As time goes by, I keep thinking Sunday Link Overdose has got to be the ugliest titles ever to be given to a weekly post. So I’ve decided to group together links into themes whenever I can and categorize them into SLOD.

This week has been filled with new projects. I’m working on setting up a new blog. Domain, hosting, WordPress – the works.

I found the following links useful in my search to put together a blog that works from the beginning. After all, the amount of information available, its tough to sort through the ones that are actually useful.

• I’ve linked to this before but I keep going back to 170+ must have tools for the Beginning Blogger. I’ve used it as a reference extensively.

• The Docs page of WordPress.org is a haven of information and has a reference on all things WordPress. Excellent for beginners like me.

• Problogger’s 10 Useful Plug-ins for New Blogs was extremely helpful. So was Andy Beal’s list of 21 of the Best WordPress Plug-ins that he’s used. Both these articles helped me decide which plug-ins to install for my blog.

• Want to monetize your blog by putting up ads? Read Blogging for Ads is Dead before carving out an monetising plan for your blog. It’s no longer enough to put up blocks of ads to earn money.

• Once your blog’s set up – you need to start thinking about RSS. Smashing Magazines 10 Useful RSS Tricks and Hacks for WordPress will put you well ahead of the curve. A lot of big blogs haven’t paid much attention to how their RSS feeds look in a reader.

Setting up a blog on WordPress can be very intimidating for a first timer. Even their famous ‘5 minute installation’ can take hours if you don’t know what you’re doing. I’ll forever be grateful for the automatic installation option provided by hosting companies.

Hopefully these links will better prepare you for setting up your blog the way you want.

Good luck!

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Wordpress, Wordpress blog

When Inspiration Strikes

You’re sitting in a train on your way back from work, staring out the window feeling tired to your bones. Suddenly, as the train stops at one of its countless stations before yours, the graffiti on the wall catches your eye, making you sit up with a jolt. The colors, the message, the sheer creativity of it has suddenly given you inspiration. Your mind is flooding with ideas so fast you’re afraid you’ll lose them if you don’t catch them. But you don’t want to concentrate on any idea for too long fearing that it will stop the flow of other ideas that are just pouring in!

You fumble over what to do. And suddenly another idea strikes you. What do we do in a situation like this? How do we deal with the almost overwhelming influx of ideas?

Record Them!

Don’t trust your brain to remember it for you. You’re going to get home and the minute you see your front door all that inspiration will be forgotten. Your kids will launch themselves at you, welcoming you home and vying for your attention. You’d be so gratified and happy to see them after a hectic day that you’d want to spend time with them and forget everything else. In that instant, you’ll forget your ideas.

Inspirations and ideas are flighty. If you don’t immediately give them the attention they demand, they move on. Before you know it, someone else will be cashing in or getting famous on your big idea. We’ve all heard the original Napster joke.

Jot Down Your Ideas The Minute You Get Them

• Always keep a paper and pencil handy.

• If a paper and pen is not handy, then take notes on your cell phone. Don’t have a cell phone? Get that paper pencil at once! And don’t forget to tell me how you live without a cell phone!

• If you’re a writer, you’re going to have a laptop close by most of the time. Write down your ideas immediately – don’t wait till you get done working or have time. Open a word document and write it down now. Like, RIGHT NOW.

• In the loo? This is why I keep telling you to have a pen handy. You can easily write on toilet paper if you have a pen. Heck, you can write on your hand!

• At a restaurant? Use a napkin. I keep telling you to keep a pen with you.

• Do yourself a favour and buy a moleskin. And buy that pen too! It’s an investment.

As a writer, keeping a pen with me is a habit I consciously cultivated after finding myself getting ideas or perfect comeback lines (in my teenage years) often. Now,I’m more likely to have a pen in my bag than house keys.

Bottom line: Buy a pen. Surface to write on is easy to find.

Since SLOD was off celebrating the holidays last Sunday, there’ll be double the links there would have been today. And it’s a good thing too! I found quite a few gems in all the yearly round ups everyone was doing! Not to mention the few I discovered through my own lazy browsing.

