Blog Ideas, Part 1.

by Robbie Schlosser · 24 comments

Thanks in advance for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas. I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation. Tell me what you think, and I'll reply. Promise.
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I’m finding many blog ideas these days.  You, too?

Magnolia Jazz Band in Menlo Park 2011

Magnolia Jazz Band in Menlo Park 2011

Magnolia Jazz Band in Menlo Park 2011

Magnolia Jazz Band in Menlo Park 2011

Recently I began writing 30 minutes a day about whatever is on my mind, and sometimes a day’s writing becomes a blog post.

Often I write about providing music at a wedding or a party.  Like this recent  “Casablanca Night” gala.  Thanks for the photos, Yuqi Wang.

Sometimes I write about leading a jazz band, or working with my colleagues, or marketing my band.  Occasionally I write about a personal idea that catches my attention.

One unexpected benefit is how frequently I notice blog ideas from my writing. With my eyes and ears sharpened by my journaling, I see these blog ideas whenever I stumble across events or thoughts that sheds some useful light on my life or my work.

Sometimes I realize such an idea can help my friends and colleagues live or work better.  That’s when my blogging cap goes on and I dash together about 300 words to make the point.  This post is one example.

All my life I’ve heard people praise keeping a written diary.  It focuses what’s on your mind and helps to clarify your thoughts.  Journaling like this provides a place to explore related issues and possible consequences of whatever you’re thinking about.

In just a few months, I’m finding that journaling is a habit that grows more effective the more I use it.  Every day I practice, my ideas flow more easily and more smoothly.  See more of my thoughts about daily journaling.

Bottom line:  Daily journaling gives you more and deeper thoughts, and many can become your own blog ideas.

CLICK here to tweet this post and join our Magnolia Jazz Band fans on Facebook.  You’ll receive daily tips for planning wedding and party music, and you’ll get reminders for our public events.

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Thanks for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Got one or two? I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation -- I'll reply. Promise.

By the way, does a friend need help selecting wedding or party music? Do them a favor: EMAIL this article, or SHARE it on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.

And if you find my blog useful, please LIKE it, TWEET it, and SUBSCRIBE for more ideas. Use those cute little icons below.

Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.

How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.

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Ann Evanston

So it looks like the 30 day writing challenge has been beneficial for you Robbie. Glad that challenge was inspired you!

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Ann, 
Glad you like this post.  Beneficial, to say the least!  Like so many of your suggestions and insights, daily journaling is the proverbial “gift that keeps on giving”.
Robbie

Cory Zacker

Thanks for this, Robbie. I’ve known a lot of people who either start blogging and give up or are too intimidated to start in the first place. One of the problems is lack of ideas. Journaling is a great tip to get those blogging juices flowing. I’m not sure if I’ll write as much as 30 minutes a day like you do, but even just taking some time to jot down a few ideas every day or so will definitely help. Thanks again!

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Cory, 
Glad you like this post.  Writing for 30 minutes is small potatoes, as they say.  Just try it for a day.  Once you get past the “jotting a little ToDo list” stage, it’ll be like entering a new dimension.  Well, maybe that’s too dramatic.  But I predict you’ll enjoy MUCH richer thoughts and ideas, the more you write.  Let me know how it works out.  I’m always glad to help.   
Robbie

Julieanne Case

I haven’t kept up journaling every day. So much going on and I haven’t taken the time. This is a good reason to push me into again. Thanks Robbie.

Julieanne Case
Always from the heart!

Reconnecting you to your Original Blueprint, Your Essence, Your Joy| Healing you from the Inside Out |Reconnective Healing | The Reconnection| AgeLoc Skin Care |  Pharmanex Supplements

http://thereconnectivehighway.com

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Julieanne, 
Glad you like this post, and I’m pleased I can add a little incentive to your already busy life.  I hope your daily journaling will help you calm down the turmoil.
Robbie

Vicki Dello Joio

Good to hear you reaping the benefits of writing this way, Robbie. I have been doing “morning pages” for years (from Julia Cameron’s  “The Artist’s Way” and :Vein of Gold.” But I’ve lagged lately. The seeing the 30 Day Challenge mentions come up on different FB posts and now your blog, I am remembering how very important this “listen to me” time is. I am picking my pen back up for daily journaling again. Thanks for this final nudge…

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Vicki, 
Glad you like this post.  Good for you, for recognizing that daily journaling can be valuable.  And I’m glad you about to get back to it.  I’m sure I’m aware of only some of how I’m benefitting.  Please let us all know the benefits YOU find — more than most of us, you’re very “in tune” with that “listen to me” time you refer to. 
Robbie

Kathy Long

Hi Robbie. I couldn’t help myself. I landed on this page, then saw the word “jazz” and off I went into your site in search of audio files. Loved what I found! Is this what they call the “bait and switch”? 🙂

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Kathy, 
Glad you like this post and the audio files on my website.  Sorry, but no bait-and-switch intended.  The blog is the blog, and the band is the band.  Wherever you begin, I’m glad you find the other one.  Though I make a living with only one of them, I love working on both.  And I hope both will please you, too.  Anyway, I love reading your blog (especially the 11/22 one about “showing some chest”, and I’ll leave you a comment when I complete with Blogger Monday this week.  Cheers! 
Robbie

Maureena Bivins, PhD

Do you sing too?  You have a great voice!  Lately I’ve been keeping a journal in the bathroom because I get the best ideas when I am in the shower!  As soon as I can, I write down the thought so I don’t lose my momentary brilliance.  LOL.  It’s fun to go back and develop one-liners. 

