Life is a Blog Post Waiting to be Written…

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imageI’m often asked where I get ideas for my posts, and my answer is always the same: anything and everything. Blogging, for me at least, has always been therapeutic. For the first six months, the majority of my posts were focused on spewing out the toxic thoughts that had plagued my mind for a long time, and I was a woman on a mission. However, as my community and readership grew (and an almost blogging addiction started to take hold), I began to branch out and focus on different topics and themes. Now, nearly two-and-a-half years later, almost everything that I do generates potential ideas. It doesn’t prevent me from enjoying an adventure while it is happening, but I will consciously take photographs and write down notes as I am going along for future use.

I’m undecided as to whether this is unhealthy or not, but I have found the process to be incredibly useful when I suffer from the dreaded bloggers block.

The way I approach the act of writing is very different to many others. I have no specific plans, no timetables, no schedules, instead choosing to sit down to create something when the I feel the urge to do so. Saying this, I don’t have the responsibilities of family, and I’m currently taking a little time out from full time work, so it is easy to work in this manner. Suzie Speaks doesn’t have a niche, so posts are influenced by the places I visit, the thoughts I have, the people I speak to, the food I eat and posts that other bloggers have written.

For those of you who have struggled with ideas recently, here are some I have found in my notes section from the last few months.

The Story Behind the Photograph.

My Very First Job.

I Knew It Was Love When…

When Me Becomes We.

Conversations I’m Bored of Having.

What I’ve Learned in 2015.

The Realisation that Familiarity Doesn’t Make a Friendship.

The Power of F*ck You.

Unspoken Rules.

The Importance of Time.

The Worst Chat Up Lines I’ve Ever Received.

Four Things About Me.

My Recipe for the Perfect Day.

And if those ideas don’t particularly appeal to you? Where are you? Could you take a quick photograph? Who are you with? What is your history with them? What do they mean to you? Have you got a funny story about them to share? What are you eating? What’s your favourite meal you have eaten this week? Have you watched a film or read a book that inspired you recently? Did you have an interesting conversation with someone that made you think?

Get out there and take inspiration from your life as you live it, for every experience is a blog post just waiting to be written.

What about you guys? Where do you take your blogging inspiration from?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog and don’t forget to check out my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks

 

Image Credit: Deb Fletcher

102 thoughts on “Life is a Blog Post Waiting to be Written…”

  2. This is my philosophy about blogging too. People should chronicle and curate their lives and everything that happens along the way. I am convinced that we need to share common experiences so we can learn from one another. For me blogging helps me in that process. Keep on blogging my friend!

  3. I think that taking photographs and writing notes as/when ideas come to mind is an excellent process. I cannot see it in any way as unhealthy, but rather simply forward planning. I try and plan to have Posts ready to publish 2-3 days in advance however, there are occasions when life interferes with my planning and I have looked at a pic of Ray and thought “There has to be a story here.” 🙂

    • Haha! It’s rare that I will write posts in advance. Perhaps if I’m really I’m the mood I’ll very occasionally do more than one and keep it in my drafts folder, but I tend to write then and there…

  5. I would say I am like you here. Anything and everything inspires me. Just that with less time on my hands, I try to do 3-4 posts a week but I wish I could do more. Writing as you say is therapeutic!

  7. I am new at blogging, but I am sort of taking it the same way. Right now, I am at a time of my life where everything is in limbo so – no plans. I do not even know where I will be next month. So I am writing in the meantime. But everything I write so far has been due to me finding inspiration in something. So I have no niche. I was thinking that perhaps I will slowly find it over time, but maybe it is a good thing to NOT have one. Thank you for the post!

  8. I have started taking photos of things whilst I am out, thinking they might possibly come in handy for a blog post. Like you, I don’t have a particular nice either, so most things are potential blog fodder! 🙂

  10. Other blog posts 😀

    Or just random things, mostly depending on my mood. If I am depressed, I will write about it. If I am not so depressed, I will find something “fun” or throwaway to write about instead.

  12. I get my inspiration from all sorts of things, places I visit, books I’m reading, festivals I’m going to. Sometimes things happen on a personal level and I write about them too: my Gallbladder operation last year, and my kids sleepovers etc. I try to put a humorous slant on the personal things, even my Gallbladder op! I wrote about a crazy dream I had once after eating a curry! There are many more things I would like to explore. I admire people who do those lovely food posts, with mouth watering photos! Life is one big adventure, and blogging is too!

  13. Great post suggestions. I have an ever increasing list of ideas on my iPhone notes. However, usually I have an immediate idea and want to do that instead and never get round to the older ones

  15. Nice job. Sounds like many of us who blog regular. I got started blogging on the suggestion of my ex girlfriend. The then is I knew nothing about blogging. I had to research it. Now I’m hooked. So I know how you feel congratulations on two and half years of writing.

  16. I’ve very much like you, Suzie. I don’t have a schedule or routine when it comes to writing my blog and that pretty much reflects my modus operandi. My blog doesn’t really have a set theme although I described myself as a community activist yesterday and I think that describes me quite well because I I tend to write about issues. I have a very strong belief in equality and that is a constant work in progress in myself too. It’s too easy to be critical. I have written about my kids, dogs and I usually try to inject a little bit of Australia into my posts. I think creating that sense of place is a really important part of blogging for me. We can’t travel everywhere ourselves but blogging allows us to experience other places through the eyes of a local and gain those intimate insights you often miss as a tourist.
    If someone was getting started and needing ideas, I’d recommend fishing out ten photos you like and write about them. The image, for me, is as important as the text.
    xx Rowena

  17. My blog was all about writing when I started out, but I soon realised I wanted to write about the things I’d experienced as well. Plus random thoughts that came into my mind. But it still is about writing, in some way, because that’s the medium I’m choosing to send my message. And so now I find inspiration almost everywhere – I think the key is to just write what you feel, rather than what you think people expect.

