How Markdown-Based Blogging Changed How Much I Write

Markdown has improved my relationship with writing for sure, esp in blogging. Since moving my blog from WordPress to Astro earlier this year, I’ve written more consistently than I have in years.

The difference is pretty noticeable. Let me break down what changed.

The Fluidity of Markdown

Writing in markdown just flows. There’s no context switching between writing and formatting. 3 most common formatting bits I use regardless of markdown or other tools are, headings (#), lists (-), code blocks (`). All of these are just simple characters and I simply just type stuff. No buttons, no clicks, no shrtcuts… My brain doesn’t have to shift between “writing mode” and “formatting mode”.

This became even more powerful when I started using MDX. Now I can seamlessly mix markdown with custom Astro components:

## Cool stuff

- This is regular markdown text.
- Just lines with dashes.

<YouTube id="dQw4w9WgXcQ" />

And back to **markdown** again.

The Open Source Advantage

Another thing unblocked my writing mindset was when I made my blog open source. It turned out to be more helpful than I expected. Having the entire codebase available means I can write about technical implementations and actually show the code. When I explain how something works, I can link directly to the source. The layer that I wrote to style my blog, the content and everything is already designed for public consumption, why not share the source with the world?

But the real benefit? I can iterate on the writing experience itself. When I want a new component for posts, I just build it. Need better syntax highlighting? Done. Want to experiment with different layouts? Easy. And most of those things I do end up being a blog post topic for me. It’s not that I wasn’t doing this before, I’ve been doing it for 2 decades in this blog, but it was never this convenient and transparent.

More Consistent Writing

Ok, let me show you what the difference actually looks like. I build this content calendar just to visualize my current and upcoming posts planning, but I scrolled back to 2022 when I was most consistently writing in English, and comparing it with 2025, recent months (after Astro migration earlier this year), you can see the difference. Here’s my content calendar from 2022:

Blog post calendar showing sparse posting in 2022

And here’s 2025:

Blog post calendar showing much more consistent posting in 2025

The difference is clear - more posts and much more consistent publishing. The friction just disappeared.

Markdown is pretty universal. I write everywhere…

This might be the biggest win. Markdown is universal. I can start a post on my iPhone (Textastic) or on my iPad when traveling, and finish on my MacBook (VSCode/Windsurf) the next day.

I used to write blog drafts on my phone all the time, but converting them to WordPress was always a bigger task. Copy, paste, reformat, fix weird spacing issues, add proper headings… it killed the momentum.

Now? I write the entire post in markdown on whatever device I have. The file syncs via iCloud, and when I’m ready to publish, I just move it to the blog directory. Zero conversion needed.

The mobile experience is actually better in some ways. Writing in plain text apps like Bear, or Obsidian feels faster than any web interface ever could.

AI Loves Markdown

Here’s where things get really interesting. AI tools work incredibly well with markdown. I can dump a stream of consciousness into Claude, ask it to organize my thoughts, and get back properly structured markdown.

My current workflow looks like this:

1. Brain dump ideas into a markdown file
2. Ask AI tools to help organize and expand sections
3. Edit and refine the structure
4. Add components where needed
5. Publish

This has noticeably improved my writing speed. The AI handles the heavy lifting of organization and structure, while I focus on the actual insights and experiences I want to share.

The Compound Effect

All these improvements compound. Lower friction means I write more. Writing more means I get better at it. Getting better means I enjoy it more. Enjoying it more means… you get the idea.

The technical barrier that used to exist between “having an idea” and “publishing a post” is basically gone. And that’s made all the difference.

If you’re still wrestling with traditional blogging platforms, I’d seriously consider making the switch to any markdown and file-based blogging platform. My favorite choice is Astro. The initial setup takes some work, but the long-term benefits to your writing practice are huge.

Your thoughts flow better when the tools get out of the way.