32 fun blog post writing prompt ideas for this summer (or anytime!)

Over the course of more than seven years of vintage blogging, one naturally sees certain patterns emerge, both within their own process and throughout the online community at large.

For me personally, as well as numerous others I've spoken to about the topic, one of those things is that come summertime, as the beautiful - but also often draining - summer heat is out in full force, our blogging mojo or simply the energy needed to write posts can go flying out the window faster than a paper drink umbrella caught in a warm tropical breeze.

I've actually said before, only half jokingly, that if I could pen all my posts for June, July and August in the dead of winter, I happily would.

Of course such is neither practical nor very feasible, so naturally I've never done so (though I have often started brainstorming post ideas that far in advance). Instead what I try to do is just pace myself, focus all the more on outfit posts (tis the season after all!), and try to extend the fun, laid back vibe of summer to my blog writing, too.

My birthday is coming up this Sunday (on the 10th) and I've been racking my brain for a while trying to decide what to pen about for the last post of my 31st year of life. A few ideas bounced around for a while, but none lit up my eyes quite like the idea of sharing 32 different blogging post writing prompts with all of you (one each for every year of my life).

No matter if you find summer a little trickier to blog during or not, this list is handy and helpful the whole year through - especially because, objectively, just about everyone who blogs will eventually run into times when you need a little extra creative boost to help you come up with fun, fresh new ideas for blog posts (though I have covered some of these topics here over the years, I have not, to date, written posts with these same titles myself).

So with that said, on this fabulously sunny Friday morning, let us all jump head first in the following list of...

32 fun blog post 

writing prompt ideas

1. Twelve (or whatever number you desire) of my favourite summer recipes (vintage or otherwise)

2. A Day in the Life type of look at how you spend an average (or not so average, as the case may be) summer day

3. What's inside my summer beach bag (or weekend bag. A fun spin on the classic "what's in my purse" post

4. Summer just wouldn't be the same for me without these seven songs/movies/TV shows

5. The "ingredients" of my perfect vintage/1940s/1950s/rockabilly/pinup (or whatever style/era you favour) summer outfit include

6. Ten things you love and ten that you dislike about this season

7. A look at my summer beauty rituals

8. Five places I wish I was spending this summer (dream holiday locations, with old friends, etc)

9. By this time next year I hope to have accomplished X (where "x" is the name of the goal you're discussing)

10. What's on my summer reading list this year

11. Recollections of my first summer job

12. Twelve desserts that make summer so much sweater for me

13. The historical (and/or fictional) figures that I'd invite to my ultimate summer tiki (or cocktail or garden or tea) party

14. This summer I'm making [insert name of craft/project/baked item/etc]

15. Revive an old schooldays tradition and, as the season winds down, pen a post called "How I spent my summer vacation"

16. One thing I really want to try for the first time this summer is

17. Eight of my all-time favorite summer scents (e.g., suntan lotion, pina colads, fresh cut grass, air dried linens, food on the grill, etc)

18. Interview an elderly family member about the childhood/early adult summer memories from decades past

19. How to have a fabulous summer staycation in [insert the name of your town/city]

20. My top five summer photography tips (they can be for outfit shoots and/or any other type of photography)

21. Vintage essentials for a great summer camping trip (or picnic, barbeque, or garden party)

22. Four WIP (works in progress) that I want to get finished before Labour Day rolls around

23. Why I like (or, conversely, dislike) summertime fashion so much more than winter

24. Seven moments/memories from summers past that will forever define (or speak to) the season for me

25. How to style a glam summertime evening look

26. My ultimate summer music playlist

27. The best thing that happened to me this summer was

28. DIY vintage summer decor ideas

29. My favourite Instagram snaps from this summer

30. 15 ways that I love to relax (or, if you prefer, stay active) during the summer months

31. Six things I can't stop pinning photos of (to Pinterest) this summer

32. What a difference a year makes (looking back on any major changes in your life from this time point last year)

{Though these thirty-two assorted post prompt ideas ideas are geared towards summer, you can easily switch them to any other time of the year or ditch the seasonal element entirely and put them to work on your blog whenever you please. Super charming vintage photo source.}

♥ ♥ ♥

Which of these post ideas jump out at you? Do you keep a list of post writing prompts to hand throughout the year? Do you find that your blogging mojo sometimes wanes during the roasty-toasty days of summer?

I hope that you guys enjoyed this selection of thirty-two different possible post ideas. Please feel free to let me know in the comments, if you did, and if there's a lot of enthusiasm for them, I may very well share more in future posts of this nature.

To help celebrate my birthday to the fullest, I'm giving myself a three-day weekend and will be back here bright and early on Tuesday morning with a delightful new vintage summer outfit shoot to share with all of you.

Right now though, there's a tasty  b-day dessert to be made and perhaps, spurred on my these ideas, a fresh new summertime post or two to begin working on myself!

5 tips for creating a year-long daily blogging project

✯ Day 319 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Today's is a post that I've been thinking about writing for a while now. When the idea for it first popped into my mind I figured I'd write it once Chronically Vintage's ongoing Vintage 365 series had wrapped up.

However, last night I was reflecting on this point it struck me that, as some of my readers out there may be considering launching daily projects of their own for 2012, it would make more sense (and be more beneficial to you) if I shared some of my tips on doing this kind of project with you a few weeks in advance of January 1st.

