Finding inspiration when you are writing is often a haphazard affair. When you are physically ready to write, nothing comes. When you are pumping gas, an epiphany!

Writing on the Hoof

It happens to me all the time. I work all day writing a wide variety of pieces for the various sites I own. Sometimes it goes well. Sometimes it does not. Around midnight, I lay down to go to sleep. Just as I am about to nod off, bang! The ideas start coming. It is like a flood. So, do I get up and start writing? Do I go to sleep and trust I will remember in the morning? Personally, I compromise and jot down my thoughts in a journal. In the morning, a review of my notes usually kindles the fires of my memories and off I go.

As a person who writes one a wide variety of subjects, I can’t tell you how valuable I find writing journals. I carry one with me all the time and it usually lasts a few months before it is full. Without it, I can only imagine how many of my random thoughts would never have made it to paper. Frankly, thousands of dollars in fees would have been lost.

I use writing journals in two ways. The first use is as an epiphany note pad. Whenever and wherever I am, I can jot down this and that as it percolates in my mind. No, I don’t take a journal on dates!

The second way I use a journal to help my writing is something I call writing on the hoof. Living in San Diego, there are lots of places to go for hikes. When I use the term hike, keep in mind I consider taking the garbage out a hike. Regardless, the act of walking is one that helps clear my mind. Perhaps it is just the fresh air, but I can feel the tension leave my body and thoughts begin to flow. As you might guess, I drag my journal with me to jot down those thoughts. In fact, this very article came about from this exact process.

If you write frequently, I highly recommend you get some exercise and take a journal with you. You might have the epiphany you need to finish your masterpiece.

About The Author

Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals.

Most of the "rules" about writing for ezines and newsletters apply to writing posts for your blog, but there are some important differences. Keep these 10 tips in mind and you'll be publishing great blog content that attracts prospects and clients in your niche market.

1. Write with the reader in mind. Remember WIIFM? It’s marketing jargon for What’s In It For Me? That’s what you should be keeping in mind. Your reader will read your post looking for what’s in it for them.

2. Make it valuable and worthwhile. Don’t waste people’s time. If you don’t have anything to say, no problem, plenty other people do. So share their articles, do an interview, review a book.

3. Proof-read for typos and glaring grammatical errors. You wouldn’t go out of the house with dirty hair or missing a sock, so why would you publish spelling mistakes? Respect your readers by polishing up your stuff.

4. Keep it short and simple, sweetie. (KISS). Most people are scanners. You may have a lot to say and think it interesting, and it may be. But people are reading online and out of time. Get to the point quickly. Publishing short posts more frequently is a better format than publishing lengthy articles every few weeks.

5. Keep it lively, make it snappy and snazzy. Even if you aren’t a natural born writer, you can write for your blog. Just write like you’re speaking to your friend…or to yourself! Remember though, get to the point quickly. Keep in mind the journalist’s rule of 5 W’s in the first paragraph: who, what, why, when and where.

6. Link often. This builds credibility and positions you as an expert in your field. People don’t have time to know what others are doing, you should tell them. Linking to other blogs and websites also helps you build a network of associates who will in turn link to your blog.

7. Use keywords often. This will help you stay on purpose, and the search engines will love your blog. Your rankings will go up. This is one of the reasons we have you write out your purpose statements before beginning your blog. The clearer you are about your purpose, the more consistently you will deliver messages that are on target. And the more often your keywords show up, the better your search engine results.

8. Write clearly (short sentences, only one concept per sentence). No double speak or jargon; no more than one idea in one sentence- don’t make your readers have to think about your meaning. Spoon feed them. Use commas and dashes liberally.

9. Write like you talk. It’s okay to use common expressions from speech.

Examples:

Go figure.

Don’t even go there…

Now, I ask you…

Gotta love it…

(And, remember the age group of your readers…)

10. Use a clear headline, and don’t be afraid to make bold statements (but don’t mislead people either). Make it snazzy and use key words. Example: Ex-Techno-Weenie Masters HTML Code

BONUS: After you write a post and BEFORE you hit the save button

Use this checklist to ask yourself a few questions as you are reading through for typos and grammar:

__ Is the topic clear to someone who only reads the headline?

__Does the lead paragraph tell who and what the story is about and why the reader should care about it?

__ Is the angle you've used likely to seem newsworthy?

__Would someone who knows absolutely nothing about this topic understand this post?

__ Is the post free of jargon?

__ Is it written in journalistic style and does it make an effort to be objective?

__ Have you peppered the headline and the post with keywords and phrases that will be attractive to search engines?

__ Did you remember to ask your readers a question at the end, or something to stimulate readers to comment?

__ Did you remember to write with the reader in mind, always keeping in mind WIIFT? (What’s in It for Them?)

Patsi Krakoff of Customized Newsletter Services, and Denise Wakeman of Next Level Partnership, have teamed up to create blogging classes and marketing services for independent professionals. You can read and subscribe to their blogs at http://www.coachezines.com, http://www.bizbooknuggets.com and http://www.biztipsblog.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_Wakeman

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