Sunday, March 27, 2016

How To Write 322 Posts - Part 2



Look to your family.  You should be able to mine family traditions, family stories, even family pets, for posts.  Think about your family today.  What are some of the interesting things about your family?  What story is ripe for the telling?  Get your pen out and write about it. Need inspiration? Check out some of my family posts:


Write a prologue to upcoming posts.  This is a simple method to get 2 posts out of one.  I have written prologues to many posts. Most of them were prologues to guest posts contributed by relatives and friends. Want to get some prologue practice? Think about something you have read. What would be a good prologue to it?  Get your pen out and give your prologue a try.  Need inspiration?  Check out some of my prologue posts.







Don’t write all your posts. What?  What do you mean, Minoo?  I mean exactly what I said.  You don’t need to write all your posts. You can publish other people’s work on your blog.  How? Invite your readers to guest post. And don’t stop there. If you come across a good piece of writing, request the writer to let you publish it.  In 2011, Tanita showed me an essay that one of her school friends John Paraskevopoulos had written.  I loved it, and asked her to ask him to let me publish it on my blog. The 322 posts on my blog include John’s post.

Look for connections.  How is your life intertwined with someone else’s? How is something like something else?  Explore the connections between x and y to come up with ideas for posts.

I found a connection between Lakshmi Mittal and myself (yes, that Lakshmi Mittal, who lives in the Taj Mittal, and is the richest UK resident of Asian descent), and I turned it into a post.

I found a connection between success and the weeds in your garden (yes the same weeds you bring out your Raid can for), and I turned it into a post.

I found a connection between Indian spices and a good speech, and I turned it into a post.

Last but not least, Jacinta, who is both a relative through marriage, and more than that, a friend, sent me a post on how her life was intertwined with one of the students in the school where she taught. The post, Kushboo, brought a lump to my throat, and will bring a lump to your throat as well.

Pass on your knowledge.  Based on your career, background, exposure, and interests, you will have knowledge you can pass on.   Pass this knowledge on.   Don’t keep it to yourself. Life is a discovery.  You will find new things to pass on every day.  Even just making mention of something could expand someone’s horizons. So go for it. Need inspiration?  Check out some of the posts in which I passed on nuggets of information. 


In 5 Secrets to Buying A Used Car With Confidence, I told you about resources you can use to buy a used car.

In Psst....Want To Know How Your Hiring Strategy Compares With Google's?, I told you about Google’s Lake Wobegon hiring strategy.

In Advice from a Retired Elf to an Aspiring Elf, I dropped a nugget about Dr. Ronesh Sinha’s South Asian Health Solution, and how to understand glucose metabolism.

In How Pete is Voting, I told you about a Bay Area resident, who has been educating everyone on the propositions on the state ballot, since 1980.

Put on your therapist hat.  Like it or not, there are many situations in which you will be forced to play amateur psychologist.  Bring those skills to the fore.  Analyze the choices people make – whether it’s cars, stars, or even the daily cuppa.  In no time, you will have an amusing, if not, thought-provoking post.  Need inspiration? Check out some posts, in which I channeled my inner amateur psychologist...

What Your Starbucks Drink Says About You 

Write About People You Admire. Do you admire someone?  Don’t waste an opportunity.  Create an homage to them in print. Need inspiration? Check out the following posts:


Keep a Sharp Eye and Ear for Everything You See and Hear. Anything you see and hear can become a post.  Interesting observations and experiences are just asking to be told.  When my daughter told me this story, I couldn’t wait to publish it…..


On one of my assignments, I couldn’t believe the number of different acronyms I had heard in one day; and I couldn’t wait to tell my readers about it in OMG - You've Been Acked.

I also enjoyed telling my friend Helen's story (and Emilio Estefan's story) in The Element of Independence and Its Hope For Becoming All We Are Meant to Be.

Get The Audience to Participate.  Some of my most popular posts have been quizzes, where I have asked my readers to put on their guessing hats.  You too can create quiz posts, which are guaranteed to be hits.  Need inspiration?  Check out the following posts:





Finally, Just Do It.  Just write.  Don’t get yourself tied up in knots about themes, overarching concepts, writing consistency, blah, blah, blah.  Don’t over think it.  That’s the most important advice of all to getting to 322 posts.  If you have been dithering, Joseph Sestito’s book Write For Your Lives will help you stop. Read it.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great day and week….M….a Pearl Seeker like you.  Thanks to Ajay, Shiva and Rosie for their comments and compliments on my last post, and thanks to the rest of you for your likes, pins, shares, tweets and votes…..Much appreciated! Happy Easter to all of you.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

very thought-provoking post, Minoo...took us on a lovely trip down memory lane and all the great positive posts!