One reader described their biggest problem as, "Finding continuing content for my blog. I have ideas in mind, but fear running out of them."

I wrote about seven great sources of new ideas on the Aliventures blog earlier this week ... but I particularly wanted to address the "fear" aspect of this here.

Whatever you write – blog posts, short stories, articles, novels – you've probably worried, at least occasionally, that you'll never have a good idea again. Perhaps you can't even remember how the last ideas came to you ... and you certainly don't think you can replicate the process.

This is a common fear, and a problematic one. When you're anxious that you'll never have another great idea, it's all too tempting to hold very tight to the ideas you've already got.

Have you ever put off writing a particular blog post (or an article, or a novel) because you were worried you couldn't do justice to the idea?

That's part of this fear manifesting: you feel like you have to "save" your great idea for the future, in case you never have a better one.

The truth is that ideas tend to perpetuate, not run out. (It's a bit like the laundry situation in our house: the more clothes I wash, the more the hamper fills up...!) Coming up with one idea may well spark another, related, thought; getting into an idea-generating frame of mind can let you come up with all sorts of things you might not have thought of otherwise.

Here are four practical things you can do:

This might sound a bit obvious, but you wouldn't expect to write a blog post without actually allowing some time for it ... and the same goes for coming up with the idea for that post in the first place.

Although ideas can come in an instant, when you're washing dishes or taking a shower, it's still well worth putting aside some focused time for them. For instance, you might decide to sit down for 20 minutes during lunchtime on Mondays to brainstorm ideas for your blog. To get started, write down a key concept or topic in the centre of a piece of paper, then start jotting ideas around the edge.

Have you ever sat staring at a blank screen, desperately trying to think of something to write about because you want to get a blog post up by noon? It's tough to generate ideas when you're under pressure. 

Aim to get ahead with your blogging. That doesn't necessarily mean writing a month's worth of posts ahead of time ... but you could do what I do and have a "content calendar" for each month, with titles (and perhaps brief outlines) of the posts you intend to write.

(If you're not a blogger, you can still do something similar. For instance, if you want to write two short stories a month, you might plan ahead for these, jotting down titles, characters, snatches of dialogue, or other bits and pieces ahead of time.)

When you sit down to list ideas, don't simply come up with the four (or however many) you need for the month ahead. Aim for at least twice as many. 

Why? Not only will you be extra ahead, you'll also be able to take your pick of the very best ideas. Inevitably, some of the things you come up with won't make for great blog posts (though it's important to get those weaker ideas out there, because they can lead to a new and better thought). When you have a glut of ideas down on paper, it's easy to see – and eliminate – the weakest ones.

If you blog more than once a week, then you might want to establish a consistent pattern for your posts. For instance:

Mondays: How-to post

Wednesdays: Short, encouraging post with inspirational quotes

Fridays: Round-up of recent posts on other blogs

This can make coming up with ideas a lot easier as you already have a structure to work within. (Paradoxically, having constraints actually makes us more creative, not less.)

Good luck with your blogging – or whatever you're working on! If you have a question about any aspect of writing, just hit "reply" on this email; I'll cover it in a future newsletter or on the Aliventures blog.