Ideas are infinite, original, and lively divine thoughts.  Friedrich Von Schlegel (1772–1829), German philosopher.

Have you ever noticed that some of your favourite authors tend to pepper their work with interesting quotes about their topic?

Quotes are a great addition to any piece (I’m going to try to remember to use them more myself!), and one of my favourite sources is:

http://www.bartleby.com/quotations/

It’s a searachable database of over 87,00 quotations. You’re sure to find quotations on virtually any topic.

Quick Writing Prompt: Enter a search term at Bartleby or Think Exist and see where that takes you.

I don’t spend a lot of time being still, I admit it.

However, I’ve found that when I stop rushing madly to figure something out, and just sit with the question (e.g. "What would be a good idea for my next newsletter article or blog post?"), an answer always comes to me.

Quick Writing Prompt: Clear your mind, if only for a moment. Focus on the one question or problem you’d like an answer for, and be still. Repeat as needed 😉

[Update December 8, 2012: Jott is no longer available, but if you visit their page they offer some suggestions for similar services.]

Here's a neat brainstorming tool I've come across recently.

Do you ever wish you could "jott" down a note about a great idea, but you don't have a pen and paper handy?

Jott is a FREE mobile note-taking and hands-free messaging service.

I've used it to write a Top 10 article while I was out and about, and even to capture songwriting project ideas with my music therapy clients.

What's also great about Jott is that my ideas are emailed to my computer, where I can easily transfer them to my Outlook calendar, "to do" blog, or to another document or program. It helps minimize the piles of paper that can multiply on my desktop.

Quick Writing Prompt: Ideas are everywhere. Open your mind to them and capture them in the moment.

For many coaches and professional speakers, a natural path to choosing a niche is to focus on a solution for a problem they've already overcome in their own life.

If that's true in your case, or if that appeals to you, then creating content can be as easy as looking in your own heart and mind.

I do this when I put on my creativity coach hat (one of my many hats), particularly when I'm helping musicians deal with debilitating performance anxiety (stage fright). This is a challenge that I know very well – when I was in a high school performing arts program, I feared I'd never be able to show the world what I was truly capable of. Because every time I opened my mouth to sing in public, my stage fright blocked my true gifts from shining through.

Over the years I learned many strategies for overcoming stage fright. Particularly when I studied with Louise Montello of Performance Wellness. I put it all together into a guidebook called Preparing for Performance.

I introduced the guidebook with a free article, Breathing Out Stage Fright.

Quick Writing Prompt:

What are you REALLY glad that you know now that you didn't know a year ago? Six months ago? Last month? Last week? Yesterday?

How did you spend your time over the last week? Did you learn anything new that your target market would benefit from knowing? Did you spend time on a learning curve that you could shorten for someone else?

Or, what problem or question is keeping YOU up at night right now? Are you committed to finding the solution? Why not invite your target market along for the journey as you do!

P.S. I find that writing a Top 10 list is one of the easiest ways to generate, organize and structure content when I'm developing a new idea.

My article, Try a Slow-Carb Habit, has generated almost 10,800 page views since I posted it to Ezine Articles in March 2005.

I wrote it because I disagreed with the "low carb" diets that a lot of people were talking about. I wanted to let people know there was another way that I feel is a healthier choice.

Andrea Lee, the author of Multiple Stream of Coaching Income, taught me the importance of standing up for something in my business, in my writing and in my marketing. By making a BOP (bold, outrageous and provocative) statement, you can stand out from the crowd and get noticed.

And the more you stand strongly in your beliefs, the easier it will be for the RIGHT clients to find you; the ones whose values and beliefs are well-matched to yours.

I think Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez explain it best with their lighthouse test. Click on "Take the Lighthouse Test", which you'll find on the right-hand side of the page just above the picture of the lighthouse. [Update December 8, 2012: The test is no longer available from that site, but I did find it here on the Perfect Mate page.]

Quick Writing Prompt: What have you seen in the newspaper, on television or out and about in your community that you disagree with? Write about it, offering your perspective and experience. Or on the flip side, what important issues that you feel strongly about aren't getting enough air time? Put pen to paper and take a stand!