How Do You Generate Post Ideas? The Whirly Girl Doesn’t Force Them

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Blog post ideas can be as ephemeral as dandelion seeds: one gust of wind and they’re floating away on the breeze. How do you sow the seeds of post inspiration? How do you capture those ideas before they fly away?

The author behind the whirly girl shares this blogging frustration in a cheeky, humorous post along with fun original illustrations.

Coming up with ideas is a crap shoot. I’ve no clue where they come from or where to look when I need one. Ideas have a mind all their own and follow their own sneaky, backstairs schedule. Sometimes they drop by, but more often they don’t.

You can’t force them, either; I’ve tried. It scares them off. Ideas, I’ve decided, are like birds, very, very skittery. Attempt a sudden grab and, fwip, away it goes. Gah, so frustrating and so typical. The better plan is to ignore how desperately you need a spark, a notion, any sign of brain activity whatsoever and go on about your day. Which, for me, means sitting on my keister and obsessing over stuff I can’t control.

Read the full post at the whirly girl.

How do you come up with new and interesting blog post ideas?

101 Comments

  1. I get blog ideas simply by observing everything around me and once i start to write, it seems like i already know what i should be writing in the next sentence as soon as i finish one. Nice blog though.

    Liked by 8 people

  4. I write a lot about current events, TV and other things that I might see or read. I started a series of posts about my life as a jail librarian recently. Real life tends to give me plenty of ideas. I just need help expressing it better.

    Liked by 10 people

  5. Usually for me- especially when I first started blogging- I’d get post ideas randomly before bedtime. Right when I would be in my bed and falling asleep, so I would have to always have notecards next to me so I’d be able to write them down. Or I’d get them during the day during school, but I have never gotten ideas when I think hard about it.
    It’s odd that way, but I’ve always tried my hardest to think up an idea when I want to start planning out a post early, and it never comes until last minute or when I’m about to fall asleep or at school.

    Liked by 14 people

  6. My ideas for a blog just appear out of the blue. I have a book..yes I write my ideas down in the old fashioned way! I write down my thoughts. I then pop the idea in the heading of a draft and then it’s saved. I have a few drafts saved now but because my mind keeps throwing new ideas I haven’t got back to them.

    So mostly the idea appears from no where, it just flows and appears in a fairly raw form. Some blogs are random thoughts. . Some are pre-planned.. and some are just what they are!! Loving it.

    Liked by 10 people

  9. I’ve been following you since December now when I started to blog first. Your one word daily blog posting help me a lot but the way I do is I connect every word to an event that happened to my life. Sometimes you’d be surprised how much it all comes together with just a word. Idk that’s my strategy and I write whatever is on my mind 😊

    Liked by 10 people

  10. Ideas 💡 for blogs are everywhere! I just write them down as soon as it comes into my head. I usually grab them from deep conversations, peaceful evenings, early mornings, and happy people. They do just come to you when you least try to come up with them 🙂

    Liked by 10 people

  11. Most days, I feel like the day has a theme – some lesson, experience, or idea that God or the universe or whatever you want to call it – is trying to get across. Often times, these ideas make for good blog posts, but sometimes it takes some tweaking to get across in a way that makes sense!

    Liked by 10 people

  12. Love this. Our posts center around our parents’ Greek recipes, so that focus tends to make things a little easier…but it is still a challenge to ensure that the pre-amble or intro is interesting, relevant and unique.

    Liked by 4 people

  13. Awesome. I really should start working more on my blog as I really enjoy putting my ideas out there but I have become inactive for a while. But yes, once ideas come..It might better to write them down some key points or work on that idea right away using the wordpress phone app.

    Liked by 4 people

  14. I think for me, I just base my posts on my surrounding or current concerns. My page focuses on youth empowerment and personal development. So, I just get my inspiration from the struggles I SEE MY PEERS go through and figure out better solutions then write about them.

    Liked by 4 people

  15. Ideas have a life of their own when you create them. First, you analyze what the public needs and then you deliver it to them. Being a blogger doesn’t only mean writing what you enjoy (but you should still be knowledgable on what you are writing) but also give something back to the society that it needs but doesn’t know that it does. Now, you may have strong feelings about a particular topic that some people don’t agree on, what better way than to post it on a blog? Speak what is in your heart and dedicate yourself to what you write. Cheers!

    Liked by 4 people

  17. Mine need to be inspired by something I like or something I actually have some opinion about (since I’m not an opinionated person to begin with).

    Liked by 4 people

  18. Blog post ideas! They afflict me like a spirit. They come when I least expect it. When I’m reading, bathing, walking around, in a conversation, writing something else, about to go to bed, while in bed and it is endless. I’m one that keeps an open mind always and allows anything to flow in and take its own shape and life. But I always have to refine or even trash.

    Liked by 6 people

  19. I have a pretty ingenious imagination and I think that’s how I come with the ideas. I listen to music when I write and I think this gives my ideas a sense so that I can put them on “paper” to create my blog posts.

    Liked by 5 people

  22. Thank you for sharing, Krista!
    My blog revolves around projects i conduct, whether it is software or embedded electronics..it is very important for me to think about project ideas which solves real modern [technological] problems

    Liked by 5 people

  23. For me I generally start with a broad topic and then my ideas flow there. This give enough of an outline to keep things from getting too disorganized while leaving plenty of wiggle room to figure out what you want to say. After all that you can go back and trim the fat so to speak.

    Liked by 5 people

  26. My blog is all about freelancing. I write about what inerests all freelancers and what can help them achieve success while I enjoy sharing. Ideas just come depending on what questions that come to me from upcoming writers.

    Liked by 5 people

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