7 Ways To Come Up With Blog Ideas

I’m often asked how I come up with things to write here on my blog every day.  Honestly, sometimes it comes easier than other times.  Sometimes an idea is fresh on my mind, and sometimes I really strain to come up with a topic.  Since I started blogging several years ago, there are a few things that have helped me to capture the inspiration of life.

7 Ways To Come Up With Blog Ideas:

1. Journal.  I’ll confess that I’m not always the most consistent when it comes to keeping my journal, but I must admit that when I do keep a journal it helps be capture the memories and thoughts of each day.  It provides a rough draft of things that may one day appear on the pages of Jon Stolpe Stretched.
2. Become a student of the every day.  Life is always happening around us.  It’s easy to let life race by without paying attention to the details and without taking time to reflect.  There are blog topics happening all around you.  It’s just a matter of paying attention.  Keep your eyes and ears open, and take notes.  Keep a note-book in your car, on your desk, and on your nightstand.
3. Ask around.  Don’t be afraid to ask your readers what articles they like the most from your blog.  Also, ask your audience to tell you what they’d like to read from you.  I have learned a lot by simply plugging into The Stretched Community.
4. Read other blogs (and books).  It’s important to be original, but it can sometimes be healthy to read what others are writing.  This can be that catalyst or springboard for your own ideas.  I read between 75 and 100 blogs on a fairly regular basis.  It’s exciting to see the creativity and writing genius of other bloggers.
5. Plan ahead.  Many of my posts are created the night before or the morning they are published.  But many of my ideas have been brewing for a while.  I often plan 2 to 4 weeks ahead leaving spaces for momentary inspiration.  Sometimes I deviate from my plan, but the plan helps me stay on track and avoid times of writer’s block.
6. Collect guest posts.  Guest bloggers can be a great assistance when you need a break, when you’re on vacation, or when you simply want to interject the thoughts of others into your blog.  I’m so grateful for the posts that others have shared here, and I’m always excited to share The Stretched Community Platform with others who want to share their STRETCHED story.
7. Take regular breaks.  Over the past couple of months, I have taken Saturday and Sunday off from blogging.  This has provided a greater opportunity to spend time with my family, to take a break, and to cultivate new ideas for the week ahead.  Many bloggers think they will fail if they take a day off.  I understand the importance of writing consistency, but consistency doesn’t help if the content quality is poor.  Breaks provide an opportunity to improve content quality.

How do you come up with ideas for your blog?  What kind of Stretched posts do you like most?

Three Easy Stretches to Writing a Book (Dan Erickson)

Today’s guest post comes from Dan Erickson.  Dan and I have become friends over the past year thanks to the blog world.  While we live on opposite sides of the country, we have several things in common:  We are both PKs (Pastor’s Kids).  We both have daughters.  And we both like to write.  Dan has written two books.  I read the first book (and loved it), and I can’t wait to read his second book which just came out.  In today’s post, Dan shares some thoughts on writing a book.  Dan’s bio appears at the bottom of his post.

Three Easy Stretches to Writing a Book

Writing a book is a challenge.  I know.  I’ve written two.  So what does it take to write a book?  It’s simple.  It takes consistent commitment.

Here are my three suggestions for anyone who wants to write a book:

1.  Start writing immediately: People tend to have a thousand excuses why they can’t start writing a book.  Here’s a short list of ways not to get started:

• I don’t have a story.
• I don’t have time.
• I have writer’s block.
• I’m not a good enough writer.

These excuses are all lies.  We all have a story in us.  We all have 15 minutes a day to spare.  There’s really no such thing as writer’s block.  We become better writers every time we sit down and write.

It doesn’t matter what you write at first.  It could be a journal post, poetry, or a how-to manual.  Just sit down and start.

2.  Set a loose, long-term goal: I set loose goals for my book projects.  When I wrote my first book, A Train Called Forgiveness, I didn’t really have a goal.  I just started writing and discovered I could do it. 