Maureena Bivins, PhD
Acupuncture & Somatic Therapy
http://www.maureenabivinsphd.com
Curious, committed, and compassionate.  What do you look for in a health care provider?

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Maureena, 
Glad you like this post.  We’re on the same page here, writing down the gems before they disappear from our imagination.  I’ll have to try writing in the shower, like you suggest.  What works best?  Crayons on oilcloth?  Anyway, I look forward to commenting in your next blog.  When and where? 
Robbie

Candace Davenport

Great ideas Robbie- When I work with authors struggling to get their work out, I often tell them to keep a journal (I think diary does have that jr. high school label…) about anything and everything. First it get them in the habit of daily writing, and second, as you mention, it will be amazing how much information actually comes out of them! So I definitely get what you are saying and hope others see it too.

Candace Davenport
http://www.ourlittlebooks.com ~ Little Books with a Big Message

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Candace, Glad you like this post, and I’m glad to realize my suggestion coincides with a professional’s advice.  🙂  Do you practice what you preach, and what advice can you give to a beginning journaler (is that a word?) like me?

Anonymous

Thanks Robbie,

I found a blog recently – http://www.penelopetrunk.com  with a ‘mailbag’ section. I’m no way as sought-after as this blogger, but I realized this was a geat way to generate blog ideas – since my clients are writing to me with questions that I answer in email, why not rewrite them as a all-names-removed Q&A posts?

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Abigail, Glad you like this post.  Sounds like you discovered a great resource.  With a little ingenuity, we’ll find inspiration everywhere.  Picasso said that good artists copy, but great artists steal.  Meaning, I think, the concept, the inspiration.  I say go for it, but don’t plagiarize.

jstonegoldman

You are singing my song, Robbie! I think journaling–or any kind of reflective writing–is the avenue to so much. To ideas, to inner awareness, to a connection with ourselves. It’s wonderful that you’ve been getting in the habit of daily writing (and 30 minutes is great!) and then using that writing to launch into other writing. The biggest problem is accumulating so much writing and not exactly knowing what to do with it…I have boxes and boxes of journals. Sometimes I do go back and browse, and that really leads to more blog ideas!

Judy Stone-Goldman
The Reflective Writer
http://www.thereflectivewriter.com
Personal-Professional Balance Through Writing

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Judy, Glad you like this post.  Coming from you, this is high praise and great encouragement to keep on keeping on.  Some years from now, when I have boxes and boxes of journals, I’ll remember that what to do with them vexed you, too.  Fortunately for me, that problem is far down the road, and meanwhile I can enjoy the benefits of my journaling.  Hope you will, too.

Rowena Starling

Well Robbie, I think you’ve finally gotten me to seriously consider daily writing.  Outlining the benefits as you have inspires me to find the time for it, if not daily, then every other day.  Should make blogging easier.

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Rowena, Glad you like this post.  Uh-oh, sounds like we’re about to have a “break-through”.  Congratulations, if you succeed!  Getting started is WAY more difficult than actually doing it, you know.  Just 5 minutes a day is fine — it’s much better than zero, and you can always increase.

Jennifer Peek

Daily journaling is a must for me.  Sometimes it is a creative outlet and blog posts or other practical ideas will come out of it.  Honestly, though, my biggest reward has been that it is the only thing I have found that consistently clears my mind and helps me get back to the real issues at hand.  I am going to try your devoted 30 minutes per day and see how (or if) that changes the results.

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Jennifer, Glad you like this post.  For me journaling is always a creative outlet — “dumping” my brain and usually being surprised at what I find.  The big challenge is what to do with all that stuff.  Fodder for my blog is only he beginning.  Thanks for pointing out that journaling also brings focus, which clears up a lot of mental turmoil.  I hope that 30-minutes routine brings you good results.  Let me know.

Brandy Mychals

Ahhh…must have been inspired by Ann and her 30 Day Writing Challenge! Yes, writing has been incredibly beneficial for me too in my business – for blogs, websites and then the personal surprises…how freeing it has been to get things “out and down” on paper. Congrats, Robbie! Brandy 🙂

Robbie Schlosser

Thanks, Brandy, Glad you like this post.  Yep — Ann’s writing challenge got me started, and it’s still paying dividends in all my written documents.  As a side benefit, I’m finding that the act of writing brings focus, making things more realistic and doable.  So for example, outlining a project as a written sequence of ToDo steps, helps me understand better how to proceed and what to do.  Are you finding this, too?

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