Nov 12, 2015 / Inspiration

Five Post Ideas to Get You Through NaBloPoMo

Need to refill the hopper of post inspiration?

Image: <a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/13244">John Atherton</a> (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>).

We’re not quite halfway through the post-every-day marathon of NaBloPoMo — but we’re far enough along that finding fresh inspiration each day gets more challenging.

The Daily Post has tons of post fodder, from daily prompts to photo challenges to our editors’ personal suggestions for post topics. Below are five of our favorite suggestions from our library of post ideas, with links to more if none of these get your virtual pen moving.

Create a Spin-off

Every now and then, a character pops into a TV show who’s so charismatic, so unique that you want to know more about them. If you’re lucky, the fancy executives over at the TV station approve a spin-off where you get to follow this wonderful, fictional person.

Of course, there are many failed spin-offs, but the draw is the same amongst all of them: a single character was bigger than their secondary role on the show. Sometimes the personalities and characters writers create are larger than life in their current setting, and a spin-off can allow them to grow beyond that, developing into a full-fledged and complex storyline.

In our blog posts, we often mention people in passing. For travel bloggers, it may be the nice woman who walked you to the bus station when you were lost. For food bloggers, perhaps it was the cook you met who suggested a recipe that changed your life. Regardless of what you blog about, think of one of those secondary characters in your life and give them a voice.

See nine more great post ideas from Erica.

Start rhyming

Our mind instinctively gets looser when we focus on how to write something instead of what to write about. Just pick any random topic and write about it — while rhyming. Whether you go for laughs (a string of limericks on your botched dinner last night?) or choose a more heartfelt topic, rhymes produce a fascinating distancing effect, giving tired, mundane topics a fresh coat of paint.

Want more? Ben’s got more.

Get nostalgic

The older I get, the less value I put on objects. But, in childhood, I didn’t have “things,” I had “treasures.” Memories of these items are especially valuable to me, as many of them were lost over the years. Case in point: my yellow Sony Sports Walkman was something I never thought I could live without. I always carried it, along with my Purple Rain and Thriller cassettes.

Robyn also writes some of my favorite posts on overcoming writers’ block and getting the words to flow.

Did you have a talisman? Was there an object in your childhood home that brings up emotion for you when you think of it? Is there something you wish you could get your hands on now…but isn’t manufactured or attainable anymore?

Check out the rest of Robyn’s inspiring ideas.

Speak to a thing

Yes, open letters are sooooo passé. But while the format might feel overused, we continue to find posts that effectively use this format, like Red Hairing‘s “An Open Letter to Drew Pinsky” or Kenny Wiley’s “Open Letter to Male Ultimate Players, From a Guy.”

Some of the most resonant open letters lately, however, aren’t addressed to people — but to things. Not necessarily physical objects, but perhaps obstacles or fears. Consider Susie Lindau’s “An Open Letter to My Boobs,” written seven months after her reconstruction surgery. Or Kate Granger’s heartfelt “Dear Cancer Part 3.”

Still undecided? Cheri has four more great ideas for you.

Psychoanalyze yourself

Take the five books on your nightstand, the last five songs you listened to, the last five movies you watched, or the last five blog posts you liked — what do they say about you? If that’s too revealing, try some fiction — invent another person with these tastes, and tell us about them.

This post is a triple threat: you get an amusing and/or insightful post, you hook readers with an insider view (we all love perusing other people’s stuff), and you leave the door wide open for readers to engage by commenting on your choices and sharing their own.

I’ve got four more suggestions, but after that, you’re on your own!

Happy blogging!

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  7. this came at a great time as always. I was so unaware of NaBloPoMo until now. I’m rebuilding my blog platform after 6 years of not having one. I vowed this past sunday to write every single day in order to get in the practice I needed to feel confident and find the enjoyment all over again. So far it has been a great journey and I look forward to blogging every night and sharing it everywhere shamelessly . Something I was nervous to do previously. These daily prompt ideas are fantastic to add to my own brainstorm list. thanks again

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