Write Better Content

• First up is Chris Brogan’s ‘100 Blog Topics I Hope You Write’. Face book was at number 1. Going with the current craze though, I’d think it should be replaced with twitter.

• These past few weeks I’ve gone crazy looking into ways to improve my blog writing. I’m a good writer, that I know. But am I a good blogger? Problogger’s ‘7 types of Blog Posts Which Always Seem to Get Links and Traffic’ was definitely helpful in getting me thinking.

• Dumb Little Man has ‘21 Must Read Tips to Write Better Web Content’. Its a collection of posts by other blogs. Excellent compilation.

Improve Your Blog

• Quick Sprout listed ‘5 Ways You Can Improve Your Blog’. They’re simple and easy to implement.

• Grokdotcom has ‘33 Free Tools to Make Your Website Better’. This list of tools is for the web savvy ones.

• Problogger talks about reviewing your blog before making any changes. Check out the ‘69 Questions to Ask to Review Your Blog’.

• Quick Online Tips mentioned ‘7 Ways of Making a Blog Look Professional’. While I may not understand the technical aspects of it. There are 3 points worth looking into.

• Freelance Folder had a great article about ‘15 Key Elements All Top Websites Should Have’. If you’re starting a website, this is a must read to help give your site that added boost.

For the Fun of Reading

• I discovered this through B J Keltz blog. But ‘My Kingdom for a Toothbrush’ is hilarious! Having read enough historicals during my school and college days, I fully appreciated the questions raised by Angela. Heck, I don’t even speak in the morning before brushing my teeth!

• Tazeen from A Reluctant Mind has sketched a horrifyingly accurate (not to mention funny!) picture in ‘Updating Your Life – Online’ about status updates on social networking sites like Facebook. Some of it might not make much sense due to cultural and political references but most of it is bound to hit its mark.

That’s my link line up for the two weeks. I went through dozens more. But these were the ones that I though you guys would like most.

I’d love to know what you read. Found a post or a picture you laughed out loud at? Or felt passionate about?

I’m about three days late but since people still wishing me a very Happy New Year, I figured I’d stop feeling bad about being late and wish you guys.

May this year bring you happiness, health and success. May all our writing dreams come to fruition and may our blogs get enough traffic and make enough money to put a smile on our face

Now if that isn’t a heartfelt wish, I don’t know what is!

What are your wishes for the new year? Set up any goals for yourselves?

One way to constantly remind yourself of your goals is to write them on a paper and tuck them in your wallet. Keep it with you at all times. You’ll find yourself coming across it at odd times which will serve as great motivation.

It time for the T&T report. This month has been better than the last but I saw areas where I need to work more.

Triumphs:

Landed my second gig: This ones  a lot better paying! But the work coming isn’t as much as I’d like. Upon inquiry, its not because of the quality of my work (thank God!). I’ll just have to be patient.

Increase in inquiries through my ‘Contact Me’ page. Not necessarily about work. But definitely related to freelancing, blogging, and much to my delight, reading!

Due another pay day! Woohoo! This is my favourite part of the end of the month.

Made my first ever online purchase from my own hard earned money! Yes, incidentally, it was also my first online purchase ever. But I was so excited! What did I buy? I got myself the SEO Ninja book by IttyBiz.

Twitter: I finally got the hang of it!

Trials:

Revenue Sharing Sites: This one is going to turn into my pet peeve. People I know from back home are referring me to people who’re running revenue sharing sites. Its very difficult to explain why I won’t even come near a revenue sharing freelance writing website. They need to realize that there are better opportunities out there and that if they’re writing for revenue sharing sites then they’re selling themselves short!

Adsense: This is related to my blog. I’ve been trying to figure out how or why my Google Adsense ads have disappeared. See that empty square on the right hand? Yeah, that one. I’ve made new ads and put in the codes etc, but still nothing.

Lack of Comments: I’m obviously doing something very wrong to not be able to spark a conversation. I need help in figuring out what it is. Is my writing sub standard? Or is it the fact that its just not interesting? I’m asking because I want to improve.

So there you have it. Another month gone by. It’s been rewarding in some ways and a little frustrating in others. How’s your month been?