Having made it to two weeks of near-consecutive posting, I’d like to reflect on my writing process. Quality daily blogging is challenging mostly because of my limited idea-generation. To guarantee output, it would be easy reverting to stream-of-consciousness journaling. However, not only would that defeat the spirit of this exercise, I also doubt anybody is interested in my unfiltered quarantine thoughts.

I had a catch-up with an old friend who also blogs regularly (quick plug for the Millenial Desi). We talked about our writing processes and traded the constructive compliments that are born of writing camaraderie. While we all write about different topics or for different purposes, sometimes the writing process is just easier. The ideas are already formed and structured. Writing is just the exercise to transcribe them into words. My friend gave form to the concept of latent idea percolation and how he only writes once the story has coalesced in his mind. Writing about his own real-world experiences and unbeholden to a posting schedule makes his process comparatively easier. Having used this process for my earlier articles, I think it’s a fun way to write, especially because the actual time spent writing is both low effort and enjoyable.

Contrast this with the “squeezing blood from stone” type labor of grinding a daily blog. The first limiting reagent is a bank of fresh ideas. You need either a wealth of interesting daily experiences or a fecund mind to fake them. Even if you’re just opining on current events and providing commentary from your background, there’s the real risk of becoming repetitive. Matt Levine’s Money Stuff column, acknowledges and embraces this thematic repetition with the rejoinder “everything is securities fraud.” After idea generation, you need time for the ideas to percolate into an exposition or narrative. The ideas needs a natural gestation period as your subconscious explores different ways to bring a piece together. Perhaps experienced writers can accelerate this process by having an easily accessible natural style and well-tested formulation.

My own process is focused around building a morning writing routine. I try to plan the topics a few days in advance to allow my subconscious enough time to play. In the mornings, I’m both motivated to write and my mind most creative. My morning output is ~500 words/hour, which decreases over the day. If I end up writing in the afternoon, it becomes a torturous exercise in character building. Furthermore, I need my afternoons for projects, reading, and other idea generation activity for tomorrow’s blog.