How do I get topics for my blogs?

Many of you have emailed me as to how I can get such a constant flow of topics for my blogs, and at the same time retain the readers interest.

I can write on any subject. Unless I develop writer's block, when I cannot write even a sentence!

This skill was what my English teachers in school, especially the late Mr. R. G. Salmon, taught me. Besides showing me how to write, he also taught me how to keep the reader's interest. His correction of my essays fascinated my father, who was a keen reader from Wodehouse to Shakespeare. Our house was lined with books and books and they were open for us to read. Lots of my friends, like Ooky Elijah Elias and late Ashok Kapur, would come over and borrow books, which my dad encouraged. He did not believe that books should remain in bookshelves.

He was unlike his father, my paternal grandfather, who had an enormous collection of books but wanted us to sit and read it in his library. I could hardly finish 10 pages when we were visiting, and my interest changed by the time of my next visit, a week later!

I had already been given another lesson by my maternal grandfather, the late K. C. Mammen Mappillai, in Kottayam, as he made me write (even before I was 11 years old as he died at the turn of 1953 / 1954), whenever we went to see him on holiday (which was twice or three times a year). His encouragement was infectious, as he promised to publish my childish writing in the newspaper! What greater incentive than that?

As each day progresses, several incidents occur, or telephone conversations reveal some intersting aspects. I record these in my brain. When I sit at my computer, as soon as I feel bored doing whatever I am supposed to be doing, my mind wanders to one of those topics.

I write it as soon as it comes to mind. Then I leave it as I look around for the facts to ensure that the stroy is not just a figment of my imagination, although ocasionally, the figments are just as appealing! :-)

On my daesktop I usually have half a dozen or me small pieces waiting to be published. Before I relaese a story, I usually read it and put in more relevant information. I do not work as a journalist does in trying to give the entire background to a story. I express it the way I feel I would like reading a story.

It is far more difficult running the school and college blogs as for that I have to find the facts that create nostalgia. But over the last 14 years I must say that I have somehow managed to keep my readers interest in whatever I am writing. I try not to be fixated! that would be the death of my blogs.

But a bulk of my topics come from the literally hundreds of emails that arrive in my Inbox everyday. Someone responds to one of my writings and points me in another direction. Each lead puts me on the track of another title and then another story.

Just yesterday I had published my attempt at Sudoku. There, in the comments, today, was a fascinating piece about Security Codes for Banks based on Sudoku!

Present Security Codes for Indian banks are just a joke. I could probably break into any Indian bank internet account. In Finland, I have been using internet banking since 1989, being one of the first to try and test out the system when it was launched. Simple yet effective, this system has stood the test of time.

So herein lies another possible story!

And by popular demand, you will get the story of my encounter with a "cat burglar", soon!!!

Anyway, thanks for being there. Without you, dear readers, I would feel very lonely!