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| Photo credit: djwtwo on Flickr |
“I was wondering if you always knew what to write about on
your blog. I post only when I have something to talk about. But you need to
post three times a week. Seems hard to me.”
Well, lovely anonymous follower, to the first part of your
question—no, I don’t always know what
to write about. In fact, I often don’t figure out what my post will be about
until the day I write it (like ehem, now).
To the second part, here’s a secret: it is hard. And it’s also easy. Allow me to explain.
I suppose I could wait for a blog post idea to come to
me—I’m not going to pretend it never happens, it does. Sometimes when I’m
driving or working on my WIP or just daydreaming in general, I’ll come up with
a good idea for a post. Then I celebrate a little and write down the idea.
But ideas don’t just come to me three times a week right in
time for my Monday, Wednesday, Friday blogging schedule (that’d be too easy). So
if the day before I’m supposed to post comes and I still don’t have any posting
ideas, I sit in front of the computer and stare at the blank screen and flip through
my blog archives and refuse to leave the computer until I’ve started writing a
post. No exceptions.
Because yes, I could
wait for an idea to come to me, but like most things in life, blog post ideas
don’t often fall from the sky and land on your lap—sometimes you have to get up
and go find them. And some days it’s hard—some days I sit at the computer and
stare at the screen for what feels like years and the schedule-loving part of
me whispers you need to write this post
today so you have something to post tomorrow. You’ve never missed a day, Ava.
Don’t start now. And I stare and stare and stare and it feels like I’ll
never figure out what to write about.
Except I don’t give myself an option. I don’t allow myself not to write a post when I have one due.
If I’m supposed to post tomorrow, then I’ll come up with a blog post idea if it
kills me (and I’m still here, so the strategy seems to be working pretty well).
And some days it’s easy—some days I write a post and it
spawns two or three other post ideas, so I add it to my list of running blog
topic possibilities and then I do something else and sometimes more ideas rain down on me like
wonderful gifts from the heavens. Some days I whip a blog post draft out in ten
or fifteen minutes and I dance around in little circles in my mind because I
feel accomplished and now I have all this extra time to do other things.
Yes, those are the easy days—but it’s certainly not every
day, or even every other day. In fact, most days fall under the first category
and the truth is, I don’t mind it.
Because blogging has taught me something important—that
sometimes the best ideas don’t just fall in your lap, sometimes you have to
chase them down and wrestle them onto the page. And it’s not just blog post
ideas—it’s any sort of idea or
inspiration that you need to keep writing.
Because yes, you can wait for the ideas to come, but why
wait when you can go get them yourself?
I know it’s not as easy as it sounds, so I ask you—do you wait for blog
post ideas to come to you or do you generate them yourself? Where do you get
your posting ideas from?
35 comments:
I schedule many of my blog posts in advance. So whenever I get an idea for a post - I write it up and schedule it. That helps a lot. I also have standard prompts on 4 days which take less effort to generate.
Doing these two things helps me keep a schedule of posting every day - and still keeping up with life.
I know what you mean about chasing down ideas, although sometimes I get an A3 piece of plain paper and draw a mind map :) I haven't blogged in a while though because my laptop is broke D: but that's soon to be sorted out as these past few weeks have been nothing but brainstorming and planning! xD
I waited for good ideas to come to me on my last blog, and it failed miserably for that very reason. Sometimes you just have to go with whatever works -- whatever you're thinking about that day, a bit of conversation from the previous day, etc. We can't all be Tim Ferriss, who blogs whenever he feels like it and gets ten million disciples hanging on his every word!
Great post, Ava! Maybe that is indeed a problem of mine. I do tend to wait until an idea falls into my lap :-)
On the other hand, it's still remarkable from your part that you find these ideas three times a week. Good job from you!
I do mind maps for novel brainstorming--they can be very useful especially in the beginning when you're just dreaming up a first draft.
I hope you resolve the laptop issue soon! There's always handwriting...but brainstorming and planning is a great use of your time. :)
With enough thought and creativity, you can get ideas from just about anywhere. I've found it also helps to write down any extra blog ideas I get along the way, so I have a running list of possible blog posts on days I'm having trouble coming up with something.
I looked in my "ideas" file the other day to find it empty. Awk-ward...
Thanks so much! I find it astounding that some people manage to come up with posts five days a week. I know how difficult it is to keep ideas going for three posts a week, so I find it extremely impressive that some blogs manage to write great posts nearly every day. I'm happy with my three-posts-a-week schedule, though. ^_^
lol it might be time you sit down and add to it, then. :D
Great post! I do exactly what you do. I post three times a week. I keep a list of ideas to pull from, but I also often sit and write the blog the morning it's due. For me, on days that I feel like I've got "nothing," I search the news sites to see what strikes me. Often, I get a good idea from that, and some of my funniest posts are from an idea that hit me while websurfing on MSNBC or CNN.
