Why Writing Blogs isn't hard
Hey all! This is a bit of a more casual post for a couple of reasons. One, it’s not related to coding, but when has that ever stopped me. Two, I’ve just had my wisdom teeth removed, so while I am suffering in bed, this seemed like the perfect time to write down some thoughts. It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do anyway.
A good friend of mine, Jacob, recently wrote an article about Why writing blogs is so hard. After reading the article, I, a spiteful person, immediately went “Wait a second, I write blogs, why isn’t writing them hard for me?”
Truth be told, I’ve had this conversation a few times with friends and colleagues. So I figured it’s time to compile all of my tips and tricks into this small article, so that people may find it, enjoy reading it and learn something from it. And then give me tons of cash.
Chapter One: Don’t Write for Cash
One thing I have seen Jacob talk about is about how people want to earn money from their blog posts. While understandable, I believe a good blog consists of articles the writer wants to write, not ones they try to earn money from.
Actually, that goes for anything! My favorite videos on YouTube are made by people who make them for fun, and just happen to earn enough to make it their full-time job. I’ll drop some recommendations and inspirations later on, so stay posted.
Take my blog as an example. It’s a fairly mixed bag, with a few Astro-related posts, opinions, the occasional April fools post. But that’s what makes it my blog. I never think to myself: “Which blog post would really get a lot of views”, it’s always about a topic I am interested in at the moment. The articles, if written well enough, will blow up by themselves, as proven by my “Astro Integrations Explained” blog post which got almost 1.5k views out of the blue.
Chapter Two: Be like Beethoven
Looping back to Jacob’s article, he next talks about Effort vs. Reward. I’m sure many of you have felt that, no matter what you work on, the first 90% are easy, the last 10% are excruciatingly difficult. But that’s normal with creative tasks! As Jacob says, anything related to writing these articles is a skill, meaning you will get better at it over time. But I’m sure lots of you will also wonder how to get started with writing. I say: be like Beethoven.
You see, Ludwig van Beethoven, a rather famous German musician that lives in the late 18th and early 19th century, was known for having lots of ideas for his pieces while on the go. He always carried a notebook where he write down various ideas he later turned into world-renowned masterpieces. In my creative process, I never sit down and ponder for hours on end about what am I going to write about next. The ideas for my articles always come to me when I least expect it - the term “shower thought” comes to mind. Whether it’s in the shower, in bed while staring at the ceiling or at work, whenever I have one of these ideas, I write them down in a little notebook I carry around. I’m not saying you need a notebook, your phone or laptop will do just as well.
The idea is that you don’t force yourself to be creative, as that will just lead to burnout. Let the ideas come to you! I can promise you that the less you think of it, the more ideas you’ll have.
Oh, and by the way, the idea can be about anything. Passionate about coding? Write an article about something you’ve recently learned about or that you’re learning right now. Maybe you’re a chef, and you just came up with a neat new recipe? Share it with the world! You get the idea. Now get started.
Chapter Three: Actually getting started
Once you’ve got that great idea, it’s time to get writing. A daunting task, I’m sure. But I’m literally just laying in bed, trying to distract myself from the seething pain in my mouth. So I’m fairly sure you will do just fine.
A tip I usually give about writing these articles is that you shouldn’t think about the whole thing. Write the first version, doesn’t matter what it looks like! The start doesn’t matter, the end doesn’t matter, you can just let your thoughts run wild. Getting off track is natural, human even. And if you want a little more structure, write a few bullet points down and try to use them as “anchor points” - don’t exactly follow them, but use them to orient yourself. Are you going too far off track, have you switched topic entirely? And if so, why? Does it even matter that you have? Probably not, so just keep writing.
Speaking of something being “human”: I suggest that you keep your hands off ChatGPT and other AI agents for writing. First, it’s fairly recognizable and comes off as lazy. Second, if you have a tool write everything for you, you learn nothing. You can’t improve if someone else writes the article for you, so why should you be able to improve if a mathematical equation does it for you?
Just believe in yourself, anyone is able to create.
Chapter Four: External Influences & Why you Shouldn’t Compare Yourself
Yep, I’m stealing half this headline from Jacob, and you can’t stop me.
This is something I personally do myself, so I’m giving you this advice now. Be better than me. Do not, under any circumstances, compare yourself to others. That goes for any creative work by the way, not just writing blog posts. I’ll give you an example with a small anecdote of my own. Some of you will have no doubt heard of Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale and Deltarune. He’s a programmer, he’s a composer, he’s an artist, and he’s somehow incredible at all of those things. I adore everything that man does, from his games to his music. Man literally started making indie games and is now writing music for Pokémon. Freaking POKÉMON. Besides coding, I enjoy music, creative writing (as evident by this here post) and pixel art. Toby Fox has singlehandedly caused my to overthink everything I do, just because I accidentally tried to compare my newcomer art to the many years of experience he has. So don’t be like me.
Taking inspiration on the other hand is something I can greatly recommend. My style is inspired by a few YouTubers that I’ve come to enjoy over the years, for example MattKC, f4mi, Jacob Geller and last but very much not least Technoblade (🫡). For MattKC and f4mi, it’s the way they talk about the tech they show off. The occasional joke, the general interest. For Jacob Geller and Technoblade, it is the way they tell stories. Again, occasional jokes, but leaving space for reflection.
Toby Fox of course is another one, for both music and pixel art. I love Sleep Token’s lyrics, the bangers that Against the Current and Linkin Park put out. But enough of me rambling about my favorite creators. Taking inspiration is important, comparing yourself can be dangerous. There are, of course, also instances where comparing yourself can be helpful. It’s just important that you use it to reflect about your own creation, that you try and improve it, learn from your mistakes. Don’t be sad because someone else is better at something, look up to them and strive to be like them. I’m certain you can do it.
Chapter Five: It’s the 8th of July
If only you had read Jumper’s article, then you’d get that heading.
I’m not one to write long-winded endings to my articles, neither do I create lists about what we’ve learned today. To me, it’s important that you have fun creating your blog. That’s what I do. My blog combines all parts of my hobbies that I enjoy: first I code the website for the blog, then I write an article for the blog, then I make an image for the blog.
Coding, creative writing, design.
You should do the same for yours. If you’re unable to design an image, make a blog that doesn’t have images for it’s post. If you can’t code, use a template or write on Medium. If you don’t know where to start writing, make a mental note of the idea until you find something your passionate about. Don’t try and just get ChatGPT to do everything, put yourself into your work. It’s more personal and enjoyable that way. Now go out there and create cool shit - writing blogs is only hard if you make it hard for yourself.
Until next time.
← Back to blog