I wrote the first draft in about three months, I found an editor at the college where I work, let the book sit for a few months, and did the rewrite.  The whole process took about nine months from start to finish.

The goal for the second book, At the Crossing of Justice and Mercy, was more specific.  I set a loose date of Spring 2013 and spent most of a year working through the process.

The third book of the series, The Track to Redemption, is going to stretch me the most.  I know this one is going to be the hardest to write.  It has the most difficult theme and I want it to be the best of the three.  So I’ve set a date of 2014/2015.  That gives me a little leeway and allows me to do some other writing and music projects in between.

Give yourself some flexibility and don’t let yourself burnout.

3.  Make writing a daily habit: Here’s my final tip.  Write every day.  You don’t have to work on your book every day, but write something: a poem, a blog post, a letter.  Just don’t let these other forms of writing become an excuse not to work on your book.

It’s okay to take a few weeks or even a few months off between book projects.  In fact, it likely helps with the creative process.  It gives you time to think, to stretch your imagination.  But you need to set a time to get back onto the project.  For instance, I have a start on my third book, but I’m taking a few months off to work on promotion.  But I have a cabin to stay at this summer where I’ll buckle down and write.

For me, the writing has come pretty easy.  The hard part, and what really stretches me is the promotion, the waiting for something to happen.

Trying to self-promote a self-published book is like trying to find the eye-of-a-needle in a hay mountain.

Promoting a book takes time and energy.  It gets frustrating and depressing when you see low sales and slow growth.  It makes you question whether it’s all worth the effort in the first place.  But you need to evaluate your reasons for writing a book in the first place.  For me, it’s all about the story.  My stories generate thought, healing, and hope.  If only a few people are touched by them, that’s reward in itself.

So go ahead.  Write a book.  But write it for the right reasons.

Question: Do you have a book in you?

Dan Erickson is a writer, poet, and songwriter in his spare time.  He teaches feature writing and public speaking courses at a college in the Northwest.  He’s a single dad to his daughter Annie.  He was the child victim of a cult, and his first book A Train Called Forgiveness, is a fictionalized version of that experience.  You can learn more about Dan’s work on his blog @ http://www.danerickson.net      

How To Use Milestones To Kick-Start A New Thing

See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

Yesterday was a big day on The Stretched Blog as we celebrated the 1,000th post.  Milestones like this are great as they permit us to reflect on where we’ve come from and what we’ve accomplished.  Thank you to everyone who shared thoughts and good wishes to help celebrate this big event.  It’s important to pause and commemorate achievements like this.

It’s also important to keep going – to start again (and again).  Milestones like yesterday should be a reminder that each day represents a new beginning.  I love the verse from Isaiah mentioned above.

While today is the 1,001st Stretched Blog post, it is also the first blog post of the new thing that God is doing in my life (and here at The Stretched Blog)  starting today.  I’m so thankful and excited for the new things that await me and The Stretched Community.

How To Use Milestones To Kick-Start A New Thing:

1. Keep track of what going on in your life.  Whether it’s a journal, a blog, a photo album, or a really good memory, documenting our past is such a great way to learn and to recognize growth.
2. Pause, commemorate, and celebrate.  Don’t rush my the milestones without taking time to reflect and to be thankful.  Just like the Israelites setup 12 stones when they crossed the Jordan River (see Joshua 4), it’s important for us to set up monuments to remind us of God’s mercy and provision in our lives.  Yesterday’s post was a “12 stone post” for me.
3. Keep going.  The Israelites didn’t camp out at the 12 stone monument.  They kept moving into the Promised Land.  Similarly, we need to keep going.  There is a new thing waiting for us as we head into our Promised Land.
4. Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  There will be more milestones to celebrate.  And there will be more new things ahead.  Don’t stop.  Don’t rest on your laurels.

What milestones can you celebrate today?  And what new thing is God doing in your life?

