Even the most avid and prolific writers can suffer from writer’s block and this can be especially crippling in the blogging world where success rests on consistency and topical relevance. Brainstorming, as many writers already know, is an invaluable process for narrowing your focus, weeding out mediocre ideas and evaluating your specific strengths.

To help you avoid writer’s block, and to make the post-generating experience more fluid and enjoyable, here are some blogging tips for better blog brainstorming (how’s that for alliteration? ).

Always take notes. Having a notepad or journal on hand wherever you go is a great way to keep track of random epiphanies and revelations. You never know when they’ll happen so always be prepared! Think outside the box, as blog ideas don’t necessarily have to come from internet sources. Make note of your everyday surroundings and keep track of whatever you find inspiring at specific moments. After a while, you may find that there are certain conditions that inspire creativity, like sitting in a park, browsing through a bookstore or even sitting by the TV. With a pen always in hand, your receptiveness to new ideas and insights will be sure to improve.

Make Connections between Ideas. When going through the brainstorming process, it is often helpful to plot out a ‘Mind Map’. Create a diagram or chart that allows you to freely (and legibly) connect your ideas together, creating threads and tangents that can lead towards refined articles. Try to milk a single idea for all its worth in this process by looking at it from different angles. For example, say you put ‘The Best Music Stores in Toronto’’ as an idea on your map, you can expand on it – what are the best stores for instruments, music books or CDs? Where can you find rare vinyl records? What about collectibles and posters? Let your ideas branch off into different directions, you may come to some surprising new places.

Look to traditional media. While bloggers typically get many of their ideas from other blogs and websites, looking at magazines, newspapers and other periodicals are a great way to gather information and keep track of developments within the public sphere. When browsing through these publications, rip out anything of interest and keep it in a binder or folder that you can come back to in the future.

Look at what is getting bookmarked. You don’t always have to search directly for interesting content, as you can see what is catching the interest of the web community via social book marking sites/services like digg and newsvine. The content that appears on the front of these pages is always changing and is as diverse as their massive readership. Looking over what is popular, controversial and eye catching is a refreshing way of gathering information and generating post ideas and concepts.

Consult your mastermind group! In an earlier post, we talked about forming a blogging mastermind group where you can receive feedback and advice from friends and associates inside and outside your field of interest. Whenever you are stuck for ideas, consult your team. They will tell you what is working or not working for your blog and can give you some guidance on what direction your future posts should take. Keeping in close contact with your mastermind group is part of understanding your audience’s needs, so always be open and receptive to their comments and criticisms.

So there are some brainstorming tips for your blogging adventures. We hope that these pointers will guide you past some serious writer’s block in the future. Remember, there is always something to talk about online. Get out there and keep the conversation going!