{"id":1224,"date":"2016-12-14T23:40:10","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T04:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/bearz\/?p=1224"},"modified":"2016-12-15T00:40:32","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T05:40:32","slug":"guest-post-working-on-the-farm-cultivating-the-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/bearz\/guest-post-working-on-the-farm-cultivating-the-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Working on the Farm, Cultivating the Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, I’m happy to present a guest post from one of the stars of the judge program, Nik Zitomer. In addition to exemplary efforts as the “Judge Dad” of Georgia and a mentor to many judges, Nik is the author of The Elvish Farmer<\/em><\/a>, a weekly blog about best practices in judging. I’m really pleased to have Nik here to share his motivation for starting his blog, and how he manages to keep producing great content every week! — Bearz<\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n
\"Nik<\/a>

Nik Zitomer
Roswell, Georgia<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

My name is Nicholas Zitomer, and I write a weekly blog called The Elvish Farmer<\/em><\/a>. I started that blog with the idea that I wanted to capture some of the best practices that I had seen or been taught in the judge program. This way, I could create a repository of useful stories and content that other judges could read, or that I could point to for further explanation if I saw someone struggling with something. One of the blogs that inspired me to create my own was Bearz Repeating<\/em>, and it seemed natural to reach out to Paul with the suggestion of a blog swap, as I feel our tones mesh well, and it seemed fitting since he was part of the inspiration for my own blog. So, with all of that said, this post describes my methods for maintaining and writing content for that blog.<\/p>\n

Schedule<\/h2>\n

<\/p> The most challenging part of writing The Elvish Farmer<\/em> week in and week out has to be keeping up with the schedule. Early on, I had planned on posting to it once every two weeks. That lasted all of zero weeks. I had a lot to say, and had started off by writing three or four pieces, so I figured I may as well release them weekly. I then bolstered that content a bit by soliciting some guest posts.<\/p>\n

After the initial rush of content died down, I was left with the task of keeping it moving forward. This, as it turned out, has become quite a challenge. If you know me at all, though, you know I love a good challenge. <\/p>\n

I have established that The Elvish Farmer<\/em> will update weekly, and so, weekly content it must be. Every week, I write my post for the following week on either Friday or Monday. This gives me about a full week to complete the topic, as well as share it with my wife, who is also my editor and muse. She ensures that I\u2019m not just spouting nonsense and that my grammar is precise (thanks, Karen!).<\/p>\n

If, when I begin writing the post, I stumble across another tangent or topic that is intriguing to me, I\u2019ll toss that onto my list of future topics. I may even write out a few sentences right then to give myself a head start when I get back to that one.<\/p>\n

Topic Selection<\/h2>\n

<\/p>This is another large challenge, as keeping the topic fresh and relevant is crucial to keeping the readers coming back for more. I have the benefit of a very active and talkative group of judges in my state and region, and so I often discuss with them what topics they\u2019d like to see. In the process of going to events and observing online interactions (judge forums, Slack, Facebook, etc.), I will occasionally stumble upon ideas for future topics as well.<\/p>\n

I use a basic WordPress account to write the blog, and I’ll create a draft post each time I find a potential topic. These draft posts then function as a list of potential topics to flesh out further. It also serves as a visual reminder of how much content I may (or may not) have each time I visit the blog’s admin interface to post or write new content. It can get fairly stressful to publish a finished post and see that list dwindle, so I have incentive to keep finding new things to discuss.<\/p>\n

If I\u2019ve reached out to a potential guest writer, I\u2019ll also create a draft post for that content, and include a reminder date at which I want to check in with them. Again, this is simply a way to use the blog tools themselves to keep organized and on schedule.<\/p>\n

Writing<\/h2>\n

Thankfully for me as the writer of a blog, I like to talk. I treat writing for the blog as a way of reaching out and talking with some friends. I try to keep the tone warm and conversational. I am, after all, a judge just like you are. We share common interests and experiences, and I am offering my viewpoints or strategies based on those experiences. It doesn\u2019t hurt that in my daily life I do have a writing component to my job, so it\u2019s something I am comfortable with. <\/p>\n

<\/p>My process, as I alluded to above, is to take it piece by piece. I start with the seed of an idea or topic, and toss that in its own draft. If I have something in mind right away, I may quickly write a few sentences or a paragraph just as a future reminder about what my focus should be. Then, when the time comes around, I\u2019ll open that draft back up, and begin an outline for the piece. You can see my outlines pretty clearly if you go back and look at the bold subheadings in my posts. This one, for instance, began as: <\/p>\n