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Day seven of  the yeah write community following ProBlogger’s 31 days to build a better blog: come up with 10 post ideas

It’s day seven of the yeah write community’s 31dbbb. So far? We have:

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Now it’s time to come up with 10 post ideas. Whoa! That’s a whole lot of blog post ideas to create in one sitting!

Yes—and no, depending on how you do it.  If you sit down with pen and paper and try to snatch ideas from thin air, it will be frustrating.  But if you use a technique that allows the brain to open up and freely explore, then coming up with 10 post ideas would be a piece of cake.

By using mind mapping, a graphic technique concocted by Tony Buzan, your mind will have the freedom to explore heretofore undiscovered areas of your brain.  Mind mapping, says Buzan, “harnesses the full range of cortical skills – word, image, number, logic, rhythm, color and spatial awareness – in a single, uniquely powerful manner.”

Say goodbye to the outline, say hello to branching

It’s time to say goodbye to what our grade school teachers taught us.  The sequential linear outline is out, mainly because it’s left-brained thinking.  So when we write our 10 blog post ideas, we won’t create a list or an outline.

What’s in?  It’s using both sides of our brain by coming up with ideas from the center—a main source, or focal point—and radiating outwards with as many rays as our minds can conceive. This is whole-brain thinking.

When you start to move away from linear thinking and move  towards whole brain thinking, you’ll stop using your brain from your comfort zone.

Employ the techniques of freewriting

When we freewrite, we let go of all constraints and forget that there are such things as rules of grammar and even punctuation.  So, too, in whole brain thinking—we allow our brains to generate ideas and suspend judgment.

The most important rule in whole brain thinking is: Relax.

The second most important rule is: Have Fun.

Yes, coming up with 10 blog posts ideas, as you will see, can be easy! Henriette Anne Klauser in her book Writing on Both Sides of the Brain: Breakthough Techniques for People Who Write says that this kind of thinking “operates by profusion, inviting new ideas in abundance.”

And it can be fun! As Klauser explains, “A pleasant sense of discovery and delight often accompanies this method.”

After completing today’s exercise, you’ll find that you’ll want to use whole brain thinking in other areas of your life as well.  Tony Buzan says that mind-mapping “can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance.”

Now try it for real: come up with 10 post ideas for your blog

On your blogs, do a little freewriting. Tap into the resources mentioned in this post if you’re open to new ideas. Reference this section in the ProBlogger workbook we’re following for this series. Grab a banana and a nice, quiet spot and let’s see what you’ve come up with. Ten new post ideas that you may or may not turn into new posts. Freewrite, brainstorm, unlock both sides of the brain. Add your results to the 31dbbb grid below.

[Updated to add] here’s a screenshot of uluwale’s mind mapping from her day seven 31dbbb post published on the grid below. Perfect visual:
uluwale-mapping

As always, discussion in comments. (Ed. note: yeah write guest editor Rosanna is 12 hours ahead of our US eastern time used at yeah write. She will try to answer as many questions as possible, just keep in mind the time difference. ~Erica M)

This is a guest post from Rosanna R.

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