This is the 2nd instalment of my upcoming blog tips, mainly focussing on writers out there who are being slightly demoralized in their first year of blogging or who simply need some tips! Today I'll be focussing on how to generate ideas for a blog post when you gets writer's block. It's a common problem which will happen to everybody over their years, no matter what their profession. 1st - How To Maximize Your Impact On Each Post! Ever had that point in your writing life where you sit down to write an article, and you literally can't think? Sat there, looking quite silly, pen to the paper but your hand is frozen (in this day and age, more like finger to keyboard but you know what I mean ). Tip: Don't worry! We all get this, so there's no point in being demoralized by the fact you're stumped for a few moments in your lifetime! There are of course many cures for this, some less obvious than others, but I wouldn't be here writing them for you to read if they weren't effective... 1. - Got a niche? Read similar work to yours! This has to be the most obvious one. Let me run this through a scenario, it'll make it easier to understand. You own a Blogging tips blog. You update every day and have done for several months. you have loyal readers, a steady income and work comfortably. then suddenly you sit down to write your next big article and you're stuck. Literature brain freeze. What do you do here? Well let me tell you;- - Whack open your internet browser, and go to a similar niched site! It would be ridiculous if you sat there for hours and got frustrated to eventually gave up when you have resources on the web to give you inspiration! so start searching around, and grab a few articles on separate tabs (or if you're an IE6 fan, new pages... sigh.) and start flicking through them! No, I'm not telling you to rewrite an article so it's organic but based on the same concept, plagerism is a kick in the teeth. Simply read through, highlight key words and try and inspire yourself. Here, let me give you an example! [Image link showing highlighted words from a post on DailyblogTips: http://i52.tinypic.com/b3uc1s.png] As you can see here, I've used my amazing skills in paint to highlight just a few select words from a post. Even as I was highlighting them, I had several ideas for posts. So by golly it works! This now links into the next tip! 2. - Penny for Your Thoughts! Tip: Often carry a bag around with you when you travel? Carry a small pad with you! You've seen journalists in the films when they have the small pocket sized ones... I know you know what I mean. This is extremely useful if you travel a lot. When you have a basic idea for a post, write it down! For those familiar with the Schema we all possess, you will understand that we associate one item with another. Thus turning a few words from a title or idea, into a fully fledged article ready for publishing! As son as you have your solid idea down, write keywords underneath! Even if this is in Notepad on windows, the concept is the same. The general idea is to dig deep into your Long Term Memory to retrieve information you thought you didn't know or lost. you'll bring up random words related to your idea, and then elaborate on those. Sooner or later it turns into a large post, which you can then begin to write! I genuinely hope this has helped you to bypass writers block, or even give you ideas for your own blog post! Related Posts: Novice Writers – Do We Really Stand a Chance? Blog Layout - Are Appearances Everything? Links Used: - DailyBlogTips - Thanks for the article! - TinyPic - Thanks for image hosting!
Useful post, Jay. I especially like what you said about writing keywords along with any ideas you get. Nice!