I was talking with a friend of mine the other day, and she commented on the fact that she now looks at everything through the lens of how it could become a blog post. She even came up with a post for her raw food blog while watching Ironman.
That seems to be an occupational hazard for bloggers. After a while, no matter what is happening around you, you are wondering, “How can I turn this into a blog post?”
Once you have that blogging mindset in place, topics will come at you from all directions, and you will never be at a loss for something to write about. Until that day, here are some ideas to get you going.
Use one of these prompts as inspiration for your next post.
- Tell the story of a recent consumer experience–visiting a store, calling a tech support line, etc.
- What is on your desk?
- Share your guilty pleasure. Is there a food, web site, television show, hobby or other diversion that you enjoy, even though you think maybe you shouldn’t?
- Tell about a time when you failed, and what it taught you.
- What gadget could you not live without?
- What is your earliest childhood memory? Compare it with today.
- Set a goal, and give updates on your progress. (This creates a whole series.)
- Do you have a collection? Tell how you started, or where you found your most prized item.
- What is in your purse or wallet?
- Who is your hero and why?
- Describe a typical day in your life.
- What is the last book you read?
- Do you observe rituals and traditions surrounding the holidays, special occasions or just day-to-day life?
- Tell how you overcame a fear or obstacle.
- What gives you comfort when you are sick or anxious?
- Answer a question from a reader.
- Look back at something you wrote a year or more ago. Do you have new insight? Have your opinions changed?
- Describe a disillusioning experience. Perhaps when you discovered someone you admired was only human, or that something you believed in was not what you thought it was.
- For what are you most thankful?
- What does your Tivo know about you that even your best friend doesn’t know?
- Imagine a day five, ten or more years in the future. What will the world (or your small piece of it) be like? What will be different in your industry?
- Challenge yourself to have a new experience, then write about it.
- Describe something everyone could do to make the world a better place.
- Come up with a new use for an object.
- Open the dictionary to a random page, close your eyes and point to a word. Find a way to work the word into an article five or more times. (It doesn’t count if the word is “the.”)
- If you were creating a time capsule for the current year, what would you include?
- Most of us had help from someone along the way, in our lives or careers. Who helped you? How? What are you doing to pay it forward?
- Tell a joke.
- Rant. What are you mad about today?
- Do you have a favorite item of clothing? Why? Does it make you feel confident, sexy, comfortable . . .?
- If you could pass any law, what would it be and why? What would the penalty for violating the law be?
- Can you identify a turning point in your life? What was it? How might your life be different if it hadn’t happened?
- Eavesdrop. Did you overhear a conversation snippet on the bus, at the coffee shop or in the airport? What did it make you think of?
- Share your to-do list.
Be open to inspiration all the time. What do you think of when you look at that photo or hear that song? What lessons did you learn today? Did you hear something on the radio or read something in another blog that gave you an “Aha!” moment? Write about it!
Now, why are you still sitting here reading when you should be writing?
