The Siberian American: What I’m Working On:Tour Through Blogland

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

What I’m Working On:Tour Through Blogland

Y’all might have seen the “Tour Through Blogland” posts appearing on blogs lately. I really love posts like these because it gives me a chance to get to know bloggers more, and I am really interested in how bloggers write their posts. Cat at Oddly Lovely tagged me to share my writing process and what I’m working on right now. (This girl is fantastic. I look forward to reading her blog every day because her posts are so interesting and genuine. Check her out!) 
My blogging process involves my dog wanting to play while I write.
What are you working on right now?
I am constantly thinking of post ideas. When I think of an idea, I always write it down on a sticky note. I try to transfer those sticky notes to my master list, but that doesn’t always happen so I have sticky notes all over the place.

I plan my posts for the following week on Sundays. I try to write as many of posts as possible on Sunday, but most weeks I only get Monday’s post done. Currently, I am working on finally finishing my fall foliage cruise recaps (one more port left!), various Europe travel posts, personal posts about residency and the future, and a few I’m nervous about posting that focus on some of my struggles. I have also been toying with trying out a few fashion posts—I love dresses so I think it would be fun to share some outfits.

Some items on my to-do list for my blog this month are:

*Work on my tabs. I hate that I have been blogging for three months, and my tabs still aren’t complete. I need to write the “love” tab and design the “travel” tab.  
*Use Instagram and Twitter more. Since I haven’t told most of my friends and family about my blog, I have separate blog Twitter and Instagram accounts so I am still adjusting to posting on my blog accounts. I am hoping this will become easier as I delve further into blogging.
*Schedule an entire week of posts. I am going on vacation at the end of this month, and I want to have my posts ready weeks in advance so I am not scrambling right before I leave.

Some items on my to-do list outside of the blog:

*Help Chris with booking the rest of the hotels and flights for his interviews. We are both so ready for interview season to be over. I know February will be here before we know it though, and then we start the difficult process of ranking the programs (more on that later).
*Plan my dresses for my work holiday party, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and formal nights on the cruise. I love dressing up, and I am so excited that I have so many excuses to do it this month!
*Decorate for Christmas! We put up our tree last night, but we haven’t decorated it yet. Decorating with my hubby is definitely one of the highlights of my December.

How does your work differ from others in its genre?
Once upon a time I had a travel blog where I shared my travel tips, but I didn’t want to make it personal, and it really lacked my voice. Travel is my passion so I knew that I couldn’t write a blog without including travel, but this time I wanted it to be more than that. I wouldn’t say my blog is unique, but I work hard at sharing my passions and being as transparent as possible.

Why do you write/create what you do?
I have always been a writer. When I am struggling with anxiety, it is my favorite way to relieve stress. Now that I am a professional editor, I needed an outlet to keep writing. Blogging has been perfect for me, and I have completely fallen in love with it.

How does your writing/creative process work?
When I know I am going to be writing a specific post, I spend a lot of time thinking about it (while I am doing other things) before I am willing to open up a text document. Once I am ready to write, it usually doesn’t take me long to get a first draft done (then I have to edit it, of course). I try to get my posts written on Sundays, but honestly, I write better when I am under a deadline so I end up writing the majority of my posts the night before I post them.

I always finish writing before I edit photos and design the header. At that point, I know how many photos I need and what I want them to look like.

Next blog stops:
One of my favorite things about blogging is the community. These ladies have welcomed me warmly into the blogging community, and I love reading their blogs. I am tagging them so they can also share their writing processes if they're interested.

*Biana at B Loved Boston

18 comments:

  1. These posts are so much fun to read :)!

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  2. I love these prompts too, it makes you think outside the box as well I find..!

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    1. Definitely! Some of the questions weren't easy to answer so I had to really think about them. Thank you so much for stopping by! :)

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  3. This is fantastic! I love learning more about the bloggers I follow!

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    1. Thank you so much, Rachel! I thought it was a really fun prompt to do. :)

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  4. i love your travel posts but also some of your more personal posts. I also try to schedule the majority of my posts on Sunday because my weeks are just crazy busy!

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  5. Hi Olya! I just found your blog (I really like it!) and am intrigued that you haven't told your family or friends about it yet - I am actually in the same boat. For me, what started out as diary/blog has kind of expanded into something I would like to share and see grow. Would you mind sharing some thoughts/tips about how you were able to get your blog out there without relying on a preexisting Facebook or friend network?

    Thank you!
    Kate (www.day-drunk.blogspot.com)

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    1. Hi Kate! I am so glad you like my blog! I am happy to offer advice if you e-mail me (I would e-mail you, but you are a no-reply blogger. I can help you fix that if you'd like!) I'm going to hop on over to your blog right now and come up with some personalized ideas for you. :) I am still a small blogger myself, but I will help as much as I can!

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  6. his is awesome! I love learning about how people blog and what they're working on. I'm trying to insta more and tweet more (not just tweets about my blog!)

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  7. I seriously love reading all your travel tips and the places you've gone!!

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  8. Aww, sweetest call-out ever, thank you Olya! One of my favorite things about your blog is how smoothly you incorporate travel without making it a "travel blog." I think I would get bored with a blog exclusively devoted to traveling, since I don't have that bug like some people do, but you have such a great mix of your adventures and your regular life.

    Also, you should DEFINITELY share the posts you're nervous about. I've done a few of those the last few months, and even though I was really nervous before posting them, I received so much support. I feel like the stories and experiences that scare us is where the interesting stuff is, you know?

    Cat
    http://oddlylovely.com

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  9. awww hey that's me :) thank you lovely, you are so sweet! i am so glad i found your blog. i love all of your posts. i wish i had occasion to dress up more, so i shall live vicariously through you and your future fashion posts :) I have a blog and personal instagram, and just a blog twitter. to be honest, i never found out how to balance the two instagrams, and now i just post almost every day on my blog one, my personal one gets neglected but honestly i didnt post that much because i didn't want to bombard people in real life with photos of outfits, selfies, cats or whatever. blog people don't seem to mind those haha. i still log on like once a week or if my girlfriends and i do something and i take a photo to tag them, but mostly i use the blog one.

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  10. I'm so glad you decided to make your blogging more personal, while also including your passion for travel. It's fun getting to know you!

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  11. Loved reading this! I'm looking forward to see what you've been working on!

    ~Ashley @ A Cute Angle
    acutelifestyle.blogspot.com

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  12. Aw, I love this post. With everything you said I'm like, "oh my gosh, I totally agree"!

    I aim to get my blog posts done on Sundays as well but sometimes that just doesn't happen, it really takes a lot of time, writing and then editing the post and the photos. But even though it can be time consuming it is very rewarding and you get to meet so many amazing ladies!

    Keep up the good work and I think it would be great if you did a fashion post!

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    1. Thanks, Maggie! I am definitely going to do a fashion post sometime. I agree that writing/editing/taking photos can be time consuming, but it is so worth. The blogging community is so great! :)

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  13. I love this! I'm a deadline writer myself. I think it helps force my mind to settle down and focus.

    Fashion posts are always fun. When I worked at Forever 21, I started posting #OOTDs on Instagram. I wouldn't consider myself a fashionista by any means, but I really enjoyed it!

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  14. Just can’t help to think, how a person can write such amazing stuff.
    segway stockholm

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Thanks for reading my blog! I love hearing from you and respond to every comment. :) If you're a no-reply blogger, I will respond below your comment.