As bloggers, especially those who try and maintain a rigourous daily schedule, one of the things we need to have is “Backup Posts”: posts that can be posted at any time should you be needed elsewhere, such as the hospital, the workplace or - most likely for me - the pub. I have backup posts, which is a good thing in principle. But I feel there’s a problem.
I’ve got too many of the bastard things.
It’s not a good thing, it’s a bad thing.
My problem is that I get so many ideas for posts, I either forget them or just throw together a few sentances that will never see the light of day. Currently in draft form are 21 draft posts, and about half a notebook of ideas (”Blog about such and such, mention this, do it”). The blogs in the draft form fall into three categories, and I’ve learnt to deal with them, to get them out into the big wide world:
1. Rants
Trust me, some of you wouldn’t be reading if I posted some of the stuff I’ve written (”A Normal Post” in the screenshot is an example of a rant). I’d love to be “controversial”, like what certain bloggers out there say. However, a lot of people who claim to be “controversial” hide behind pseudonyms. You know my name and the rough area with which I live. Some of you even have my phone number. Bloggers who actually want their blogs to be useful and have LinkedIn (for business) or Facebook (for personal) profiles really shouldn’t be to controversial in my view.
Wow, that turned into a mini rant tangent. I guess what I was saying is that whilst threaputic to get it into words your thoughts, ranting about another human being in the cold light of day probably shouldn’t be published.
My advice? Ditch it.
2. Posts In Principle
Posts in principle are posts that are nearly there, and the easiest to save. One of mine, entitled “Why I am More Popular Than McDonalds, Authors and Jesus(.com)”, is almost there. It just needs a little bit of fine tuning to go into my “ready” queue. These are the easiest to save, so my advice would be to do so.
3. Old Content
These are the hardest to decide on, as it could be old news, or it could be that the moments gone. This is especially true for blogs that post about news and opinions, but even I have a few of these posts. For example, I’ve got a well written post about Zelda Twlight Princess that is complete, just needs sending. Only problem is that I haven’t talked about the game in ages. Other posts are fine, but mention Han in a girlfriend context.
My advice would be to see if the “out of place” segment of the post is key to the article. If it isn’t (like Han), then you could probably rewrite it. If it is (like the Zelda Twilight Princess), it’s worth saving, just as a “last resort completely desperate post”.
So when should you post these backup posts? Well have a look at your readers. Do your readers come to expect certain things on a certain day? Is there any trend? It could be worthwhile just throwing one out in the midst of a buzz. However most of us save them for when we can’t be arsed.
So, what gems have you got in “Your Drafts”? Any interesting titles? What about any tips on getting them out of the draft and onto the blog?
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Rhys Wynne, the author of this blog, is a 20 something web designer from Colwyn Bay.
I do the exact same thing. I sit down and write 5 or 10 different ideas or half postings. Then I continue on my regular schedule or current theme I’m working on. Eventually, I go back and have little or no idea what I was thinking when I started the post.
I guess the solution is to just write like crazy, finish the postings and get a few out in one day if necessary!
Have to be honest, i never knew you took it THAT seriously. Why not have a subblog? Ive always wanted one of those where i can rant about stuff thats actually bugging me without having people judge me!
Before travelling i did keep thinking of things to write about but after the legal action i realised it might not be such a good idea… you never know whose watching
I can honestly say my drafts is empty and will probably stay that way lol
I currently have 15 drafts. Some have been sitting there for months so I should probably delete them. Some fall into the Too Hard category, some are rambling, many are list titles with no copy in them…
I just kind of like having them there, even if I never use them. Like bottled water in case of an earthquake.
Punclox doesn’t have enough posts to be daily, let alone have backup drafts! And thats with god knows how many authors…
I have no drafts. Yesterday I had one called “what can you see in front of you”, but it’s not there anymore… oh the pressure of writing
I used to have several drafts on the go when I was on blogger but since I have switched to wordpress I seem to have stopped, no idea why. I do have a little notepad on my desktop where I might type in some blog ideas/funny moments in case I have a stale period and need to write about something but that’s about it.
My tip on getting from draft onto the actual blog was once I have typed them out and done the first read through to make sure it’s not garbled nonsense then not to read it again, the more I read what I write the less I like it and am more likely to bin it.
I was reading some old posts yesterday, it was all like ‘google is going to pay for rhys and I’s holiday’ etc!
My drafts are, Post # 358, Why I’d buy a Zune!, My Windows Vista Experience, CuteNews, A wordpress bloggers opinion., Lazy Companies, Sexiest Men?, Post # 80.
post 358 is MASSIVE I’ve been working on it for months!
Most of the drafts are there cos I get bored easily!
Lend some to me.. I never store drafts because these days I’m that busy/sidetracked I can’t come up with “now” posts let alone future ones.
I’m down to nil drafts.
I was so desperate today, about what to write, that I was left with no alternative but to write something about ‘fair review’!
Hard times indeed!
Mike.
No drafts here! I have enough trouble coming up with a post per day lately!
I narrow it down with the following rule:
- Go to draft, Read draft. Wonder what the hell I was burbling on about and why I saved it. Delete draft.
It takes the pain out!
I am in a similar boat as you, where I have many posts that I know I will never publish. Some of the drafts do get published after a while though, they definitely come in handy at times.
I used to, but recently my creative flow seems to be a bit more like a creative trickle. And now I think of things and think ‘cool! that’ll be great to blog about’ and then immediately forget what it was that I was thinking …
I don’t tend to have the time, nor the inclination, to cook up drafts as well as full-blown posts. The only drafts I have are the odd post or two from very old online journals that I always have the intention of re-writing or re-using in a more current/relevant way… I never get around to it though. :S
I do have 10 to 20 drafts laying around but I try to keep them short, more like reminders of what I was going to write about. Once I decide to publish something, I usually keep working on it until it’s finished.