Though I was certainly no strange to blogging or writing online content prior to this year, I'd never before made the conscious decision to try and create a new post (by which I mean several paragraphs of content and an image or embedded video) every day for a whole year in a row prior to 2011.

As some may recall from my post announcing the Vintage 365 project back on the first day of January, the idea for this unique spin on Chronically Vintage's usual routine, was not one I'd been plotting and planning for a long time.

The notion come to me a couple of day before New Years, and while I wrestled with whether I should undertake such a long commitment (especially factoring the unpredictability of my health), I decided to take the plunge and go for it.

This year (or at least all 319 days of it we've experienced so far) has been a most interesting experience and experiment indeed. There's been some bumps in the road for sure, but through thick and thin, the project has prevailed and in the process I've come to discover some useful tips that may help you should you ever decide to take on a daily blogging project, too.

Before you do however, I strongly urge you to consider what you're thinking about doing. Writing quality posts, each on a different subject matter, for a full year might not sound that hard at first, but a few weeks or months in and you may find yourself wondering just what the heck you signed up for!

I encourage you to look at your own personal work/school/family/personal life schedule, your health, your relationship with blogging, and your interest level in the general topic you'll be writing about before you devote yourself to intentionally writing every day (I say intentionally because while some bloggers post every day or nearly every day, they may not have set out with the specific goal of ensuring they post every day for a whole year straight without fail).

While no one has a crystal ball that will let them peer into the future and know what lays ahead in the coming months (in other words, what might derail a daily blogging project), if you believe that you can devote yourself to the time and commitment required to carry out a daily blogging project of your own, then I hope you'll enjoy (and be able to use) the following suggestions.

 

5 tips for successfully running a year-long daily blogging project

1.) Schedule your posts to go live at the same time every day (or at least most days). Presumably when you decide to take on a project like this, you'll write an announcement post about it on your site to let your readers know what's in store for them over the next 12 months.

As people enjoy knowing when exactly they can look forward to your next post, it's a good idea to add your daily post to your blog at the same time each day (for the Vintage 365 project, I schedule most of my posts to go live at 10:00am each morning).

Most major blogging platforms (such as Blogger and WordPress) allow you to schedule your posts for any date and time you desire in the future, so by all means avail of this handy feature and give your project an element of uniformity by having your posts appear at the same time each day.

2.) Pace yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a year-long blogging project. While doing anything (even something you really enjoy) every day for a whole year without fail may seem a bit daunting, remind yourself why you got into such an undertaking in the first place and try not to focus on the numbers (aka, that you'll need to create 365 different posts before the year is up).

Instead take each day as it comes and enjoy the articles you're writing right now instead of stressing over what you might chat about on your blog come July.

3.) You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Though you may adore writing lengthy and/or highly eye-catching posts, trying to create award-worthy content day after day, month after month, can start to wear on you.

Chances are your readers enjoy seeing an array of different types and lengths of posts from you, so be sure to shake things up by creating some smaller posts to balance out your longer ones. Such posts certainly don't have to be dull by any means though. Four or five great paragraphs on an interesting topic can be way more pleasant for your readers (who may be pressed for time themselves) than trying to get through your War and Peace-esque coverage of a subject that perhaps isn't quite as interesting to most people as it is to you.

4.) Keep a log of ideas you might like to write about on hand at all times. Honestly this tip is super useful for bloggers everywhere, regardless of how frequently they post. Create a Word document (or any kind of file, be it online or off line, you'd like) in which you jot down potential ideas for a post each time you get one.

While you may not end up ever using all of your ideas, it can be very comforting and handy to know that at any given moment, if an idea for a new post is eluding you, you can open this document and be greeted with an array of topics you'd enjoy writing about.

5.) Always try to have backup posts on hand. Though you may have every good and honest intention in the world or writing a new post each day, the simple fact of the matter is that life is unpredictable and there may very well be times when you can't make to the computer to create a new entry for your blog.

Ideally it's great to have ten or twenty posts already to go live at any moment, but this may not be realistic for everyone (throughout this year I've always tried to have at least two backup posts ready at all times, and let me tell you having them on hand has been massively beneficial to me on those days when, for whatever reason, creating a new post just wasn't possible).

Instead start with a just a few posts (for example four or five) and replenish (as circumstances permit) your backup posts as you use them, thus ensuring that you (ideally) always have some posts in reserve to see you through anything from the flu to issues with your internet service.

{Much like the individual dates on this immensely charming vintage calendar page from 1945, when posting for a whole year straight, remember that life only ever comes at us one day at a time and that each one is a new opportunity to create and have fun with what you write. Image via saltycotton on Flickr.}

 

I won't lie to you, opting to take on a daily blogging project is not the easiest of jobs, but it's certainly not the trickiest either.

Though there will likely be days when the last thing on earth you want to do is write something for your 191st post, there will be many, many more when you're bursting with excitement over the fact that you'll be connecting with your blog readers again and sharing in whatever topic you love enough to write about it for a whole year straight. (In short, you'll find, as I have, that the tough days are vastly outnumbered by the wonderful ones. )

If you ever (be it in 2012 or whenever) decide to tackle, experiment with, and embrace a year-long blogging project yourself, from someone who's been in your shoes before, I truly wish you the best of luck and endless blog post inspiration.