Owning a blog seems to have become a 'must-have' for writers these days. It keeps us in contact with our readers, gives us a platform to display some of our great work and it's free marketing tool. But when you choose to blog every day, you can run out of things to talk about. I know it's happened to me on occasion.
My blog, The Gift, used to target a specific audience: special needs children and their families. I loved it but I realized I was running the same topics over and over and I missed chatting about the other passions in my life. In the last few months, I've given my blog a more general feel to it. I still talk about living in a special needs family as that's where my heart is but I also have days devoted to writing, music, gardening, cooking and other interests. And you know what? My followers have doubled, my daily hits have skyrocketed and I've even been approached for some pretty cool writing gigs!
I thought what I'd do for today's post is share a few ideas you can try when your blogging topic well runs a bit dry. Here's a short list of 30 you can try out:
1) Do a book review. And don't do what everyone else is doing. Choose a book that's controversial, edgy or just different.
2) Interview an author.
3) Interview a magazine or ezine editor about what's hot, what's not, the Do's and Don't's for their publication and what they're looking for right now.
4) Highlight a new writing opportunity.
5) Do a giveaway.
6) Get another writer, author, editor or publisher to do a guest post.
7) Review a writing resource.
8) Do a 'Top ____' list. Choose a subject such as best/worst books, best writing tools, etc.
9) Do an interview with a character from either one of your works or someone else's.
10) Post a picture and have followers write short story about it.
11) Do a weekly writing prompt.
12) Start a story and invite followers to keep the story going by adding their own scene.
13) Interview a child about his or her favorite books and why they love them. (Kids are a GREAT resource for writing ideas!)
14) Flip through a book, read the sixth sentence and write something based on that sentence. You can choose whichever numbered sentence you fancy! I just chose sixth.)
15) Share a short story, article or chapter from your latest work.
16) Participate in Six Sentence Sunday.
17) Write a post about your favorite song and why it means so much to you.
18) Put another author's blog in the spotlight.
19) Discuss a media tool (eg: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) or give some tips on how to use it most effectively.
20) Have a 'Writers' Treasure Hunt' where readers have to go to fellow writer's blogs for clues to win a prize.
21) Participate in, or organize, a writer/author blog hop with a specific theme.
22) Share a special childhood memory.
23) Talk about an issue that needs to be in the spotlight.
24) Highlight one of your other favorite creative distractions.
25) Have another writer join you for a post where your readers come up with three (or more) prompt words you have to create a story with.
26) Discuss a specific genre.
27) Talk about how you broke into a specific market and share a few tips.
28) Interview a publisher and get some tips for submitting to them.
29) Open the discussion about what a certain celebrity is doing.
30) Give a list of writing opportunities or writing contests.
These are just a few I came up with off the top of my head. What would you add to this
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By: Chynna,
on 6/23/2011
Blog: WOW! Women on Writing Blog (The Muffin) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: writing prompts, daily writing schedule, blog advice, blogging, Add a tag
By: Anne Greenawalt,
on 8/11/2010
Blog: WOW! Women on Writing Blog (The Muffin) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: procrastination, daily writing schedule, robinson crusoe, Add a tag
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What is your favorite way to procrastinate writing?
Here is a list of my personal top 5 methods of procrastination:
5. Reading novels – I debated whether or not to include this on the procrastination list. I read somewhere that reading novels, for a novelist, is like an apprenticeship. So by reading novels, I'm contributing to my overall writing-life experience. But it also keeps me from writing, and I often read specifically to avoid writing. This is what I call productive procrastination and makes me feel less guilty.
4. Going out to lunch – I write from home, which means my schedule is “flexible.” I don’t have to sit at my desk and write for eight hours a day, right? I can go to lunch with friends or my mom or grandma, right? Right, but…how often do these lunches turn into afternoon-long catch-up sessions or evolve into shopping trips? Hmm…almost always.
