit it as the week rolls along. My personal posts tend to be off the cuff, written in WP, though often based on earlier notebook scribbles. I will usually copy edit a couple times, then go and read it on my phone a few hours later before I hit publish, to make sure any links work on the mobile platform and to catch any final errors.
Interesting to see most of us “are off the cuff” writers. I know some who work on a post for weeks. I admire the tenacity, but I fear I would completely re-write a piece ten times over in that period and lose the initial impulsivity and emotion.
I would have to agree – if It wasn’t ‘off the cuff’ – it would be ‘in the toilet’ for me. I have a few posts that are sitting in my blog folder that are just blah… I’ve spent too long on them and they lack something… I’m not a planner that’s for sure.
I haven’t even considered what my stuff looks like on a phone app 🙂 Oi!
I always write “off the cuff”. Depending on how I feel on any given day, I write a post and publish it right away or I write it the night before and schedule it to publish at midnight. Since my main blogging service is Blogger, I always write using their word processor. When I pimp out “Dumbass News”, I use the “Share” buttons at the bottom of the post. However on a couple of places I cross post to (like WordPress), I copy and paste a part of the post to that blogging service, then link back to the original post on Blogger. I’m a bit different than almost all of the WordPress bloggers I know in that my blog is monetized. That’s why I use Blogger as my main blogging venue. (I’m disabled and on a fixed income, so if I can make a few extra dollars a month, it’s a big help financially, although I actually prefer WP to Blogger).
Simply put, I am a D, E, F kind of Dumbass.
OH – that explains why I have to click again once I get a post email for your stuff. You’re clever. I haven’t even delved into monetizing my blog – I have a friend that is encouraging that – but I’m not ‘there’ mentally yet.
As you probably know, WordPress is kind of goofy about monetizing blogs. The myblog.wordpress.com format does not allow for monetization, free Blogger publishing does.
When you are ready to monetize, be sure to check into WordPress’ TOS. My personal suggestion would be to move over to Blogger and go from there. (You can import and/or export this blog to your new blogging home) Otherwise, check into some of the big Hosting Companies. Word of caution: GoDaddy has a horrible reputation, according to what I’ve read.
Good luck when you make the Big Change!
Hee hee … We shall see – I cannot imagine making money off my drivel 🙂
Thanks for the useful tips!
Yes to everything expect, planning and extensive editing, the latter is my rule to avoid obsessing about a perfect end result. Most topics are spur of the moment, or a theme that develops as I write and has little to do with the original.
Very cool – I’m a tangential writer – I can get ‘off topic’ in a sentence…sometimes I have to make a fast outline in my word doc else I’ll start off at A and end up at 23 without any logical leap.
I would bet you have the logic in your head to explain the leap. 🙂
Love the cat “confession.” I will hide it in your comments that I use to pretend I was a cat also. But I was a manx so a tail wasn’t necessary. And I was a house cat – so feline stayed inside when outside 😉
That’s AWESOME! Being a manx is much easier, costume wise, right!
I do have the logic in my brain and pretty much I forget that people can’t read my mind 🙂
I write in WP and then let it sit. I rewrite a few times and send it to my hubby who reads and comment. I often forget that not everyone is a mind-reader and knows *exactly* what I am talking about so it’s good to get a pair of fresh eyes on my words.
Occasionally things just flow and I proof it for spelling/grammar and hit publish. That’s more an exception than the norm.
So far most everyone writes in WP – I have a hard time using their editor – it feels so clunky. But I do hate transferring from Word to WP b/c I can’t just copy & past the images straight in.
That’s nice that your hubby will read and proof it. If I waited for Scott to do that – I’d have about 2 posts… 🙂 He’s a turtle.
If it’s any consolation, I do a fair amount of prodding and reminding about the reading / proofing process.
I find transferring from Word too time-consuming when it messes with the format. I like writing in WP because it helps me create that space in my mind for it. Writing in Word makes me feel like I am writing a letter to the editor.
As a letter writer – that is probably WHY I like Word vs WP 🙂
Always like insight from others.
I’m an A, C, F kind of gal, Ladycakes. I don’t like having to transfer from Word to WP, because basically I’m too lazy and it’s just easier this way. But once I write a post, I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. Sometimes I continue to tweak even after I’ve published. I guess I need a new hobby.
You’re good AS IS – Weebs…
I often revise AFTER I publish b/c patience and me are not related.
A,D and G. I’ll edit for a good 2-3 hours before hitting publish. On occasion, I’ll hit Publish after a few revisions when the writing flowed. I’ve cut back to posting 2-3 times a week from every other day since some published posts were complete crap. Scheduling would require foresight, of which I possess very little. I’ll be interested to see other bloggers’ habits here.
Thanks for answering. I always end up editing after I publish b/c I suck at proofing my own stuff (like most people probably do) but I have a hard time waiting for hours or days before i publish…I’m an impatient curious cat at that.
I could edit a post an entire day if I give into compulsive perfectionism, so at some point, I have to force myself to hit Publish – I always think of it as walking away from a burning car wreck.
Ha!
I write in the WP environment because it’s there and it’s easy to use. But I write “off the cuff,” whatever comes out of my brain, as it were, and then I publish it before I even get a chance to think about it. That’s how I deal with the Daily Prompts. For my book reviews, I write them in the WP environment and add the book cover, but I let a couple “pile up” for those days when i don’t address the daily prompt so I have something to publish. Also I often remember something i forgot to include in the review that i should have put in it, since I write as a stream of consciousness. It gives me a chance to revise, to fix inaccuracies and include what I forgot when I was first writing the book review. So I have two different ways of writing. Hope this satisfies your curiosity. I love your story about the cat tail. My daughter used to pretend she was a cat, too. Without the tail.
It does – I like that you change within the context of what kind of writing you are doing. I like your daughter already….meow ~
Denise,
Because you mentioned Le Clown, and because you’re my BFF4EVS™, I’m not telling.
Le Clown
Bastard.