Coming Up With Blog Post Ideas
Breaking the 4th wall
To me, the hardest part of these RE: blogs isn’t the writing. It’s the brain churning exercise of coming with the ideas for these things. Once I have my topic, I can ideate away and write in my usual stream of conscious style. But how do you come with a “great” or “usable” topic idea? Well, let’s start by asking, what makes a good topic idea?
A good topic idea for me is one that I enjoy writing about. I’m grateful that I’m in a position where my blog posts can be able essentially anything I want. It doesn’t have to be about school. It can be thoughts that I’ve been having about pretty much anything. Personal life, family history, friends, life-lessons learned, observations, you name it.
Another thing that makes a good topic is that it has to have some minor depth. Like this post for example. I’m able to squeeze by with just a liiitle depth. It doesn’t need to me major, but I do really enjoy trying to put as much thought into these as I can. So I’d rather not just write one paragraph and feel like I’m done. I’ve been using them almost therapeutically. Although they are a school assignment, they are also a nice escape from school, since the topic choice is relatively free.
So now that I’ve made myself aware of what makes a good blog topic, how do you think of one? Well, for starters, create a list of blog post ideas. I’ve got mine saved in my “Notes” app on my phone so when I do think of one, I’m can quickly jot it down so I don’t forget. But this doesn’t answer my question, how do I think of one? A couple of things come to mind: observation, conversation, and reflection. Observe the world around you. Take it in, how does it relate to other aspects of your life? What can you learn from it? Do you notice any patterns or trends in it? Talk to people. I large chunk of my blog posts idea have sparked from conversations I have with friends, family, and colleagues. In fact, my next post topic came to me when my friend started talking to me about politics a little. *sneak peak* And finally, reflection. Take some time to yourself. Go on a hike, journal a little. Although this is journalling in a way, with a handwritten personal journal, you have even MORE freedom. You can take an even further step back and potentially pull something out of that more raw reflection.
My actual next blog post will be about writing blog posts about writing blog topics. Now that’s what I call a great blog post topic.
