What Christina Fox says…about writing

There is one question I hear over and over by other writers and bloggers, so much so that I thought I would answer it here: How do you write so much? How do you produce so much content for so many different places?

There aren’t any secrets or amazing strategies but I will share a few helpful tips for all those who have wondered the same thing.

1. Write regularly: I make it my goal to write something just about every day. I homeschool and have other church and family commitments and responsibilities but I can usually find an hour each day to write. Many weeks I am able to get a sitter one afternoon and if I do, I go to my local Panera and write for an hour or two.

2. Keep a writing journal: I have a spiral bound writing journal that fits perfectly in my purse. I carry it around with me and when I think of a topic or an idea to write about, I jot it down in my journal. Sometimes I might be sitting watching the boy’s soccer game or waiting for them at Tai Kwon Do and an idea will to mind and I will write as much of it down as I can and then the next time I open my computer, I type it up.

3. Work on multiple articles at once: I never sit down and write an article in one sitting. I am always working on multiple articles at once. I do the same with reading books, by the way. Just as with reading, writing multiple articles at once keeps me from getting bogged down with one article. When I just can’t think of anything more to write, I move to the next one and then come back to the other article later. So in an hour’s time, I may work on several articles, rotating from one to the other.

4. Write weeks in advance: I also like to be working on things a couple of weeks in advance. This is especially the case for blog posts. Sometimes I write something and post it the same day but most of the time, I’ve worked on the posts you see here a couple of weeks before I actually post them.

5. Looks can be deceiving: Sometimes I will have several articles appear in one day on various websites. That can be deceiving and make people think that I’ve written them all at once. Trust me, I don’t. Often, I’ve submitted articles that you see published weeks, if not months in advance. (In fact, there’s an article that a publication bought from me back in January that I am still waiting to see it posted). I have no control over when my articles are published so believe me, when you see several articles come up in one day, I promise, I did not just write them!

6. Try out topics on my blog first: Sometimes I try out a topic on my blog first before I try it elsewhere. If a topic, such as contentment for example, resonates with readers here, I will take the topic and look at it from a different angle and then write about it for another website. My blog is a good beta tester for potential articles.

7. I read, read, read, and read some more: I am an avid reader, not so much of blogs, but of books. I am always in the middle of at least three books at one time. I take notes about what I am learning, highlight the things that strike me, and yes, even fold down my favorite pages. I do the same with my Bible. Many articles come out of what I am learning through Scripture and books I am reading.

So for those who have wondered, how does she write so much content, I hope I’ve answered your question. If not, let me know and I’ll try to see what else I can add.

And by the way, thanks for asking!