Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places. - H.P. Lovecraft

Start just imagining a strange, far place in your mind. What colours do you see? How tall or short are the things you see? What do you smell? What is within reach for you to touch, or be touched by? What do you hear? How do you feel now that you are there?

Now write about it, as if you are a traveler just wandering in from a long, strange journey. You're tired and feeling out of place in this place you have never been before but may have heard about from someone. Write about your first step across the threshold from your journey to here and into the place itself. There is always that first step when you go forward enough to arrive and thus commit yourself to staying, at least for awhile. To leave too soon would seem kind of silly (even rude).

This is from my old Live Journal posts.

If you had your own country what would your national anthem be? What would you pick as the national flower? The national animal that goes on your loose change? What would the national holidays be, special to just your country? How would your flag look and what capital building would it be flying over? Would your capital city be in the middle of the big population area or out of the way somewhere?

Blogging with discipline doesn't mean you have to blog every day or that you can't ever take a break. It means blogging regularly--whatever that means for you. It means sitting down and trying to develop a blog post idea instead of waiting until a perfectly-written post is already floating around in your brain.

Blogging with discipline isn't the only "right" way to blog. Some bloggers find that a less-structured schedule works well for them. But if the concept appeals to you, I invite you to join me. Blog with discipline...and be available for the inspiration, when it comes.

This is me! I like the structure of writing regular posts. I find daily and even weekly posts are better than trying to post once in awhile or a few times a week or anything else that leaves wiggle room. I am not the most organized and disciplined person. I'm easily distracted and get sidetracked all too quickly.

Although I use scheduled posts I still know I have to keep enough content going to make that schedule. One thing I like about writing for a blog/ site network is being accountable to stick to a schedule for posts too. You know you have readers expecting your content but the best situation is a writing network where the writers have a real community and THEY know your posting schedule too.

There are always going to be times when you have nothing to say. You're just dry.

• Quotations are good. You can find a quote that makes you laugh, makes you think or just amazes you. If you can find anything to add of your own, do so!. Although I have done so, it is not good to just post a quote and leave it there without any commentary from yourself.
• Take a break from it. Come back when your mind isn't pressured to write something. Go browsing online at other sites in your niche. See what topics others have been writing about. Anything you may have missed? Anything you can add your own slant, experience or information to?
• Read other media, like the newspaper. Don't get so caught up in your small corner of the world that you forget there is a lot out there, not all of it is online. Not all of it is even about blogging! Shocking, eh?
• Brainstorm a list of topics you could write about. Don't hold back. Write down stuff that seems stupid and offbeat even. Give yourself at least one minute to warm up. Once you start ideas tend to flow.
• Best of all, keep an idea folder, stuff it full of things you want to write about, tidbits of ideas you get when you are doing something else, and stuff that has inspired you. Don't rule out a topic just because your niche doesn't directly relate to it. Think of a way that it does. Some really interesting posts have been created when someone combined unusual topics, giving new perspective to their topic.

Go forth and write. Let me know if you find blogging with discipline works for you too. (It work won't for everyone).

From a Chinese fortune cookie: "Select from the past only what is useful for dealing with the present."

Yes, another Chinese fortune cookie. It's not that I've been spending a lot of time eating Chinese food lately, I just save up my fortunes to see if one of them comes true. So far it's still a work in progress.

Write your own Chinese fortune. Try one modern style (optimistic and generalized) and try another the of the old fashioned kind which were kind of spooky and mystical. The sort of cookie you open with your fingers crossed and your breath held, suspense making your fingers tremble in case this fortune said something you didn't want to hear/ read.

Inspired by a post on Confident Writing: Write 4 postcards to be sent to the 4 corners of the word. Pick countries, look them up in an atlas and choose a town to write to. What do you already know about that area? Do you know enough to write about a character being there?

Write to 4 imaginary people in each of those 4 towns. What do you say about yourself and what do you ask about themselves. Make each postcard different.