1000 Miles – 1000 Blog Posts – Celebrating A Milestone

You’re reading the 1,000th Stretched Blog Post.

When I started blogging several years ago, I never envisioned that I’d write this many posts.  I simply set out to record my STRETCH marks.  My main goal of The Stretched Blog remains the same today as it was  when I first started – To process life’s experiences and to bring glory to God.  While that goal has been constant, other amazing outcomes have emerged.  Primarily, I have been so blessed to meet so many people from across the country and around the world.  The Stretched Community has been a huge blessing in my life.  Along the way, I hope I’ve encouraged and STRETCHED you.  Thank you for reading, for commenting, and for sticking with me along this journey.

Here are a few highlights from the first 1000 Stretch Posts:

• July 6, 2007 – The first post was actually untitled.  This post provided an introduction to The Stretched Blog.
• July 7, 2007 – D.C. Talk introduced our family vacation to Washington D.C.  It’s funny to see the picture of Isaac who would have been 7 years old on this trip.
• July 30, 2008 – It took a little over a year, but I made it to 100 posts with this one titled, In Search of Treadmill.
• October 21, 2011 – We celebrated the 500th Stretched Post with a guest post by Arny Sanchez – Field of Changed Dreams?
• February 27, 2012 – I wrote a post about my experience at a recent FamilyLife Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference.  This post has been the most visited post of all time – Ten Reasons To Attend FamilyLife Weekend To Remember.
• March 21, 2012 – It’s hard to pick out one favorite from among the first 1,000 posts, but this one stands out as one my favorites – Leap of Faith.
• November 7, 2012 – This was a day I won’t soon forget.  I posted How To Respond To The Election Results which drove the biggest single day of traffic on the blog.
• 328,000 words written to date!  Crazy!

Where do we go from here?

I plan to continue to write.  I don’t have a number of posts in mind, but I hope we can celebrate these kind of milestones every so often.  And I hope that I ultimately point people to Christ as I continue to share more STRETCHED stories and thoughts.

When did you start reading The Stretched Blog?  Which post stands out to you as one of your favorites so far?  How have you been stretched by being part of The Stretched Community?

As I was preparing for this milestone post, I came across this song by Mark Schultz – 1,000 miles.  I think the words speak well to where I’ve been and where I hope to go – not just here on The Stretched Blog, but for life in general.  Enjoy!

Short Film – 1000 Miles by Mark Schultz from Ben Salzmann on Vimeo.

Appearing Elsewhere

Last week, I featured a list of guest bloggers who have contributed here on The Stretched Blog.  Today, I want to spotlight the places where I’ve guest posted over the past couple of years.

I really appreciate the opportunity to guest post around the blog world.  These are opportunities that STRETCH me.  If you’d be interested in having me visit your blog, drop me a comment.  We’ll see what we can do.

Stop by and check out my guest posts, and check out what else is happening on these great blogs.

• Don’t Blink!  Time Flies When You’re a Dad at Some Wise Guy – June 22, 2012
• Rediscovering My Dream at Living Better Stories – June 12, 2012
• Dreaming Big Again at Expect The Exceptional – May 4, 2012
• Multiplying Small Group Ministry at FaithVillage – April 6, 2012
• Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know at FaithVillage – March 13, 2012
• Stretching Back To The Basics at Frank Chiapperino – February 16, 2012
• Stretching to Leave a Lasting Legacy at The Point Ministries – January 19, 2012
• I Love You Man! at The Analogous Truth – January 5, 2012
• I’m Dreaming Of A Stretched Christmas at Deuceology – December 14, 2011
• Stop & Start at The Handwritten – December 12, 2011
• Heart Broken at Brandon Gilliland – August 26, 2011

Where have you guest posted?  Leave a link, so I can check it out!

Once Upon A Time…Continues

Last weekend, we started a new story.  The story grew as people left new paragraphs in the comments.  Today, I’ll give you the story so far along with my own update in this post.  Then, it’s your turn to add to the story again.  Let’s see what happens next!

