fiction authors

The most fun thing in my office: A miniature replica of my first car, nicknamed “The White Tornado”

Fiction writers often struggle with what to write about at their blogs.

Help is on the way.

Check out these five ideas specifically for fiction writers, at the Writer’s Digest blog. Be sure read all the comments where more ideas are buried.

Here are 19 of my own ideas, most of which work just as well for non-fiction writers.

Print this list and tack it to your bulletin board, so you’ll never be lacking for something to write about:

What writing problems do you struggle with, and how do you solve them?
Share fun facts about geographic locations where your romance novels or other fiction takes place.
Pay attention to questions people are emailing you. Often, these are great fodder for a blog. (Excerpted from the handout “101 Ways to Find Content for Your Blog” from the teleseminar Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging.)
What’s the most unusual thing in your office that inspires, entertains or humors you? Make sure to include the photograph when you post. Mine is a miniature replica of my first car: a 1962 white Chevy Nova we affectionately nicknamed “The White Tornado.”
What sparks your creativity?
Who is your hero? And why?
What one event in your childhood had the greatest effect on your writing career?
If you weren’t doing what you do today, what other job would you have?
Who is your best friend, and what do you like best about him or her? List your best friend’s favorite books. How do they compare to yours?
What “lesson from mom” do you still live by today?
What’s the one thing you want to accomplish, or write about, before you die?
If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be? Would you write or read there, or do something else?
Do you have a pet that keeps you company when you write? If so, write about him or her. Has your pet taught you anything about writing? If so, what?
What’s the worst writing mistake you ever made that taught you a valuable lesson?
What’s the most unusual place you have visited?
What’s the most unusual book you’ve read that’s made a lasting impression on you?
If you could have a quiet dinner with just one author, who would you choose?
Create a survey that’s related to the topic of your book and share it with readers. Report the results.
Create a fun quiz about one of your books and award a cool prize.

Finally, the very best free tool for finding content for your blog is Google Alerts. Create one or more alerts using keywords or keyword phrases that tie into the topics you write about. You’ll have so many ideas for blog posts that you’ll wonder how you ever worried about finding enough.

Authors, what do you blog about? Which posts elicit the greatest number of comments from your readers?