Guest post by Deanna Dahlsad.

One of the things I now find myself doing in my consulting work is providing clients with a Writing Prompt Service. It was born, like any good service, from client needs. In working with my clients, it quickly became clear that whatever their reason for having a website or blog, writers, bloggers, marketers, etc. all struggle with coming up with fresh ideas to write about.

I shouldn't have been surprised; I've been stuck there myself with my own writing for my own sites. wink Some days, you just feel like you've said everything you can, you have no spark of inspiration. But when someone else hands you the task -- a task that is suited for your own goals, it is much easier.

As a freelance writer, I do provide custom written content; but this Writing Prompt Service is a less expensive, DIY option. My Writing Prompt Service is pretty simple really: I provide my clients with an idea to write about.

What makes this service something worth paying for is the fresh set of eyes. I see what their site or business is all about, what they are trying to do, and what is missing for readers and/or potential clients and customers. I take all that information and provide them with a prompt for writing. It may be a question, an inspirational photograph, a news story -- anything to get them talking (writing) about an idea or issue their website should be covering.

Because I approach this the same way I do with my freelance writing -- from the point of view of the client's goals and the needs of their site visitors, the prompted posts provide engaging organic SEO.

For those who feel stuck with their writing, but do not wish to pay for writing prompts, here's a quick little list of ways to get ideas for writing:

1) Get out of the office or house. Often, part of feeling stuck is largely due to feeling stuck in the same old place. To rid yourself of that funk, get away from your computer, out of the office, out of the building. The fresh air will do you good and bring you fresh ideas.

2) When out -- even just running errands, open your eyes and ears. Notice what people are talking about in the checkout line. Look at the headlines on newspapers and magazines on the sales racks. What are people wearing? What are they doing? What are they not doing? What about the houses, buildings, roads, businesses, etc. Are the flowers in bloom? Is it snowing? What might any of this mean to you, your readers, your business? From larger trends to tiny minutia, there are things you can observe which can spark your writing.

3) Consume media. Listen to the radio, watch TV, read books and magazines.  And read online. Really read. Don't just scroll past the links on Twitter and Facebook, but read the articles and posts. I know this can seem tricky...

On one hand, we fear disappearing down a rabbit hole of lost or wasted time. You can overcome this easily by setting an alarm for say an hour or so.

On the other hand, we fear reading articles and blogs by those in the same industry. Will you be accused of copying someone's idea, of not having your own ideas? If you participate in the conversation (by linking to the source of your idea when you write about it), you won't be lambasted. And you can also bypass this issue completely by simply not reading industry publications.

4) Get fresh (free) eyes. Ask a friend or family member to ask you questions about your business, work, or the "beat" you cover.

We are often too close to our own work. Too often we don't write about something because we believe that "everyone knows that" or we think that we've already addressed something; but they don't and we haven't. Too often we mistakenly believe that we aren't good enough, interesting enough, smart enough, etc. to write about something. Pessimistically we think, "No one wants to hear about this from me." But that's nearly always wrong. If a friend or family member is asking you, likely your readers want to hear about it too -- and from you.

I seem to have too many ideas. I'm missing the focus and time I need to get them all from my brain and onto the page (or the virtual/ digital page). I make notes for myself with ideas as I get them. I try to use a notebook rather than bits of paper which end up misplaced, but the notebook isn't always right there when I need it.

I don't understand writers who have a lack of ideas. To me it seems there is an endless stream and the real problem is keeping tack of the ideas, organizing and finding storage for all the notes, magazine clippings, and so on. I have even begun to use my digital camera as a quick note taking tool. So my hard drive is just as cluttered. I'm considering a hand-held scanner, just dash out the note and then scan it in for later. This would give me a back up plan for the bits of paper notes.

How do I get ideas? Such a short and simple question when the answer is massive.

Here are some of the ways and places I get ideas:

• Read the newspaper, a magazine.
• Study a religion other than your own.
• Watch/ listen to a talk show.
• Volunteer to edit someone else, be constructive.
• Watch a documentary.
• Read the dictionary until you find a word you don't know.
• Look at books in the library, outdated ones too.
• Talk to people at the coffee shop, grocery store, bus stop...
• Attend some kind of local group, event or workshop.
• Go to the bookstore and see what's new in your niche/ genre.
• Talk to yourself.
• Draw something - it doesn't matter whether you think you can draw or not.
• Go shopping, look at new inventions in hairbrushes, mouse traps...
• Take a walk outside.
• Listen to music and then read the lyrics.
• Take your laptop on a road trip.
• Photograph your family. Get as many together as you can.
• Try creating something in text art.
• Read the newspaper classifieds.
• Go to the local thrift store and buy yourself a new coffee mug.
• Talk to a teenager. They really aren't that scary.
• Read about fashion or something else you don't care about much.
• Read an opinion that does not agree with your own.
• Brainstorm about life. What is the meaning of life?
• Send a postcard or a real, full letter to someone.
• Try something new in papercrafts: paper flowers, paper cutting, paper folding...
• Take a lawn chair or a blanket outside and watch the sky, the clouds.
• Get a hot shower with a soap and shampoo you love to smell.
• Take the bus all across the town or city you live in.
• Buy a new pen and some blank paper.
• Read one of the classic books you never read for school.
• Do an online personality quiz, just for fun.
• Read a few blogs by people you don't know, leave a comment or three.
• What's the most boring thing you can think of? Do it.