Once upon a time in the town of Milton, John Miller lived with his young family on 2nd Avenue.  John, an aspiring artist in his mid 30s, spent his days working down at the local shipyard where he loaded and unloaded ships as they came in and out of the port.  John was married to Caroline, and they had three kids – Jenny (10), Danny (8), and Billy (5).  They lived a happy simple life.  Nothing major happened in their lives.  But that all changed one warm summer day when John discovered something amazing down at the shipyard.  (Jon Stolpe)

The shipyard had been the scene of many interesting stories over the years. There was the time that the sailor found a message in a bottle that took him on a journey around the world. Another story is told of a little boy found wandering alone through the shipyard. He turned out to be the lost child of a prominent local citizen. The man who found the boy was awarded a huge sum of money by the parents out of gratitude for rescuing their child. But on this summer day, what took place was far more amazing than anything the old shipyard had ever seen before. It all centered around a tiny puppy and gruff old sailor.  (Leah Adams)

John had always given surly Patch MacGruder a wide berth at work. He’d duck behind shipping containers when the old sailor heaved into view. When no hiding place provided cover, he’d snap his fingers as if he’s forgotten something then turn to walk briskly away from Patch.

But on this bright Monday morning, John came around a ship in dry dock and plowed
into Patch.

The old sailor growled, “Hey, careful. Can’t you see I’ve got precious cargo here?”

John said, “Sorry, Patch. I didn’t know you were here.”

A puppy wriggled in Patch’s arms. The old man scratched the tiny fur ball under
its chin. He said, “What are we going to do with this little lost fella?”

We?  (Tom Tarver)

John was beside himself? He never really talked to Patch all that much. To be honest, most of his co-workers called him the village idiot, but the more Patch spoke, the more John felt a camaraderie with him. “Patch, what are you doing here Sr? The other fellows sure would not do well knowing you’ve been tucked behind here hiding from work!” “Well” Said Patch sitting up very slowly and like every bone in his body hurt. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you fella”

John heard some of the guys yelling in the front of the warehouse. “Patch, I really gotta go, but would really love to hear your story someday.”

As John began to walk away, His vision must have become like blurry or something because he became dizzy. Everything was moving in a very weird way. All around him was like jello moving in all different directions.

All of a sudden…

John, Patch, and the Puppy…were all standing in front of a huge…(continue) (Arny Sanchez)

...freight container.

John and Patch had seen many of these over the years while working at the shipyard, but none of them were quite like this one.  This one seemed to be twice as large as the ones that normally came through the yard.  As John and Patch looked at the shipping container, they both had this feeling that there was something inside that had to be seen.  Patch looked at the lock on the door of the container, and he quickly realized that it wasn’t latched.  Without hesitation, he removed the lock.  As he began to open the door of the large green container, he was immediately knocked over.  The puppy jumped out of John’s arms and ran into the shipping container.

Okay, now it’s your turn.  Let’s see where the story goes.  Add to the story in the comments.

Once Upon A Time…Help Write The Story

Okay, it’s Saturday, and I need your help.  Together, we’re going to write a story.  How are we going to do that?   Great question.  I’ll start the start here with an introductory paragraph.  Then you can add to the story with your own paragraph by leaving a comment.  Make sure your paragraph is a follow-up to the previous comment.  Feel free to come back later to see how the story is going and to add another paragraph.  Sometime next week, I’ll post the complete story.

Before we start the story, I want to give props to two of my fellow bloggers who gave me the idea for this post.  First, Arny Sanchez of The Analogous Truth did this a year ago, and his blogging community came up with a funny story about The Blogging Knights of the Square Table.  Second, Larry Carter of Deuceology started a new Saturday series today that is excellent.  In his post, Larry starts a piece of fiction that will pull you in waiting for next week’s post.  Okay, now to our story….

