Get Your Awesome Ideas Out of the Oven and into Your Blog

The nice thing about this blogging challenge is that Sarah sends daily emails with ideas and lessons, but you don't have to follow her prompts if you don't want to.

I'm all about flexibility.

BUT on days when you aren't really sure what to blog about (well hey there, today!) it's absolutely awesome when her "assignment" is to talk about how you power through blocks in your business.

How handy!

So here's my best tip and the thing I'm working on applying... if your blog is your bakery and you want to regularly have those baguettes ideas going into the oven and coming out perfectly golden brown on time, then you have to:

Spend time every day doing at least some blog post "baking."

I was thinking about this today when I was baking a double batch of muffins for my family.

The only reason my muffins ever come out half-baked is when I'm in a rush. And the only reason I'm ever in a rush baking is because I didn't start the process soon enough before a deadline.

The same is true of my blogging. Or photography. Or school work. Or house work. Whatever it is!

I have to spend at least some time every day preparing for blog posts! 

It's not that I often have writer's block, per se; it's more that I have too much "baking prep" to do and not enough time to prepare AND get the post into the "oven!"

I have a huge list of things I can't wait to post about.

Funny how posts don't write themselves.

So I experience writer's block most often because I find that none of those great ideas are ready to go into the oven... and come out in a reasonable amount of time as a great post!

If there hasn't been brainstorming, drafting, photographing, and editing, then that's when I'm going to hit a block. Because 8pm at night is too late to worry about starting that process.

But... back to my double batch of muffins!

It didn't take that long to prep the batter, and then I had a batch baking while I had the rest of the dough at the ready on the counter!

Sometimes if I'm sitting down for my daily prep, I realize I'm on a roll and I get more than one post ready at a time! (I learned from Sarah that this is called batch writing and it's just so dang smart!) The times that I've worked ahead like that have been a life-saver.

And that, my friends, is the beauty of daily prep. 

Then the next time I hit a block, I've got some "batter" at the ready!

Fellow bloggers, writers, artists, photographers, and creative souls... what do you do to combat blocks? 

I'd love to see your tips in the comments!

Twenty Days of Blogging, Ten More to Go: You've GOT to Check Out This Challenge

You may or may not have noticed that I'm on a bit of a blogging binge lately.

Today marks day 20 of the FREE 30 Day Blogging Challenge that I've joined!  

Sarah Arrow of Sark e-Media is an amazing UK blogger who loves blogging enough to have a passion to share her wealth of knowledge with others... for free! 

All you do is sign up here, and you will get 30 daily emails from Sarah about blogging. Sometimes the emails have post links with even more info. And you can either take her thoughts to launch your own post for the day, or you can post about whatever you want and file her ideas for later (I have a blogging Pinterest board that's exploded in the past 20 days!) 

Then you throw your post up in the group on facebook to get credit and feedback. 

It's been really cool to find new bloggers whose work I really love. And to hear their kind words about my own posts has been so great!

And Sarah is like the blogging "mother hen" who's always at the ready to answer any and every question.

I'll admit, there were a few down days where I didn't want to blog or didn't know what to blog about or didn't have time... you get the point. Lily and I have been sick this past week and even so, I've pushed through. Not every post has been a gem, but I'm still proud that I haven't missed a day!

The challenge has broken me out of my comfort zone about blogging regularly... it's actually not as difficult as I thought to blog daily. And although I don't plan to keep up the daily word-vomit, I have learned a ton just by having that pressure to blog every day!

So if you have a blog or even the slightest inkling that you want to blog, I can't recommend this challenge enough! 

It's been a fabulous tool to get me jump-starting a more serious plan to provide YOU, my dear sweet readers, with great content.  

I realize the importance of a great content-plan and I have started a "diary" of posts so that I can map my content out weeks in advance. I understand better how to network with social media, provide better calls to action, promote my blog post over the course of the day, and utilize time-blocking to be more effective when I work on the computer. 

All this thinking about blogging has got me coming up with more and more and MORE blog ideas! 

Sarah's emails, posts, prompts, and the Facebook group have been a huge inspiration! I'm totally on a roll and I can't wait to see how these many lessons and ideas will help me grow my blog even more!

I'm literally exploding with ideas, here! 

So fellow bloggers, I challenge you to Sarah's challenge!!! 

Especially if you use your blogging (or want to use it) to grow your business presence in an online world, you’ve got to check it out! 

And are you on the fence about blogging? 

Have a blog that you've neglected as of late? Then consider this: the world can benefit from hearing your unique voice! 

In the book Blogging for Creatives, Robin quotes the CEO of BlogHer, Inc... when asked if there are just too many blogs? Lisa Stone replied, 

"It's a bit like asking are there too many movies. No, I don't think there are too many blogs - I'm not sure there are enough good ones!"

So that's my gushing review of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge. Make sure to check it out! It's definitely a challenge, but one well worth the effort!

Sign up today! Or share with a budding blogger you love! 


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Here are the links to Blogging for Creatives, Crush It, and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook These are books I've read recently about blogging and social media which I highly recommend. If you follow these affiliate links, I will be compensated for your purchase at to cost to you. Thanks!