As part of my ‘Writing is a Team Sport’ uh… initiative (is that the word I’m looking for? It sounds awfully grown-up…) I’ve offered to host more guest blogs here than I had previously. And more than a few people have been in touch to take me up on that offer but frequently our conversation gets to the ‘But what am I going to write about?’ stage and then my potential guest gets stuck. Sometimes they get stuck to the point that the blog post doesn’t happen. >_<
In an attempt to help answer the ‘What do I write about?’ question, I’ve come up with this list of suggestions 🙂
Ten Possible Topics for Guest Posts On My Blog
- Write a scene from your story from a different point of view.
- If the scene is a conversation between Bob and Betty and in your story it’s told from Bob’s point of view, tell it instead from Betty’s. Or show us how the cat sitting unobtrusively in the corner see things. Or–?
- Make a YouTube playlist that is meant to be used as the soundtrack to your story. Share a little bit about the overall feeling of the music or how it relates to your tale–no spoilers!
- Interview one of your secondary characters about their role in the story, or how they feel about the main characters. Or let the secondary character interview a main character. Or vice versa.
- Gather and share a collection of images which somehow relate to your story, or that exemplify your story’s aesthetic and talk about why you chose what you did. Again, no spoilers.
- Make a list. “Top Ten Things I Learned While Writing This Story/Book”. “Five Interesting Things About My Main Character”. “Top Three Reasons To Read My Story/Book”. Whatever. Be creative. Be interesting. Write something that you would want to read.
- Write about the ‘Why’ of something. “Why I Wrote Story/Book” “Why stories like mine matter”
- Write about one of your hobbies or interests outside of writing. Bonus points if you can relate it to your most recent story/book.
- Write about why you love books/reading.
- Share a drabble or bit of flash fiction (short, short, short) that is somehow related to your story/book.
- If you’re promoting a story (rather than a book) pretend you get to give it a cover just like a book. What would it look like? If it’s a book share some of the cover ideas/options that were considered but dismissed.
This list is not exclusive, it’s mostly meant to help get ideas flowing. I think the most important thing is to enjoy what you’re writing about (people can tell when you’re forcing it).
Oh. And bonus points if you include an image or two that I can run with your post. 🙂
If you’d like me to host a guest post by you drop me a line at rhonda.l.parrish@gmail.com and we’ll chat!
