“I wanted to blog. I just didn’t know what to write about.”

Someone said that to me recently. I don’t believe them.

Not knowing what to write or blog about is generally a problem of confidence or laziness instead of lack of knowledge. A lot of people assume they need to be writing at a Pulitzer Prize winning level in order to publish anything online. Why is there writer’s block, but no such thing as talker’s block? We don’t wait until we have something profound to say before talking. We speak in the hopes that we will uncover something worth saying.

Anything can be made interesting. Anything. Meaning can be found everywhere, even in the common day to day activities. Look at the passage below from the book The Mezzanine:

I paid for the carton of milk, and then the girl (her name tag said “Donna”) hesitated, sensing that some component of the transaction was missing: she said, “Do you want a straw?” I hesitated in turn—did I? My interest in straws for drinking anything besides milkshakes had fallen off some years before, probably peaking out the year that all the major straw vendors switched from paper to plastic straws, and we entered that uncomfortable era of the floating straw; although I did still like plastic elbow straws, whose pleated necks resisted bending in a way that was very similar to the tiny seizeups your finger joints will undergo if you hold them in the same position for a little while.

While the topic of straws is generally mundane, the author makes it entertaining. A lot of people think that what they do on a day to day basis isn’t interesting, but that is generally just an excuse (read this post from Derek Sivers). As GK Chesteron once said, “There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people.”

How To Find Something To Blog About:

- Think like a blogger. This means that your mind is always looking for things to write about. Whether surfing the web or just in the course of the average day, you’re always seeking out little insights to write about.
- Carry a notepad with you at all times. Write down any interesting thought or insight immediately. If you don’t, it’s likely you’ll forget it.
- What have you learned recently? Something, I hope. Write about a skill you learned and how you acquired it.
- What’s a common question that you get asked? Write about it.

Some of those are starting points, while others will get your blog motor moving on a consistent basis. The point is that you need to start. You don’t need to be great, but you need to start if you want to become good.