Boost Your Blogging By Borrowing Six Inspiring Ideas

Explore the Underside
If what you think you know about a subject is ALL you know about it, think again. What if you took the position of "devil's advocate", or asked a question that you think you know the answer to, but take up the opposing point of view?

Learn from the BEST
Hunter S. Thompson used an old typewriter to type out some of the literary classics... He reportedly used a typewriter to copy the books The Great Gatsby, (F. Scott Fitzgerald), and A Farewell to Arms, (Ernest Hemingway), so that he could learn how to write as great writer's did, having the experience of using the writing style, the use of language, and, of course, the feeling of using of an old typewriter to compose a great work. Although he was frequently fired from many of his early jobs as a journalist, he went on to create quite a name for himself as a freelance writer, a non-conforming journalist, and one of the more controversial authors of our time.

Listen, and Eavesdrop
Popular culture is not just about what you hear on the radio, watch on TV, or see in the movies... Pop-culture is also the made clear by listening to the conversations you find yourself privy to. You can learn a lot about what's happening in your local and national culture by listening to the everyday conversations that take place in the real-world social scene. Not everyone who's hip is linked in on Facebook or Twitter, although it may seem that's the mainstream, many more of the socially publicized biggies are not found on the net. So head out to your local coffee shop, bar, or social hot-spot, and listen in. Listen, eavesdrop, and let it permeate your mind... Soak up the conversation around you, and you'd be surprised what you'll find yourself writing about next.

Raise the Bar...
Darren Rowse (of ProBlogger), set out to become a successful blogger. He mentioned on his blog that his wife gave a time-frame in which he was to generate an adequate income, or get a part time job. According to his story, the agreement was that if he didn't succeed, he would go back to working a traditional job. His determination left him with one goal: To blog like his life depended on it. For him, it did.

Switch Your Writing Platform
This may sound silly in theory, but in reality, inspiration can often be sparked by using a different writing platform. For example, if you typically write using your blogging software, try Notepad, MS Word, or even grab a note book. Yes, even something as simple as a blank piece of paper can provide an alternative perspective, and even send a jolt of inspiration coursing through your veins... Just start writing, you can transfer it once you're finished with your work, but by simply choosing a different "canvas" on which to create your work of art, you may suddenly find yourself inspired.

Switch Your Daily Media
If you start off each day listening to the local talk radio station, or reading internet news such as MSN or AOL, switch it up... Instead, read a newspaper, watch the morning BBC news broadcast, or find another venue that is new to your life. You may find it inspiring, frustrating, benign, mundane, or you may experience a whole new set of emotions. The point is to jar something new inside your mind... something you may have forgotten, or perhaps never even thought about.

Letting out the Write Emotions

Combating Writer's Block
Distinguishing between those who call themselves writers...

Many people aspire to be writers, some even call themselves a writer. What does it really mean to be a writer? That you should have already written a best-selling fictional novel? That you are published in major magazines? Are bloggers writers? Can a novel writer blog and maintain their credibility? What is the accurate description of what it means to be a writer today?

I have been writing for years, however, I have a friend that I didn't even know was interested in writing who revealed that there was a book that had been waiting to come out for years. The artwork was done, the theme and some details had already been worked out. We found out that we each had an interest in writing, and recently engaged in an encouraging (not competitive) exchange of written material, originally intended as a tool to get us both to begin books that we have been talking about writing, instead of writing, for years.

The deal we settled on consisted of one chapter each month, or essentially every thirty days. This is so much easier in theory than in practice. The first month we were both eager to submit our work to each other. However, by the second month, both of us were exhausted, and I wasn't even sure that the subject I picked was what I really wanted to write about.

Now, being in the third month, I can honestly say this: Working with (or in friendly competition with a partner can offer a steady stream of encouraging banter, but when working on separate projects, you are still going at it alone. So what do you do to battle through the empty thoughts? To put a stop to the blank stares at a stark white screen or paper, you must be determined to fill it. Not just with words, but with something that comes from deep within. You must find that place within yourself that your emotions flow...

This is where you should start thinking like a rapper. That's got to sound crazy, I know, but just humor me for a moment. Get a handle on what I'm saying and THEN you can say what you want. By thinking like a rapper, I mean putting your emotions into your words. If you are angry about something, speak up about it. If you have overcome obstacles that make you want to share your story with others, let it out.

You've undoubtedly heard the saying that a writer should write about something they know, and it's true. You know your emotions better than anyone else, and with your flare for words and knack for storytelling, you can either use that energy towards blogging, fiction writing, a novel, a screenplay, or anything else that you can think of putting your emotions into. The point is to be passionate about the subject. Whether it is a subject you have learned, or experienced emotionally, if you have the ability to express it to others in a way that is inviting and compelling, or even rebellious and expressive, people will read what you have to say.

