We started out this little three-day series of posts by comparing column-writing to blogging. As a columnist or a blogger you must fulfill your obligation to your audience by writing at a regular pace. Your newspaper, newsletter or magazine editor might require that you submit your column daily, weekly or monthly. I believe that you should post new blogs at least every few days, if not daily.
I sometimes visit blog sites where the most recent posts are weeks or even months old. You won’t get regular traffic to your blog site when you don’t consistently present new material. But how does one come up with years’ worth of ideas for a blog site or a column? How do you manage to satisfy your audience with fresh posts or columns?
Some of you know me as the “idea person.” I have a lengthy section on how to come up with article ideas in my little book, A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles.
http://www.matilijapress.com.
I sometimes blog about article and blog ideas. I teach on this subject in my online article-writing course.
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm
Most columns have a theme. Probably those with the most leeway in the area of topic ideas are those who write opinion or editorial columns. You can pretty much choose your theme; write off the top of your head. You can share your thoughts on practically any subject whether it relates to a local or world issue, seasonal theme, your family/friends/pets/neighbors or whatever. And if you didn’t have a knack for recognizing topics, thinking deeply about them and spinning them, you wouldn’t have this job for every long.
Those of us with columns (or blog sites) focusing on a more concrete theme—pet care and safety, issues around local teens, vegetarianism, public speaking, writing fiction, publishing, photography, cats, narrow gauge trains, etc.—have a greater obligation to stay on the subject.
Anyone with even minimal brain power and creativity can come up with good ideas for the first few columns/posts. But what will you be writing about a year from now, in three years? When you think about that does it absolutely stop your ability to think? Do you experience columnist’s block? For some reason, I have never had this problem. I have, somehow, trained myself to see potential articles, columns, blog posts in some of the strangest places. Well, I think you see the proof in my pudding with this publishing blog (this is post number 659 since November of 2005), in the fact that I’ve published 29 books (number 30 is in the works) and the fact that I’ve had hundreds (maybe thousands) of articles published over the years.
How easily do you come up with ideas to write about? Do you see column/blog ideas practically everywhere? Can you dissect those ideas into many? Can you approach each of those dissections from several different angles? Can you develop several meaningful articles/columns/posts from each mini-idea? This is what it takes to be a successful columnist, blogger or article-writer.
Tomorrow, I’ll give specific tips and techniques for coming up with ideas. Until then, you might consider signing up for one of my online courses. I’m starting two classes in January:
Patricia Fry to Teach Two Online Courses
January 5, 2010, Successful Book Proposal Course. This course runs 8 weeks (or work through the course faster, if you like). Learn more about what to expect here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookproposal.htm For $200 you get one-on-one guidance through the process of writing a complete book proposal during the 8 weeks, only.
On January 12, 2010, my online Book Promotion Workshop begins. This workshop runs $200 for 6 weeks. Learn more about what it involves at http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion
Let me know if you’re interested in my article-writing course, PLFry620@yahoo.com
SPAWN members get $25 off each course.
JOIN SPAWN NOW!
Dues go up January 1, 2010. It’s $45 until then. http://www.spawn.org