writing process – a blog tour

Last week, a lovely blogger asked me if I would participate in a blog tour about the “writing process.”

Anne of Candy Crazed Runner has been a favorite of mine since I started blogging about running. She is absolutely sweet and positive with a very encouraging tone. I love her posts on her trips and her family, and of course, her training. She even used to live in the area where we currently reside, so there is some overlap in our interests.

The purpose of this tour is to share some of the inner workings of Runs With Pugs: how and why I do what I do in this space. It was fun to sit down and think about how I operate, and I love reading about how others do the same.

What am I working on?

At the moment, I have a lot of things in the hopper. I need to write my weekly recap, and my recaps of last week’s Tour De Pain. There is a review of Diagon Alley in Universal to come, and if I can organize myself, perhaps a post or two about some of the DIY things going on around the house (hint: lots of chalk paint. lots of furniture). I am also planning a little back-to-school photo shoot for little man and would love to share some of those images if they turn out.

I am very obviously behind. 🙂

How does my work differ from others of its type/genre?

This is a tough one to answer. I like to think I’m a little different in that I’m not really naturally talented and certainly not elite. In fact, I’m pretty solidly average (and maybe even below average, depending on the day), with the understanding that this may be as good as I get. But I go out there, week in and week out, logging my miles and registering for races. I think that resonates a little bit.

Why do I write what I do?

The easy answer is very simple: accountability. Running is something I really do enjoy on a certain level, but I find that I am much more likely to push myself if I am putting myself out there and sharing my progress (or lack thereof). I started blogging about running when Mr PugRunner and I first began Couch 2 5K last year, and I quickly found a wonderful, supportive community within the running world. It was completely unexpected, but has become so crucial to my success as a runner. I love sharing my highs and lows, and getting advice and support from so many amazing athletes out in the cyber-running community.

How does your writing process work?

My writing process varies between very structured and very casual. I usually blog at night, after little man is in bed and Mr PugRunner is wrapping up with his work. We sit in the family room and sometimes watch a movies or sports while we work. I edit my photos, watermark them, and then type out a post that is either scheduled (something like a weekly recap or product review) or one that has just come into my head (my thoughts on running in 110% humidity). I type everything out, then edit. If something doesn’t sound right or I can’t convey something properly, I save my draft, move on to something else and return to it later. It’s important to me to take my time and be both relatable and professional in my writing. I want to establish a rapport with readers, but I always want to present the very best of my writing.

I usually schedule posts to publish first thing in the morning. When they are live, I will amplify on the Runs With Pugs Facebook page, some other Facebook groups to which I belong and Twitter.  And then I open up bloglovin and try to make the rounds of my favorite blogs. This is something on which I need to improve, but I’m getting there.

And that’s how we do it!

Sharing the love…

Now that you know how I do it, check out some of these other great blogs and keep an eye out for their posts on their own writing processes!

A Mom On The Run: Kristin is a close, personal friend of mine. She is one of the people who got me and Mr PugRunner involved in the sport and we love spending time with her and her wonderful family.

Karen Loves to Run: Karen has been one of my favorites since the beginning. I enjoy reading about her training and her travels, and she is always incredibly sweet and supportive.

Amateur At Large: I love Stacie’s blog. Not only does she post about her running and workouts, but she does great fashion posts on a fairly regular basis AND she shares a lot of awesome things about her horses and pugs!

If you have a blog, do you have a process for writing? Share about it in comments or feel free to craft your own post! Don’t forget to link up so that we can see what goes on behind the scenes in your corner of the internet!