Starting a blog? Here's how I decide what to write

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Last week I wrote a post about Overcoming the fear of judgement in your writing. I was inspired to write that post (and this one) by a friend who wants to start a blog.

When I asked her what was getting in her way of starting the blog, in addition to her fears about judgement, one of her other concerns was WHAT to write about. She has so many ideas, that she isn’t sure which one to focus on.

So - confession time - I am probably the worst person to ask. Even now I don’t always stick to one topic. Some days I am writing about overcoming your writing fears. Other times I am writing about Caribbean History and Anti-racism. And some days I am writing about my favourite recipes, and poems about my nephew. So… I don’t have the secret about how to write about one thing. But I do have some great tips about how to decide WHAT to write about at any given time, and I hope you find these 4 steps helpful.

1. What ideas do you have? If you, like my friend, are at the start of this journey, and you don’t know whether to write about photography or your weightloss journey, I would suggest that you write out ALL of the ideas you have. Do a brain dump and get them out of your head, and onto paper and look at them. I definitely went through this when I started. I knew I wanted to write a blog, but I had no idea what about.

So I wrote all of my ideas out, and then I looked at them. The truth is - some ideas sound so much better in your head than they do when you write them down. So look at the list, and decide if there is anything that does not appeal to you at all now that you have written it out. You can put them to one side. Then take the list of the rest of topics. The important thing to remember here - you can always change your mind. So don’t get stressed at the idea of leaving topics behind, this is just a starting point. 

2. Why are you writing? You don’t need to get too specific about this right now, but definitely have some idea about this. Are you writing for your clients? Is this a blog or book for your business? Are you writing for pleasure or fun? Do you think this is something you ultimately want as a stream of income? Do you even know? (and no worries if you don’t). If you do know, use this lens on the topics that you have to see if you can narrow it down any further, or if it brings up any new ideas (and if it does, write them down also). If you are writing for your clients or business - is there anything that people are asking you about ALL THE TIME? If you are writing for pleasure, which of these topics look like they would be really fun to write about? 

3. Is there a common thread? Now that you are looking at the list - is there anything that ties the topics together? Or any common themes that you see there? One example from my blog - I write about life lessons. When I started my blog I decided I wanted to write about the lessons I learned before I turned 40.

Since then, I have written kitchen lessons, lessons from publishing my book, and the top 10 lessons I learned in the last decade. In truth, this has spanned so many topics - from travel to self-publishing, to volunteering. After starting my coaching business, I made more of an effort to write blogs that would be relevant to writers and writers at heart, and so that is what ties them together. These days I write about writing fears, and everyday storytellers. Take a look at your ideas. Is there a common thread running through them, and if so what is it. And is that something you want to focus on for the moment? And if it isn’t then, see if there are any other common threads or ideas and then go again.

4. Write something! Now comes the fun part. Pick the first topic that you find really interesting and write about it. It doesn’t have to be structured or formatted, just write about it and see how you feel writing about it. Does it feel good? Are you feeling like you are getting more ideas or getting excited? Or are you feeling like while this is a fun idea to talk about, and think about but you don’t actually want to write about it? Do you love writing about it but feel like you need more structure?

This is the time to figure out what you need next as you continue to write. Do you need more ideas? Do you need to do some research into technique? Or is this super boring and do you need to go back to the drawing board? Even if this is something that you think you’ll write about for your business, If you aren’t interested in it, you won’t keep writing about it. So you need to have some level of enthusiasm about it.

And there you have it! And you can rinse and repeat this until you have about 5 posts that you feel good about on a topic.

And before you dive into this, I want you to remember that you can always start again. There is nothing that ties you into continuing to write about something just because that is what you started writing about. While there is a lot of good advice out there that recommends strategy, sticking to one topic, and building authority, I have found that sometimes it is only in trying something new that you discover a love and a passion that you weren’t aware of. You may strike a chord with readers in a way that you didn’t expect. Sometimes, you need to leave the shoulds behind. Sometimes writing from the heart is the best thing you can do - even if it feels off topic. 

And in addition, one of the best ways to get clarity is to write! It takes a while for you to find your voice, style and rhythm, so release the idea that you can think your way into this. You may think you have the perfect idea, and as soon as you start writing, you have more ideas. Writing has a habit of taking on a life of its own, so take an experimental view of it at this stage, and know that you are refining with every word you write.

And if you want to find your writing style then take my quiz, AND you’ll be added to my mailing list, and get other great strategies for your writing as well as hearing what I am up to, and knowing when I release new stuff here!

If however you want to decide what pen to use - I got nothing. I am addicted to stationery! I’d say - use them all!!!!

And I send you big love from a small island!