Do you have a blog or web log? How long have you been blogging? How often do you post something new? Do you add an article every day, once a week, monthly or whenever you feel like it?
What is the purpose of your blog? Is it to sell books, to promote your services or just for fun?
I consider my blog to be a commitment to my audience. After blogging for over 3 years and having posted over 400 blog entries, I figure that many of you are aware of my blog, visit it often for new information and resources and look forward to reading something new practically every day.
But how in the heck does one come up with something new to report, almost every day? That’s a tough one for many. I want to start a cat blog to accompany my new book of cat stories and my webmaster said to me, one day: “After you share all of the stories from Catscapades, then what will you blog about?”
Having come from a background of 35 years writing articles for magazines and newsletters and content for websites, I can’t imagine that being a problem. Think about it: There are, of course, the cat stories that I know about. Other people have great stories to share about their cats. And then there are incidents related to cats—my daughter’s cat once used the toilet all by himself, what about cats who are crazy about certain un-catlike foods or scents, cats with strange habits, cats that snore (is there such a thing as feline sleep apnea?). Cat photography is a subject that many would like to know more about. What about cats with unusual friends, such as dogs, rats, horses or the moose that frequents your backyard? We could explore cats that like water, cats who have found their way back home, cats that travel and then there are a total of around 800 cats who work at libraries and business offices and warehouses. There are famous cats, happy endings for throw-away cats and cats who have experienced something harrowing. Cats have different dispositions, unique ploys to get attention, good and bad manners, and levels of health. How does one properly care for a diabetic cat, a cat that matts easily or one that is obstinate?
There are health issues in cats, emotionally unstable cats, cats with disabilities. The subjects related to cats, or practically any other subject, are endless, as those of you who have been following this blog have discovered about the subject of writing and publishing.
How skilled are you at taking your topic of interest, dissecting it, dividing it, scrambling it, adding to it and creating numerous sub-topics? Could you maintain a blog on your subject of interest for a year or several years? Why don’t you take this on as an assignment this week? Make a list of all possible sub-topics related to your main topic of interest. Then break each of these sub-topics down into numerous themes. Next, choose two of three of these issues or ideas and write a complete 300-600-word mini-article with a beginning, middle and end (introduction to the subject, the meat of the subject and a conclusion). You might be surprised at how easy it is when you know your topic or know how to conduct the necessary research. If you have trouble with this assignment, practice. You’ll get it.
If you want to know more about the process of coming up with ideas to write about, sign up for my online, on-demand article-writing course. http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm Order my book, A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles. It’s only $6.50. And don’t forget to purchase your copy of Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. It will make you laugh, cry and go hug your own cat. http://www.matilijapress.com