This is Day 11 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, a group project 60+ of us bloggers are doing together in an effort to help each other become better bloggers.
Today’s assignment is either really easy or really not depending on the kind of person you are, how long you’ve been writing/blogging/in ministry, and how many times you looked at the title of this post and said “is it really only day 11?!”
For me, this is actually not nearly as difficult as it seems. I’m sure there are plenty of bloggers out there, who looked at Darren’s advice to take the five most recent posts and come up with two new ideas from each who then turned around and say “but I can’t think of anything!” And if not, good for you. Go forth and blog!
For those of you who have real problems with this assignment, I’ll bet your difficulties come under two categories. The first one is “Well who wants to hear about that?” or some variation in which you disqualify the validity of your idea/writing. The second is “no one is interested in that ANYMORE.”
Well I’m going to share with you three of the benefits of being 25 besides being the last generation to really enjoy Saturday morning cartoons. (And yes, I’m really 25 years old).
- The world is simply waiting with bated breath to hear my next exhale of brilliance. Ok, maybe not quite that bad, but this kind of optimism and attitude that allows you to value your own writing and ideas. If you value your ideas, other people are more likely to value them as well. Don’t throw out an idea unless your reason is “well I don’t really want to write about that.” That is the only acceptable excuse for the psychological trauma you’ll inflict on that poor idea.
- Everything is new and fresh. It doesn’t matter if you’ve heard it before; it doesn’t even matter if you’ve written about it before. It’s still new and fresh. It doesn’t matter if people are saying “that’s not culturally relevant,” or “post modernism can’t accept that” or whatever else it might be, if it’s important to you, it’s important to others and they won’t care if it isn’t the latest thing in Vogue magazine, they’ll still gravitate towards it.
- I have learned from watching too much TV. The power of advertising has completely brainwashed me so that slogans like “Trust your instincts, obey your thirst” and “Just do it” are now completely applicable to all areas of life including writing. “Trust your instincts, write about what you yearn to write about, then do it.”
Discussion
- What blocks you from coming up with ideas to write about, or from writing in general?
- What are some other ways to come up with ideas to write about?
- How much does self value impact the actual value of your content?
- (insert snarky, age-relevant discussion topic here)
The Extra Mile
A few other things you can do to take your blog, other bloggers, and this project even further today…
- Reply & give other bloggers feedback on the little things they do.
- When other bloggers include a link to a new article they’ve posted today, click, read, and comment on it.
- Check previous posts in the series for new comments.
- Tweet, share, & bookmark this post.
- Beginning today we will review one 31DBBB participants blog each day. So, please review Phillip Gibb’s blog Synaptic Light and give him some feedback.
Seiji Yamashita writes the Ignition Point blog. You can also follow him on twitter at @justapen.
64 Comments
I've read the theory behind getting ideas many times before today and still I don't get the organised approach to blogging.
So in an effort to take it forward I instituted my first ever 'proper' series yesterday and I've labelled it "Internet Safety Sunday" or #ISS on twitter. The idea being that once a week I'll post a tip, idea, policy, review on internet safety.
And today, I wake up to find a company has contacted me to review their software – so it's a start….
Cool!
I know that I should plan out future posts, but rarely do. I have been waiting for this assignment to finally do it for real, but yet naps for my two boys are almost over and I've yet to plan out one post.
I think about post ideas all the time but never seem write down my ideas. This month I am participating in my own challenge on my blog to organize 10 photos a day, and this has not only given me something to post about everyday, but I come across things that I know would make a good series of posts later (i.e. something educational about how to preserve photos). It also feels like "Ground Hog Day" every day.
I am already thinking about a self challenge for June and this will lend it's self to a few posts as least. I have to upload new photos to my parent's digital photo frame for their anniversary and will be dealing with procrastination and a re-learning curve to accomplish this.
This has been one of my favorite activities so far in the 31 days project because I know Darren is right about this. Writing about fresh topics keeps me wanting to blog regularly. One of barriers in this area is that I don't set aside enough time to brainstorm blogging ideas. I need more "think" time and agree with everyone who has talked about writing EVERYTHING down. I have forgotten some really amazing blog topics and bloggable phrases by depending on my memory rather than a scrap of paper and a pen!
My non-related this topic yet highly important and hopefully entertaining blog post can be found here:http://www.nolanbobbitt.com/welcome_to_nolans_wor…
I am always thinking about and looking for new ideas as I go about my day. I usually pray about what God would have me write on my blog too, since I see my blog as a ministry opportunity, also. I'm off to brainstorm and write down those ideas!
Thanks for a great post today!
~Jennifer
My head buzzes about with ideas, some disapearing because I fail to write them down, others I avoid because I am lazy. ha ha ha, I need a notebook but feel silly writing in it, I tend to write and doodle in a way that the notebook will look cool if someone else found it.
I do that too — try to think what my journal, etc. would look like if someone found it after I die, or whatever. Why do we do that? I'm trying to get past that and just create!
~Jennifer
It's hard to find the time to write a list when I can barely find the time to write a post. My plan is to write 1 post in each of my 4 categories; stories, poems, articles, gifts each week. Of course I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 posts done a week. For inspiration I use my life experiences for my stories, my gifts or life experiences for my poems and articles and try to use holidays and occasions for my gift suggestions. I need to be more diligent at this. Perhaps 1 brainstorming session at the beginning of the month and then using the list to post each week.
One article I read said to write post in advance and just date them in advance so they automatically publish on the days you want them to.
One of things I have found helpful is capturing ideas the moment you have them. I usually have a memo on my bberry to capture the ideas when i am not close to my computer or use a google doc(convenient and accessible) to jot them down when I am at a computer.
For me I would have to say the biggest barrier is the " who wants to hear that?" question.
I am not prone to having trouble coming up with ideas. My main issue is finding the time to write. Still working on a schedule.
As for finding ideas for topics to write about they are all around me. Some of my best ideas will come from my kids or my wife. I also find being an avid reader helps.
I am finding you have to have a passion for what you are writing about. If there is no personal investment in what you write reading it is often a chore.
I like this idea. I didn't at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I will have an idea here and there as I read other people's blogs, as I go through my day, as I read responses to my own blog, etc., and I typically don't act on them unless they just keep bugging me.
So I did the circle thing a couple of hours ago, and I confess, if I hadn't wanted it for the purpose of photographing it for my guest blog tomorrow, I probably wouldn't have gotten around to it. But it's a great tool for brainstorming ideas. Works for stories, art, poetry–lots of things. I'm glad it did it. Glad! So there! 😀
Good going, Cindy
Janis
I just spend way too much time on the finer techy details–like coming up with an image for my post. Until I grabbed one of my sons, I prodded around for an hour! Not to mention the hopping up and down during my post. Another busy day. Hope to be a step ahead for tomorrow.
Enjoyed the assignment as it will enrich my idea list for posts. I also like Seiji wrote about putting your list of ideas on your desktop. The whole post by Seiji was great.
Follow my URL to see what else I said: http://openmyearslord.blogspot.com/2010/05/talkin…
and the post that spurred it: http://oopenmyeardlord.blogspot.com/2010/05/praye…
Oops! That second post is typed with too many circles and a "d" where and "s" goes. Time for sleep.
Janis
http://openmyearslord.blogspot.com/2010/05/prayer…
Thanks for your information. It was an immense help to me.