The kiss of death for me is to wait until I feel inspired. Whenever I've done that, I've ended up posting way later in the day than I normally do, or not at all. So I've learned to do whatever it takes to hunt inspiration down and club it into submission. I know that sounds violent, but inspiration needs a firm hand sometimes, doesn't it?
Blog posting on a regular basis helps you get into a writing routine. And if you want to become a published writer, then nothing is more important than butt in the chair and words on the page.
Blogging for two years now (TWO YEARS! Holy cats) that is probably the biggest thing I've learned from it... the discipline of always writing, always coming up with new ideas. And when it doesn't flow, to dig deeper until it does.
Great post!
My blog was abandoned for a long time, so I made an 'easy' goal of posting once a week and going from there. So far it's worked pretty well - I guess because it's not so hard for anybody to find something to rant about once a week!
So I guess I'm unprofessional in the way that I generally don't stress out unless I still haven't posted something by the weekend. If I'm desperate for a topic I have a thousand half-finished blog posts lying around, so there's always something to revive and post. ;)
Like you, I have a long list that I keep adding to. Sometimes ideas just pop into my head, other times I'm thinking over an issue and decide it's worth a blog, sometimes I blog to market, sometimes I blog to teach what I've learned.
There are so many great topics out there and I love hearing people's different opinions.
You're right though, it can be hard to maintain it. You're doing a great job. Thanks for sharing :)
Inspiration definitely needs a firm hand, sometimes. I've found the same thing--on the days that I've assigned myself to get a post written that I waited for something to come to me...I got distracted and ended up waiting quite a bit. Which is why I don't allow myself to wait anymore. :)
So true! Blog posting has definitely kept me on a regular writing routine, something I really appreciate. It reminds me even when I'm busy I still have time to write a little, even if it's only a post.
Firstly--congrats on blogging for two years! That's a fantastic accomplishment. Secondly, I absolutely agree--the discipline of writing and coming up with ideas is a fantastic thing to learn and definitely a huge advantage of blogging.
I have a few half-written posts as well. Don't know if I'll ever go back and revive them, but hey! You never know. :D
Thanks so much! ^_^ My ideas list has shrunk a bit--I should probably sit down and have a brainstorming session sometime soon. I add to it whenever I think of something though, and it's been a great resource.
Sometimes I assign myself topics for each day of the week to make it easier (becasue I don't want to be spouting the same thing all the time) but mostly I do what you do. Stare at the screen until I think of something, then write!
You should try making a Blog Salad and see if people will buy it! :P http://dasiahasablog.blogspot.com/2011/12/blog-salad-now-with-added-cats.html
Oh gosh, silly me putting a link in my reply! It's just a link to a post of mine where I tried to put scraps of unposted stuff together (and failed miserably!) Hope you didn't think I was spamming you. :)
I want to start my own blog someday but I don't really know what to write or how to start this certainly helps me alot thx .
PS. Please guest post again in Problogger.net that's where I found this blog. I so want you to be known by other bloggers because you have awesome post.
It can be a surprisingly effective method--although I certainly don't mind when I already know what I'm going to post about. ^_^
I'd say start with whatever you're passionate about. Something that you don't mind writing about consistently. It can be broad or more specialized--that'll be your call. :)
And thanks so much! I definitely intend to guest post on Problogger again in the future. I have to write up some guest posts for this month, but it's on the agenda. ^_^
No worries! Anything with a link gets filtered (not blocked) so that I can check it before it goes through.
Thank you for another insightful post. As I have said before, I'm new to this whole blogging thing and in a way I'm still finding my way and routine. I love doing it and getting my thoughts on paper...but sometimes I just don't know...I like to surf the web, check twitter and facebook and my best source...old family pics. Somehow something always comes to mind!!! :)
If you set your mind to a goal (like figuring out what you're going to write about) and refuse to be deterred, you'll definitely get something down one way or another. ^_^
I honestly don't know how you can blog fresh ideas three times a week. So awesome! My difficulty with this is one of the reasons Angela and I like the thesaurus idea--twice a week, the posts are already built-in. And I'm crazy impressed with your amount of self-discipline. Forcing yourself to sit until the idea comes is NOT easy. Kudos!
Thanks so much, Becca! The thesaurus idea you and Angela came up with was a great one--you've really developed a fantastic resource for all writers and (as you said) you have post ideas twice a week already covered.
Also, Happy Birthday! :D
Great post, Ava. Way to preach it. No you certainly can't wait. I used to freak out when I first started posting daily because I was afraid I would run out of ideas. Instead, my curiousity simply expanded so that I could come up with better ideas more easily.
Idea generation is certainly something I was worried about when I first started blogging (and part of the reason I waited as long as I did to start). I've found that with the right amount of discipline though, it's certainly possible to maintain a regular posting schedule. :)
Agreed.
Agreed, turning up to the page / screen is the most important thing. So many times I've sat down to write something with NO IDEA what I'm going to write. But by sitting with it and crucially not panicking, ideas start to come.
Not panicking certainly helps. It's actually pretty amazing what we can come up with if we don't give ourselves any other option. Ideas will come if you have the discipline to grab them.
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