MS Word contains a lot of hidden code that must be removed when you cut and paste to AR.   May I respectfully suggest, use Notepad or some other very basic text editing program instead.

   Per Kathleen Daniels et al, save the HTML source code before hitting the "Publish" button.  If your hard work (blog post) disappears into cyberspace (it happens), you can retrieve the HTML from Notepad and try again.

I draft the post in Word for various reasons...

if I don't have internet access to get on AR but want to put a post in draft, I can access Word (2007) offline which is a big plus.

And I can see more of the post in Word than if I compose on AR so it is easier to cut and paste when revising.

And I can save a copy in Word, Dropbox, etc. so I don't lose my post if there is a glitch with AR.

I never thought of using Notepad as Fred Griffin suggested...will check it out.

Whether you write the post on AR or Word and copy/paste, always save it immediately on AR then go back and insert links, pictures, etc.

Then save again and hit "Preview" before publishing to see if the formatting looks good. If not, edit, rinse and repeat.

I write mine in "Notes" (Apple product) - you can use any 'text' editor - just not Pages or Word as they have added code that interferes with the AR editor. 

I've often taken emails answers to generic clients' questions (nothing personal or confidential, of course) and posted them here - they seem to do fine too.

I write the post there (in Notes), copy and paste it here and then add graphics and tweak the font size.

If I am writing with the intention of publishing when I am done writing, I write directly in AR.  I ALWAYS save the html code before I post in case the platform fluctuates and the post just disappears into thin air. 

yes, and save often! 

90% of the time I do a word post and cut and paste into AR because over the years I lost many good posts thanks to glitches on the platform...Endre

Unfortunately, I do it all on AR. Once in a while I wonder where it went when it disappears without being posted.

Yes I do Rick Obst 

Exactly! I use everything except the AR editor & constantly use the save button. I just use an older HTML program & that works for me, then copy it into AR. I still do have to change some things, font size, font color but I've got that down to 2 seconds.

Old program NVu which is sister to Kompozer.

I usually write it in wordpress, and then copy it here.

I do not write externally... not enough hours in the day to do work-arounds. And by the way, writing in MS word does not guarantee no issues in AR formatting... I know... I tried.

I do both.. sometimes I will copy a blog from several years on from my WP site, change it up a bit and repost with a different title.. Other times I write from the AR platform.. Have never really had an issue.

MSWord

I usually write up my blog in Word and then cut and paste into AR and after I've saved preliminarily ... I input the pictures.  Once done, I publish.

Fred Griffin hit this one spot on!  Ever since Word changed their format (I think it was in Winword 2000) from the DOC to the DOCX format you can't use it for cut and paste to blogs.  The "X" in the extension is for XML, which is a web programming language and conflicts with the HTML and XML the Active Rain.

Notepad is good.  I prefer Wordpad or Notepad++ and like Kathleen Daniels said, save early and save often!

that's the ONLY way I create a blog post.... after losing one and having to rewrite it, never again did I write the original on the site...

Mostly I write externally and save the document before posting on AR but some short posts I write directly in the editor. The editor can be a bit quirky at times, espeically when you don't save your post!

Rick Obst - I prefer to write the post externally! The HTML editor I use is KOMPOZER.

I like to use Word to draft my posts. I like the spelling and grammar checker plus I like to use the Thesaurus so I don't keep using the same word over and over. I keep a copy so I can edit it later.

Always save it as a draft before you publish it on AR. Just in case there is a glitch.

I compose in Word, then copy, paste and do final edits, add pictures, links, etc in AR.  

AR only

I don't find the blog writing in AR quirky so I do not write it elsewhere.

I write directly in Active Rain, but save often. I have lost the post many times, so I learened the hard way to save often. 

Fred Griffin gave you the answer.  I use MS for Mac and I have not had problems with copying to AR.  A

Probably as my posts also make it to other social media platforms. But it comes at a cost as my friend  Fred Griffin explained - MS Word does not play well with MS products. So I suggest you rinse with Notepad before pasting to AR.

Kathleen Daniels also has a great suggestion. It works for me as well.

Plain text file - then format in AR

I just write in AR .

If the post is long I do it in word but otherwise I do it on AR

I write in the AR editor and publish.

It's been some time but I did write first in Google Drive and then copy/paste

to AR.

I use Google Docs

Absolutely! Drafts have vanished irretrievably from AR; had to redo from scratch. Better to have it saved elsewhere first. I use Google docs.

I compose in Word and then copy/paste to AR. Then edit AR so it comes out right. Then add photos. Probably a better way to do it but I have not invested the time to experiment.

No.

Yes, that sums it up.

Rick Obst I initially write the post in MS Word then copy and paste it into Dreamweaver. Once I have it formatted the way I want it, I will cut and paste the html code and drop it into AR as html.

Don't know about anyone else however, I always write them in Word and then copy and paste.   

I hit the ground running but many times I have lost a shoe (post)....

Externally.  Always.

I like to write it on AR because copying and pasting can lead to different fonts and paragraph breaks where they were not put by me. I save my block by scheduling it, then go back and add pictures and edit before posting it