When I set up my blog last week I had scads of ideas for posts. The ideas were whirling ‘round my head so quickly I thought they’d never stop and it never occurred to me to write these ideas down. But now that I have a place to write about these thoughts… they’ve all fled. I can’t scare up even one. At least not one that seems worth following up on. So what is one to do? Well, I went hunting, hunting for ways to find ideas for your blog. How do other writers find their ideas? What magic do they use to come up with topics day after day? Here are a few ideas I dug up:
- Search online for a category you blog about – or want to blog about. Find out what’s new on the topic and give it your personal “spin”. For leads on articles about your topic of interest try Google Alerts.
- Find a how-to article for something you need to get done and blog about your progress (or lack thereof…).
- Sit and stare at the blank screen until your thoughts are in a complete jumble – oh no wait! That doesn’t work. I know this from experience. Substituting Sudoku, solitaire, laundry, housework doesn’t work either.
- Start with a bizarre idea – how would you explain a hockey to an alien? If your dog could talk, would he have an accent? How would people react if you put your clothes on backwards for day? Outside-the-box thinking can sometimes jog something loose in your brain and maybe, just maybe, one of those great ideas you didn’t write down when it came to you will find its way back from the depths of your mind.
- Get curious. Do you wonder how things work or where they come from? Other people probably do too. Find out and build a blog post – or two, or three – around your findings.
- Read, read then read some more. Read your local paper – online or in print, read other people’s blogs, read the notices on the pin board at the local market. You may not use what you’ve read but it might trigger a great blogging idea.
- Writing – just start writing. Putting words to paper – or screen – can trigger that flow of words you’ve been waiting for. It may take a while for something useful to show up but it’s very often worth the wait.
Me, I’m going to keep a list-making tool handy – pad and paper, iPod, Blackberry – and take note of any idea so this never happens to me again! Happy blogging!