Once upon a time in the town of Milton, John Miller lived with his young family on 2nd Avenue.  John, an aspiring artist in his mid 30s, spent his days working down at the local ship yard where he loaded and unloaded ships as they came in and out of the port.  John was married to Caroline, and they had three kids – Jenny (10), Danny (8), and Billy (5).  They lived a happy simple life.  Nothing major happened in their lives.  But that all changed one warm summer day when John discovered something amazing down at the ship yard.

Okay, now it’s your turn.  Let’s see where the story goes.  Add to the story in the comments.

Writing – A Strange Discipline

As I write these words, it’s 4:55AM.

People often ask me about my writing.  “When do you write?”  “How do you come up with the ideas for a different post everyday?”  “Why in the world do you write?”

Writing is a strange discipline.

Believe me when I say that I have plenty of other things to do.  My family, my job, my own time for quiet reflection and personal fitness – these are all things that keep me very busy.  Yet somehow I find time to write.  I think it has to do with priorities.  Is writing enough of a priority for me that I would get up extra early to “participate” in this activity?  Or is writing enough of a priority for me that I would put other things aside or modify my schedule to make sure I had daily time to write?  If you’ve been following along since late June or early July 2011, you know that the answer is yes.  Since then, I have posted nearly every weekday and many weekend days.  Writing is a strange discipline.

When people ask me about my content, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell them that writer’s block occasionally sneaks in.  But honestly, life provides so much to write about.  It’s often a matter of simply opening up my eyes, my ears, and my mind to the world that is happening around me.  We live in such a dynamic world, writing is an opportunity to slow down even briefly and to take a snap shot in time of what’s going on in my head.  The other answer I tell people is that it’s important to be plugged in.  Yes, I read a lot of blogs, and I listen to a lot of podcasts.  But I would say that reading books and reading God’s Word are two essential tools for a Christian blogger.  It’s important to keep my mind engaged and well fed.  This is key to writing everyday.  Writing is a strange discipline.

I write for many reasons.  First and foremost, I hope my writing will bring glory to God.  Everything after that is gravy.  I write to wrestle out loud with the thoughts and ideas that come and go in my head.  I write to encourage others (at least I hope this is true).  I write to tap into my creative side (yes, even engineers can have small amounts of creativity).  I write to keep of record of my “stretch marks”.  If I’m honest, I write in hopes of extending my personal platform – of gaining some notoriety – of making my own personal dent in this world.  I write, because I’ve discovered that I am a writer.  Yes, writing is a strange discipline.

Why do you write?  When do you write?  What do you write about?

eBook Review: You Are A Writer (So Start ACTING Like One) by Jeff Goins

Today, I’m excited to share about a new eBook resource for writers that will be available in the next couple of days from Jeff Goins.  In You Are A Writer (So Start ACTING Like One), Jeff shares tips and encouragement for writers.

First, Jeff who blogs regularly at goinswriter.com challenges readers to change their attitude about writing.  He encourages readers to take on the title of “writer.”  I have always considered myself to be an engineer, a father, a husband, and a leader, but thanks to Jeff I now consider myself to be a writer.

You Are A Writer provides key advice for finding your voice as a writer.  Jeff explains how to build a platform, how to establish a brand, and how to utilize channels of connection.  As a blogger for the past four or five years, I came away from You are A Writer with valuable information that will help me grow in my writing.

Finally, Jeff shares his insights in how newer writers and take the next step towards publication.  You Are A Writer provides step by step essentials for progressing from a closet writer to becoming published in magazines and on-line to writing your own book.  This eBook is an excellent resource that I will come back to again and again in my pursuit of becoming a better writer.  You Are A Writer has my recommendation.

Thanks, Jeff, for sharing your writing experience and knowledge with us!

Are you a writer?  What’s your next step in your writing journey?

Update 5/2/2012 from Jeff Goins:  The website http://youareawriter.com is now live. I’m still waiting to hear back from Barnes & Noble, but the book is now live on Amazon: http://amzn.to/Ijb80S

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