Do you wake up with ideas in the middle of the night? Think of them while you’re driving? Scribble them on loose pieces of paper all over your house and office?

A blog is GREAT solution for idea overwhelm. You can create a blog for either public or private viewing, and use categories to organize your ideas and have them all saved in one place.

In fact, when you choose a Pro membership at TypePad, you can create an unlimited number of blogs. If you wear as many hats as I do, you might find that useful.

Tip: If you’re already blogging in TypePad, use the “Configure” –> “Preferences” tabs to set-up your “Posting Status” to “Draft” (versus “Publish Now”). That means that, by default, new posts are saved as drafts. This way you won’t inadvertently publish your your scribbles for the world to see.

So when bursts of inspiration occur, you can store them away to reach for at times when your muse gets quieter or the rest of your life gets louder.

Quick Writing Prompt: Create a list of categories for the different topics you’d like to write about. Whether you’re using a blog, plain old folders or another system, group your ideas together and keep them straight. See what ideas are sparked just by creating a space for them.

The Top 10 list is one of my favourite ways to generate content. Use these four steps to get more mileage from your list.

1. Create a Top 10 list article about a problem that your customers care about.

2. Expand each of the 10 points into 10 separate articles.

3. Add some "connective tissue" to make the articles flow together, plus some journaling questions, exercises or bonus tips.

4. Put it all together into an e-book and convert it to .PDF using Easy PDF ($14.95) or Neevia (FREE).  Make it downloadable from your website as either a promotional give-away (in exchange for joining your mailing list) or sell it as an information product.

That's the exact process I used to create the Ten Ways to Thrive as a Creative Artist e-book. I also recorded myself reading the book, using Audio Acrobat, and the e-book and audio book are available together as a package.

Quick Writing Prompt: What problem is keeping your customers awake at night? List 10 things that you know about solving it.

And don't forget, if you want to polish or refine your writing, I can help! Visit the Services page for more details.

Note: This article was edited on July 26, 2008 to conform with The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write.