Blank Mind, Blank Screen: Need Ideas!

Q. I'm staring at a blank screen with an equally blank mind. I need an idea for tomorrow's newsletter. Help!

A. Most of us have too many ideas or too few. I've never met anyone with just the right number. Here's the secret: Once you start writing prolifically, you'll get ideas. Each idea will seem better than the one before. In fact, some ideas will be so good that you may be tempted to stop your current project and start over with the new idea!

Instead, keep a folder on your virtual or actual desktop or write ideas in a notebook. Some ideas age gracefully while others earn a decent burial.

But now let's say you're staring at a blank screen, desperate for an article for tomorrow's newsletter. What can you do? Here are five tips to get started.

1. Begin with your website's keywords. Let's say your site features "time management for stay-at-home-moms." You want to attract visitors who are searching on "parenting," "home" and "mothers." Write your keywords on top of a sheet of paper and free-associate. Busy. Homes. Housework. Hmmmaybe you can write about housework and time management?

2. Look around the room where you are working and choose an interesting object. For example, I see two sleeping cats and, through the window, a plant holder with the remains of my last gardening efforts.

My sad little plant could be a metaphor for some aspect of writing, such as ideas that die unless they're watered, fertilized and loved. Or it could be a reminder to focus on your strengths. Laziness often signals a lack of interest or skill. Let's face it, I'll never grow a nice pot of geraniums like the one my neighbors have.

Sleeping cats? Well, some images work better than others, and I've written a lot about my cats and my dog. Overuse of an image...hmm, there's an idea!

3. Call up a friend and describe what you're offering. Ask your friend, "What seems most unusual, puzzling or surprising about what I just said?"

Let's say you're an office organizer. Your friend says, "I didn't realize that people who cleared clutter often found their sales increasing. Can you convince me?" Given the state of my own office, I'd like to be convinced, too! You've got a winner here.

Heidi Challenger of Boise, Idaho, promises a year's guarantee for each home she sells. See http://www.movinglady.com/relolinks.html to find her site. Now there's a great idea for an article -- or several! What is a home guarantee? And why should we ask for one? Does Heidi have unique assets that allow her to offer a guarantee when other realtors can't? All these questions arise from her online advertisement -- and all could be developed into articles.

4. This one's my favorite. Ask your subscribers to contribute questions. You'll be sure your articles fit their interests. Last week's article on permission marketing came directly from a reader request and this week's article combines two queries. WL Ezine subscribers, take note!

5. Look at your calendar. What's the season? If you're writing for your own ezine, choose the current season or, if you're right on the border, next season. If you're writing for print media, ask the editors for a calendar. You may need to submit in June for a Christmas issue. You can go deeper, choosing month and even holiday within the month. You can get whimsical, writing about the astrological sign that governs this month.

About The Author

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First step to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com.

"Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com

Contact: cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294

---

Basic Writing Tips ? Some Controversial, All Correct

As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More

Critique Groups - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

What do people expect when they join a writing group?The... Read More

Extreme Research: 10 Snappy Rules For Success

So you want to learn to research well, and not... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Writing a Novel

No one is born a novel writer. But do you... Read More

Sick of the Traditional Publishing Path?

A book coaching client recently emailed me that she was... Read More

A Writers Tools

If you are like most writers, you're constantly searching for... Read More

Recipe for a Style Guide

Wired Online has recently announced its plans to drop capitalization... Read More

Uncommon Advice for Beginning Novelists

1) Convince yourself you want to do something else. If... Read More

Be Your Own Literary Agent and Get Published

So you're one of 20 million Americans who want to... Read More

Dont Make This Huge Writing Mistake!

You can create a great headline, a dynamic first sentence,... Read More

New Year Resolutions for Writers - The Best Kind to Make and How to Keep Them

On the first day of a bright and shiny new... Read More

Recommendation Letters Demystified

There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters.Recommendation letters... Read More

Should You Write a Book?

One morning, you open your inbox and find several e-mails... Read More

How to Write Bad Poetry

So you've decided to crown yourself with a title that... Read More

Make Your Readers Cry

You know, I really hate it when someone catches me... Read More

How to Write Words Worth a Thousand Pictures

Our Image-Driven SocietyWe live in a new image-driven society. It... Read More

The Run-on Sentence: From Here To Eternity

If you find your sentences filled with commas, and they... Read More

5 Reasons People Like Technology White Papers

A good white paper is a paper that makes you... Read More

Learning How To Write

As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think... Read More

Writing HI-LO Material (High Interest, Low Ability) for Slow Readers

To write books for readers at an elementary reading level... Read More

Building a Character Wall

For any great novelist, defining your cast of intriguing characters... Read More

Character Motivation - Always Ask WHY

For many years, I've been a tutor for students undertaking... Read More

In Praise of Personal Pronouns

Rudolph Flesch, a pioneering advocate of readability, put great stock... Read More

Why Every Freelancer Should Have A Web Site

"Do I send samples, a media kit, or just the... Read More

Unusual Points of View

Most writers are familiar with first and third points of... Read More

Freelance Feast or Famine?

Sometimes a freelance writing career can feel very much like... Read More

Are Writing Exercises Effective?

It was reported that the great American author Sinclair Lewis... Read More

Why Researching Is Good, And A Failure To Do So Is Not

What a lack of research could do to you.When creating... Read More

A Perfect Day for Writers

In one of the exercises in my "Getting Started as... Read More

How Three Publishing Myths Kill the Author

Agents and publishing houses have their best interests at heart,... Read More

I Am Biodegradable - My Writing Is Not

My dad was wrong. I just discovered that I am... Read More

Is The Theme Running Throughout The Story?

Creative Writing Tips ?It's no use coming up with a... Read More

Mumblings

The self-indulgent writer listens only to the mumblings of sycophants,... Read More