Let it out... Be expressive... Be emotional and raw. Don't think about what others will say, or worry about offending anyone. If you want to remain anonymous, then do so. Otherwise, proudly vent on the public... Write what you feel, and feel what you write. Put your emotions into your work, and don't hold back what you really mean to say.
Anyone can write what people want to hear... People want to read what they don't necessarily want to hear... Let go - and see where your imagination (and your emotions) will take you.
 

5 Little Words, 24 Hours, 100 Comments

Blogger Chris Brogan wrote just five little words on June 10, 2009. Within 24 hours, those five words had already provoked over 100 comments and counting!

What was it that created such a stir? With just those few words, Chris struck a chord that continues to resonate throughout the blogosphere, screaming - debate with me! That five-word post was thought provoking (to say the least) and had the necessary elements to stir up controversy, to explain his point of view on the subject of Facebook, and excellent marketing ability.

Brilliant, Chris, just brilliant.

Is Your Writing Style Distracting Your Readers

Because so many bloggers have begun to worry about how much money their time is worth, they often forget to have fun, and enjoy what they do. After all, a good blogger has to appreciate the written language, and enjoy writing. This can be especially true for corporate bloggers. But more recently, bloggers are beginning to let go of the formal writing style, and starting to use a more fluent, speaking-style writing. Just like you would say it if the person you were talking to were stading in front of you. If you have something of value that you are offering on your site, too much fluff around your point will make it mute.

When you loosen up the writing style a little bit, you become more free in what you want to say - and how you say it. But this doesn't mean that you'd want to use cRaZy TyPiNg styles either, that makes it just as difficult to read as a ransom note. The point is, to make it easy for the reader to understand what you are saying - or if in fact you have anything valuable to say at all. These things are important to readers, and can make the difference between someone coming back to read more - or avoiding links that point to your site!

Breaking News Can Bring Your Blog to the Top 10 in Google

It's not always easy to make it onto the first page of a Google search, but there are a few things that can help boost you up to the top. One of the best examples I can share with you comes from one of my other blogs, Blogging Mt Hood. Most people in the U.S. are familiar with the story that brought my blog to the top - unintentionally.

Since I live in the Mt Hood area of Oregon, I decided it would be fun to blog about the local events, people, places to go, and local news from the locals' point of view. Well, nearly one year ago, three hikers went missing on Mt Hood. When I decided to write about what happened in our local area, the tragic events that took place on the mountain became the very thing that brought my blog to the front page of Google. Because two of those hikers were never found, people continue to search for answers from across the country, and visit my blog to read about it.

While I would certainly hope that there is a more positive news story you are able to follow - I encourage bloggers to include current events in their blog posts. I would even suggest finding out what some of the top search terms are for the day - and if any apply to your niche, then be sure to include it.

Now don't get me wrong, including names like Paris, Lindsay or Britney in your blog may not be the best way to bring visitors to your blog - even if they are in the news a lot. People continue to visit Blogging Mt Hood because the story is relevent to the blog, and they return to read many other blog posts, not just the tragedies. In fact - if you were to use a famous name to bring people to your techie blog - you'll quickly learn that even when people do land on your site due to specific keywords, if they aren't relevent to your blog topic - the visitors will quickly leave.

Blogging Writer Got a Facelift with a Custom Layout!

So if you're new to Blogging Writer, we just got a face lift! Recently I dabbled with CSS and took a stab at creating my own custom 3-column layout, and had a lot of fun. Although there were some things that were a little tough, it was a great lesson, but I still don't fully understand everything I've done. In fact, there are a few things I would like to do, but I'm still learning about how to make it happen. Of course, I'm still not satisfied, but I'll work on it more later.

This definitely isn't the last makeover that we've got in store, this is just the framework for what will be in the future. So basically, Blogging Writer is evolving! Slowly but surely, this baby will grow up to be quite a looker! You can pick up some information on how this nifty 3-column layout was created in a post on Switch Gears. Have fun, and let us know how yours turns out!

Need Great Quality Pictures for Your Blog, Website, or Publication?

Pictures are an essential part of many blogs, providing color and visual stimulation to the reader in an otherwise all-text environment. Sure widgets provide some pizazz, but even through it's quite cliche, a picture really does speak a thousand words. While some bloggers provide their blog with pictures they have taken themselves, this isn't always a practical solution for every blog. I rarely use pictures as a descriptive aid on this blog, however, some blogs just scream out for something more visual than plain text.

For instance, I run two blogs in which nearly every post contains a photo. One of them, Blogging Mt Hood, the photos are almost all taken by me, or a family member. The other blog, Herbal Whirled, I download pictures from either Dreamstime or stock.xchng (or sxu) - a great source for the type of pictures needed for that blog. While there are many sources of pictures online, I have found that the pictures on sxu are of great quality, and there are so many different categories and types of photos, that I rarely find the need to go anywhere else. It sure saves a lot of time and money on pictures of things I do not have, or cannot get.