Plinky – A New Service to Inspire Your Blogging

Need help sparking that imagination of yours and getting those blogging juices flowing? I know I can use all the help I can get.

Well, last week I shared a list of things I’ve done to give my journal writing and this blog new momentum. Today I found and added a new service to that repertoire called Plinky. I hope to use it as another source of inspiration. They describe their service as such:

Plinky makes it easy for you to create inspired content. Every day we provide a prompt (i.e. a question or challenge) and you answer. We make it simple to add rich media and share your answers on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

You can see the list of Plinky prompts already given. Looks like they just launched in late January 2009, so it’s still in its early stages and bound to have technical hiccups. Regardless, I'm signed up and willing to give it a go. Since Saturday is “anything goes” on my blogging schedule, that’s the most likely day when you’ll see a post from me through Plinky.

What do you think? Will I be seeing you there?

Photo source: "fireworks" by johnthescone on Flickr

Blogging Schedule for March 2009

In order to make a bull’s eye, you must first focus on your target and take aim. Well, I’m hoping that same concept works here.

I thought the best way to get me blogging daily is to give myself a blogging schedule—each day is a different topic (target) to focus on. I don’t know why I didn’t try this before; setting up editorial calendars (same concept) is a no-brainer for me when managing huge company websites.

Anyway, here’s my schedule:

• Monday: Something About Me. A day for memories, self-reflection, or just fun facts.
• Tuesday: Tips & Tricks. Sharing simple and quick tips in a wide range of areas—money, tech, health, relationships, home life, etc.
• Wednesday: Web World. Navigating the online world and pointing out good stuff along the way.
• Thursday: Creative Writing Thru Pictures. Using images as triggers (being a visual person that I am), I’m hoping this will have a cathartic effect and allow me to express myself in creative ways.
• Friday: Fun Day. Taking a moment to laugh, smile, relax, and maybe an idea or two for fun diversions.
• Saturday: Anything Goes. Having some flexibility in any schedule is important, so this is my day to go crazy.
• Sunday: State Of The Blog Address. Reporting on any news or developments regarding this blog. For example, this post ;)

By the way, this month’s NaBloPoMo theme is GIVING (UP). Their newsletter describes it this way:

…you can write about what you give to your friends, your job, your world, or yourself every day. That "up" in parentheses gives you the option to also write about things you're throwing out, quitting, recycling, or eliminating from your life right now.

I don’t know if I’ll stick to this theme all month but it would be a nice challenge to try to incorporate it with the above schedule.

Have you tried a posting schedule? What were your results in using it?

Photo source: "force india" by B. Sandman on Flickr

Curing Writer’s Block

When it comes to journaling, I’m perpetually in writer’s block. I never fail to find myself staring at a blinking cursor or a blank notebook paper. My productive moments were haphazard at best--short bursts of writing followed by insanely long silences. It seemed that I only knew what to write when I was feeling some intense emotion.

Well, I WANT to change all that. To give this new blog some momentum and my journaling some focus, I’ve done the following:

• Joined NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). Although prizes are only awarded in November, they do have monthly themes to help give focus. I don’t have to follow the theme religiously, but it’s there to fall back on. I do agree that limits can sometimes “free us to think in new ways” (Source: FAQ).
• Consolidated all my journaling blogs into one. Yes, I had three different blogs--one focused on creative writing, another on picture captioning, and lastly on typical memoir journaling. Well, over the weekend I transferred all posts written since the start of 2009 (plus an introduction) from those blogs into this one.
• Created a daily posting schedule. Yet another way to help give me focus. I will post that schedule on March 1st, and begin using it then.
• Set up a “tickler” file. Now, when I like a quote, recall an interesting memory to share, or whatever passing thought or info that could help tickle out a good post from me, I’ll record it in Evernote for future reference. Actually I’ve been collecting these ideas for some time now, so I hopefully have a healthy buffer already.

Ok, that’s it for now. I will share more when I think of them. :)

What do you do to help keep a steady stream of posts happening on your blog?

Photo source: "If I Had Something to Say" by re_birf on Flickr