3. Working out at the gym or pool – It’s very important have a healthy, active lifestyle and I’m lucky enough to be one of those people who loves to work out, go to the gym, go for a swim or a quick run. A regular workout routine is, in my opinion, essential. I, however, often go to the gym or the pool as an excuse to stay away from my desk and computer. Exercise is healthy, but in my case, definitely a tool for procrastination.
2. Cooking and baking – Everyone has to eat, right? Yes. But in my case, I find myself in the kitchen needlessly baking double-batches of chocolate chip cookies or mixing an exotic blend of fruits in my juicer when I really don’t need these foods, aren’t even hungry for these foods, and know I should be writing.
1. facebooking, Tweeting and other forms of social media – Getting sucked into the black hole of social media is by far the easiest way to procrastinate. I'm not entirely sure how it happens. I get on facebook to check for messages, make a status update, check some friends’ updates, and then suddenly it’s three in the afternoon and I have written nothing more than a witty wall post that maybe a half-dozen people will read. Yes, social media is increasingly important for writers and a necessary part of the writing business. I, however, need to curb my social media urges, unplug my Internet connection, and just write.
If I’ve learned nothing else this summer it’s this: when you don’t have a set writing schedule, it is exceedingly easy to procrastinate and not write. Every night before I go to bed I tell myself, “I will write something tomorrow.” And then tomorrow comes and I find myself pumping iron at the gym and then baking a tuna casserole, and then what do you know, it’s bedtime and I'm in bed reading a good novel.
If I jot down my writing goal on my calendar, I am much more likely to meet that goal. For example, I might write: “write from 2pm – 4pm” on Wednesday or “write 1000 words” on Thursday. This helps. Usually.
Help me to stop procrastinating! What are your favorite forms of procrastination,
By: Elizabeth King Humphrey,
on 11/24/2009
Blog: WOW! Women on Writing Blog (The Muffin) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: NaNoWriMo, daily writing schedule, Elizabeth King Humphrey, Add a tag
I am a serial NaNoWriMo wannabe. Each year, I plunk onto the site as a willing and able writer. Blink and I find myself at the end of November. I've lost my train of...well, maybe I've just missed the train.
I spend time preparing for the monthly excursion and decide what I'm going to write. I find that the ideas are easy to come by, especially since, for me, it is an exercise in getting the words down. A cowboy story that morphs into a romantic children's book about frogs? No problem. To me, the beauty of NaNoWriMo is its function of writing that is important. Just like setting aside time for daily writing is important.
So, how many of you do just that? Every day, without fail?
Unfortunately, I find that I might make every other day...sometimes every third day. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm often writing, but I'm writing the stuff that comes in between the fiction. Sometimes I'm writing and I take a sideways glance at a book on the shelf and I'm re-reading a passage to help me through a writing dilemma. I count that towards my writing muscle, but not toward my fiction muscle. And none of it shows on the NaNoWriMo counter.
I like setting a goal and following through with thousands of like-minded strangers. But this November, with all the best intentions, my NaNoWriMo experience quickly derailed when a family member died. The funeral took place the first of November and it took a few more days to get back into regular life afterwards. Writing assignments piled up and, once again, I've spent a days getting ready for NaNoWriMo...2010.
I plan to be on the train with a first-class ticket and no derailments. In fact, I'm going to start practicing today and keep it up as long as I can and training so I can remove the wannabe title from above.
In the meantime, I'll stand here from the sidelines: Go NaNoWriMo writers! Make it to the finish line and I'll see you at the starting line next year.
Elizabeth King Humphrey is a writer and creativity coach. Besides contributing to AOL's ParentDish, she blogs at The Write Elizabeth, delving into creativity in everyday places. She is also kicking off the New Year's Resolution season early, to shake out all the ones that don't fit for next year.
Hello - this blog post is so in sync with where I am with my own blog right now that it's a little scary. I just shifted direction to a more generalized theme because I got completely uninspired with how many ways to write about the process of writing. I decided to talk about that which is the biggest distraction from my writing today: being the parent of a teenaged daughter. We'll see where it goes.