In the end, it isn't about where or how you find ideas. The real way to get ideas is to keep your mind open looking for them. Don't become close minded, too literal, too judgmental or sure you're so right about everything. It's when you are open to new things that you are able to find them. You see things you might not have noticed or ignored because they weren't flashing a neon sign telling you "this is your idea!".

If you have writer's block, distract yourself. Get away from that heavy focus and all the pressure. Once you release your mind, give it new roads to travel, the block will weaken and you can shake it off.

Take the seed of an idea and grow it. Look for more information, look at it from another perspective, combine it with other ideas to make something new and interesting. Be open to them and ideas will just come to you, trust me, ideas are everywhere!

A boyfriend sent me this years ago. I don't know where the original card is any more but I'm so glad I retyped it into my old LiveJournal account. Today I found it there.  If it has a title I don't know it.

Take my hand. Let's travel life together... but let's take time to savor where we go.

We'll measure distance, not in miles but kisses. We'll pack our smiles and leave our cares behind.

Instead of postcards, we'll collect embraces, and I'll memorize your face on moonlit nights...

We'll leave the road for meadows, beaches, cafes, and secret places only we will know.

Life's too short for us to ever finish a journey that explores our heart's desires, so let's go now...

We won't regret one minute of traveling life together hand in hand.

Alarie Tennille

 The deadline was May, 2012, but until then you could have become an owner of a Canadian heritage lighthouse. Would you like to live in a lighthouse? What could you do to make a lighthouse profitable, as a business?

The deadline has come and gone. But it would have been interesting to live in an historical lighthouse. Pretty expensive renovations.
Links for Canadian Lighthouses:

Wikipedia: List of Lighthouses in Canada

Canadian Lighthouses

British Columbia Lighthouses

Lighthouses of Newfoundland and Labrador

Lighthouses of Prince Edward Island

Lighthouses of Nova Scotia

Ontario Lighthouses

Ontario: Bruce Coast Lighthouses

Save Canada's Lighthouses

Lighthouses in ASCII Art

Create a character who lives in a lighthouse. Build up a background story for this character and work out how they fit into a story you're currently writing (or reading).

How to Achieve Word Impact - Karen Newcomb

Another post among many which Suite101 has deleted from their content. I had linked to this on Creative Writing Inspiration and decided to save it on my own site when I found it among the carnage.

Three word power secrets that add impact in communication
Writing too often simply sits on the printed page and does nothing. This is because there is a tremendous difference between the potential impact words have and the actual impact they create in a piece of writing.

How many times have you received something written from another person which you had trouble understanding and which you finally stopped reading because you just lost interest? In addition, how many times have you written a letter expecting immediate action and received almost no response. The fact is that written communication often falls flat. This applies to articles, books, query letters, right down to memos in an office. Think about how advertisers use this formula to grab your attention.

The basic word power formula consists of three things:

Keep it simple
Get your reader's attention
Talk directly to your reader
Keep It Simple

This is a basic rule that should be applied at all times. One of the main problems is that people often use too many words to say what they're trying to say, and the writing itself is too complicated.

You can greatly improve your writing if you look at everything you write and ask: Is this the simplest way I can say it and still include everything I want to say? If it isn't, rewrite it.

Here are some examples of complicated sentences and how they can be made simple.

Complicated

We would be very happy if after thinking it over you would reply.

Simple

Please reply.

Complicated

I got the right address when my first letter was returned with another address which I see is correct.

Simple

I got the right address from the envelope when my first letter was returned.

Complicated

Your suggestions will indeed be discussed during the next Publications Committee meeting.

Simple

We will discuss your suggestions at the next Publications committee meeting.

Get Your Reader's Attention

Much writing simply starts without giving the reader any reason to read on. As a result, the first couple of sentences get read then the writing is put down. You should always do something at the beginning of each piece of writing to attract attention. In the beginning, you can improve your writing tremendously if you remember that reader will always read on if you offer him some future promise. How? By changing the sentence around so the reader feels you are offering him something he can use.

Here are a couple of examples:

Poor Beginning

This summer at King Memorial Library we had a Creative Writer's Workshop.

Attention Getting Beginning

Let me tell you about the Creative Writer's Workshop we had at King Memorial Library.

Poor Beginning

Paris is lovely in the spring.

Attention Getting Beginning

I'd like to share Paris in the spring with you.

Poor Beginning

The high school carnival was a success and we got marvelous response in our call for donations and help for the Country Store...and a lot of people helped in phoning and in putting in a lot of long hours...thanks a lot.

Attention Getting Beginning

Thank you very much for helping to make our school carnival a tremendous success. This was due to...

Talk Directly to Your Reader
Of course not every type of writing will allow you to talk directly to your reader, but where you can, you'll increase your written effectiveness 100 percent. In fiction writing you talk directly to your reader through viewpoint, in non-fiction and article writing you simply insert the word "you."

Some examples:

Indirect

Special thanks to those people who helped us.

Talking to Your Reader

A special thank you for helping us.

Indirect

Those who use this method will find out how to lose five pounds easily.

Talking to Your Reader

Using this method you can easily lose five pounds.

Indirect

There are probably many people who would like girls chasing them.

Talking to Your Reader

Would you like girls chasing you?

There are many types of writing in which you can't talk to your reader. But when you can it will improve both the communication and response many times.