Better Blogging in Less Time

If you're friends with me on Facebook, or if you follow me on Twitter, you're probably aware that I saw Van Halen in concert in Detroit on Monday - in the front row! I've been a fan of theirs since the early days, and this was my first front row experience. It was amazing. My husband took this picture, along with about 100 other awesome photos, at the show.

The big deal about this tour is that it's following the band's first album with David Lee Roth in over 28 years. As part of their new foray into social media, the previously closed-mouthed band has published several video tidbits that are really cool and fun for the fans.

Some of my favorite tidbits are the interviews with the 3 founding band members. In one, the guys discuss how the process of making an album has changed over the years.

(What does this have to do with blogging? I'm getting there - stay with me!)

One thing that's different now is that instead of cutting the vocal track by singing the entire song all the way through, the vocalist will sing one phrase at a time, over and over. Then the producer chooses the best take from the 20 or so takes of that phrase.

In the video clip, the guys make the observation that the first 3 takes are almost always the best. David Lee Roth says these takes are the most spontaneous, "before you think yourself past genius."

That quote spoke to me. It's the same with blogging. I've had a lot of people over the years say to me, "I don't have time to blog. I can't think of anything to write, and then it takes too long to write it."

I tell them to sit down at their computer, think of a topic (any topic), set a timer for 15 minutes, and write. If you can't get at least a draft of a post in that time, it's not blog-worthy. Beyond 15 minutes, you've thought yourself past genius.

This goes for anything creative: blogging, photography, music, speaking at conferences, ad copy writing.... The list goes on. The first take is probably going to be your best one. So if you've always wanted to blog but thought you didn't have time, start writing now - before you think yourself past genius.

And if you're interested, here's the whole VH interview clip; the genius quote is almost at the end, around 12:00.