Now, for an addition to the list: write about one of your own artist's dates - one of those play dates with yourself that allows you to find some inspiration, whether it's going to a museum, an art crawl, a reading, or the beach.
Love this, comes at a time when I am trying to stockpile some posts and want to keep the variety going. Thanks!
Hi there!
@ One Minnesota Writer: WOW! Having a teenager in the house would definitely be a source to draw from for writing ideas. That's an adventure in itself! And love your addition to our list. GREAT idea! I've gotten many great writing ideas from art, music and indulging in some of my other favorite 'calm down' activities. Thanks so much!
@ Beverly, I'm glad these give you a few ideas to draw from. I agree! Variety is SO important. Our readers/followers enjoy a bit of a mix-up and we don't get bored with what we're writing about!
Good luck!
Chynna
Thanks for the advice. I just took the WOW blogging class and learned a lot - about choosing a theme. It really helped me to start consistently drawing readers. But, now I do think they find the content repetitive. Can you offer suggestions for staying within your theme and still offering variety? Or is theme REALLY important?
Love your list! It's a big help.
Thanks!
Kristine
Hi Benjity and Kristine! =)
@ Kristine, I'm so happy you found the list helpful!
@ benjity: I **THINK** I get where you're going with your question. Do you have a specific theme for your blog right now? Are you finding it hard to think of topics within that theme? Theme is important in that that's the main reason people will seek out your blog. Like, with the way my blog was set up initially, it was geared to families living with SPD and sensory issues. Under that theme, I had different topics for each day: Monday (What's the Sensational Scoop? where I shared what was happening in the SPD community) Tuesday (Transitional Tuesdays where I talked about ways to deal with different transitional issues), etc. Right now my theme is how life is a Gift, even when your family lives with special needs and it's important to address all of those gifts. So I have Music Mantra Mondays where I discuss the meaning of a certain song or I interview musicians; Tuesdays is my daughter's blog day where she talks about living with SPD from her perspective; Wednesdays I talk about gardening tips, etc.
You don't HAVE to have a theme. You could just use your blog as a journal...that is also a popular way to go. But I like using themes because you have a way to reach out to people looking for tips in specific areas and it makes you more 'searchable'.
I hope this helps! Feel free to ask more questions if ya need to.
Thanks for your comments/questions!
Chynna
Chynna:
This is awesome, and I have made a note to use it for the next blogging course that I teach for WOW! in August. Thanks!!! :)
Ooh, love the tip about interviewing a child about their favorite book! Thanks for the blogging tips. I'm always looking for new ideas.
Execellent job!
It will not help help the regular bloggers but will also help the new ones.And I really appreciate the idea of posting a picture and writing something on it. Thanks.
Thanks for a great list of suggestions. Very helpful. I'm definitely going to use the one abt getting a child to review a book. I have five children and my two teenagers LOVE to read. (I buy the books...then they hijack them. Or else I use the books for bribery/blackmail/cajoling purposes. Do you know how many household chores I got out of these two with the super amazing Hunger Games Trilogy!?) Its a joy to share a love of reading with my teens yet i never thought of blogging their review of a book. Thank you!
Love these tips - especially "six sentence sunday" -- I think I'll try this one out this week ~ Grazie!
Thank you so much for these tips. I really really need help thinking about what to write and I only blog once a week! This will really help me out.
Patti
Very cool list. Thanks so much for sharing these ideas. They're good ones. :D
Wow, thanks for this list! My own blog started as a discussion of adoption, beracial family, etc., but that got old. It died a natural death, but now I'm bringing it back in a new format. Like you, I got sick of only one kind of issue. We'll see how it shapes up! :)
WOW! Just reading your post gave me lots of ideas for my own blog! Especially the one about encourging readers to post a story starter! What ag reat challenge! Now why didn't I think of that? Thanks for sharing these ideas!