Do you ever wonder how prolific bloggers come up with ideas to write about every week, every few days or, in my case, EVERY DAY? It can be a challenge. And it is something I’ve written about before—but not quite from this angle.
You see, at this moment, I don’t have an inkling of an idea for today’s blog topic. Sometimes a topic leaps out at me from an email I get in the morning, or I’ll have a note on my desk related to a question a client or blog visitor asked recently that would make a good blog subject. I’ll sometimes go through old posts and choose one to rewrite. And then there are days like today, when I will just start writing until something occurs to me.
Sometimes I create a blog post from start to finish just by rambling. Other times, I may delete the preliminary chitchat and post just the meat of the material I come up with. For example, while jotting down my thoughts, I might mention that I’ve been invited to speak and then I write a piece on how to get speaking engagements. I may doodle a bit about the work I’m doing to organize SPAWN members in the booth at the LA Times Festival of Books and end up writing a blog focusing on how to work a book festival so it works for you. This might remind me of a chapter in my upcoming book on public speaking for authors and I might treat you to an excerpt from the new book. Or my mind may wander and I might become pensive and end up writing about listening to your muse, turning thoughts into articles (or stories), changing a negative attitude into a positive one when it comes to book promotion, etc.
Coming up with a blog topic every day (or an article topic on demand, if you are a freelance article writer), is challenging. As some of you know, I started my nearly 40-year-long writing career writing articles for magazines. In fact, I supported myself through article-writing for many years. I still survive through my writing/publishing/consulting business. And part of the reason is that I had the courage to follow my dream—my passion.
My ramblings today, however, are not leading me into a discussion about the writing dream. Let me, instead, give you some ideas for coming up with article/blog/speech topics related to your book.
• Pay attention to what’s going on around you.
• Get out and socialize more, attend events and activities related to the theme of your book/blog.
• Be open to article ideas in every experience or conversation.
• Keep a hot file—when an idea occurs to you, write it down and file it away and refer to it often.
• Read the newsletters and magazines related to your industry or topic. Glean the germs of ideas from the articles, links, comments, events/activities listed, etc.
• Write about what you know as well as what you want to know.
• Eaves drop on the conversations of others.
• Practice creating many articles or blog posts from a single idea.
• Turn questions into blog or article topics.
Follow these few tips and your array and scope of articles and/or blog posts will multiply like unrestrained bunnies.
I have a neat little book designed for article-writers, but it is also a valuable tool for those of you who want to submit short stories for publication. And many of the same principles work for coming up with blog ideas. It’s A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles for Book Promotion or Profit.
Order my brand new book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author for $19.95 (for the rest of April, 2012) and receive a FREE copy of A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles. http://www.matilijapress.com