Roving Report: Fill Your Editorial Calendar with Ease

Are you a content creator (or do you want to be)? Do you ever worry that you’ll run out of ideas?

Well, if you use the idea-generation system Heather Robson shared with a group of Wealthy Web Writer members, the answer is, you’ll have more ideas than you can ever use.

As Wealthy Web Writer’s Managing Editor, and a freelance writer for over 15 years, Heather has filled her share of Editorial Calendars. She knows the worry firsthand, and has developed a five-step solution.

So if you want to start a blog — for yourself or for a client — but have concerns about what you’ll write about week in and week out, relax.

Heather promised that, if you use her strategy, “you’ll uncover ideas your readers will love, click through to read, and come back to read more of.”

The Topic: Writing as Therapy

In preparation for this webinar, Heather picked a random topic to use as an example. She chose “writing as therapy,” envisioning a blog that discusses therapeutic aspects of writing.

“This make-believe blog is all about good mental health, creative writing, and using writing as a vehicle for good mental health with a little mixture of parenting sprinkled in,” she elaborated.

Heather uses a five-step idea-generation process. The second and third steps build off of the first one.

Step #1: Start with Brainstorming

Brainstorming sessions should be free from distractions, and brief.

Clear a space

Heather’s brainstorm begins with clearing a space.

No, this doesn’t mean you whip into a frenzy of cleaning.

“Clearing a space looks different to every writer,” Heather explained. Some of us work well amidst clutter, some of us are more comfortable with tidy spaces. Maybe your preferred spot is outdoors under a shady tree.

Pick the space you want to be in.

Eliminate distractions

Remove yourself from distractions, including other people, pets, phones, computers, or anything that can interrupt your train of thought with a beep, alarm, or ping. If music stimulates your creative thinking, by all means let some appropriate music into your space while you’re brainstorming.

Use pen and paper

“I’m super serious about this,” Heather told us.

“The act of writing by hand triggers a different creative flow,” she explained. “When I’m stuck, the best way to get unstuck is to sit down with a pad of paper and a pen, set a timer, and just to start writing whatever my thoughts are.”