  18. I have a very broad niche. I never really run out of ideas because, like you, I get inspiration from everything. I live my life and inevitably I find things to write about.
    Now, the question becomes is it good and healthy?
    I say, if it is therapeutic, it is healthy. I just hope people in my life, from a memoir standpoint, don’t grow annoyed about being included in my posts, but I am a writer and that is what I do, even if it were fiction it would still come from somewhere real and true.
    Nice list of ideas though, for those in need.

    • I absolutely love your point about it being healthy if it is therapeutic and I feel a little more comfortable about the amount of time I spend on here – thanks! I think the issue of others being included in it shouldn’t be a problem if they have given you permission to do so.

  19. I think what you say here about blogging is also true about writing generally. I’ve written stories since I was a child, and most have been sparked by something happening around me. True, I then get into “what if?” mode. You know, what if “this” happened next instead of what really happened? How would those minor differences change the direction of events?
    Life is inspirational in so many ways, Suzie. Thanks for giving us all this reminder.

  20. Therapeutic! Exactly! Sometimes it’s like talking to a therapist. Sometimes I post about something I heard or read that is bothering me. After writing about it, or hearing from others, I feel like I’ve put something very heavy down. Sometimes I change my mind about it and feel I’ve grown from writing it out.
    When I write about something that happened like a vacation memory, a lunch with friends, or something my sons’ said that inspired me or made me think, the memory is solidified in my mind. I can imagine my great-grandchildren coming across my printed blog book far off in the future and feeling like they know me a little better.

    • Awesome comment and I totally agree. Blogging is the best form of therapy I have ever had – and it’s changed my life. I feel the same way, it’s like leaving a little legacy isn’t it!

  21. Thank you…you have inspired two future blog posts of mine. 🙂 I really like where you’re coming from on here as I am at the same point. So I extend my gratitude and must say that I am really liking your blog. 🙂

  22. I’m totally with you on not scheduling what I am going too write about. I write and publish the moment an idea comes to mind (apart from my short stories if they are more than one part). I write about life because it includes anything. I write because I enjoy it and if it ever did become stressful to me then I’d take a break from it. Blogging should never be stressful. It should be an enjoyable experience we should participate in when the need to do so arises When an idea presents itself I’ll start writing it down. There’s plenty of other things I can be getting on when ideas do not present themselves.

    • I totally agree Hugh. Something like blogging should never be a chore, although I can understand why parents and people with high powered jobs would need to schedule time…

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  25. Stopping by from SHAREFEST. These are great ideas and inspirations. All of my blog writing comes from life. I think my blog would be pretty boring if I didn’t have such a weird life. Love your blog!

  28. I’ve started and stopped a few blogs over the years. I always tried to confine myself to one niche and after awhile just ran out of things to say. This time around I’m writing just to write. I write about whatever pops into my head and I’m having a blast. Whether I get a lot of followers or not, I’m doing this for me. Thank you for a great post and some good ideas to follow.

  29. I’d agree with all of this. I’ve experimented a bit with writing certain series of posts to a schedule this year and decided I didn’t like it at all. I’m a fairly prolific writer who doesn’t often suffer from writer’s block but when I do my first course of action is often to either look at old photos or take a few random ones and see what happens. Other than a weekly photo post, the only thing I do on a scheduled basis now is my new weekly podcast. Everything else just happens when inspiration strikes me and I have available time. Sometimes that means a topical idea for a post never gets written, but I’m okay with that.

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  32. I prefer a more “organic” approach to writing posts too. I love the idea of a “conversations I’m bored of having” post. It might be a long one for me haha x

  34. really great ideas list! I may pinch some of those to put on my Trello list (I’ve an ever growing blog ideas list, just need to make more time to start implementing them!)

  36. I don’t have a niche either, Suzie, and I love the freedom this gives me to write about whatever strikes me. I approach it much the same way you do, and the most mundane or sublime experience can result in a blog post. A trip to the grocery store has inspired several posts and yesterday when I went I had another experience that will likely result in another. Sounds boring, but they have all been well received. Sometimes I forget to take photos and am so mad later when I realize I could have made a post out of a particular experience. Love your writing prompts too. ‘Four things about me’ struck me as I’ve always hated those ‘ice breakers’ they do at work meetings/conferences. I think I can make something out of that to give me ready-made material. LOL.

  37. I have found since blogging at look at the world a bit differently – when I see, do, read something I often think that is a potential blog post! I so have something to say on that! Always enjoy your take on the world.

    • Thanks lovely! It is genuinely something that is on my mind all the time – I have sooooo many notes on my phone from ideas that have cropped up while i’m doing something!

  42. I don’t know how so many other bloggers live on a set schedue (post on fixed days about topics in a defines niche). I’m so glad to see that a popular blogger such as yourself is able to navigate the path to success.
    Gives the little guys like me a lot of hope. Cheers!

    • Thanks so much lovely! I’ve noticed the shift in the blogging world now people are realising that it is a viable career option, and a lot of people are extremely regimented about the way that they post… All seems a bit complicated for me…

  43. Nice to know someone as successful as you uses the and philosophy as me. I don’t timetable writing or have any niche. I basically brain dump into my blog. Often my story formulates whilst I’m ironing, weeding or showering. Sometimes in the middle of the night .. when it happens it just has to get out there. I think the download and sharing is healthy.even if no-one reads it

    • Brain dump… Exactly. I don’t have a targeted audience, I just like to write about what I feel like at the time, like my own personal form of therapy!

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