Guest post by McKinley Carbone
Bloggers block is essentially the absence of inspiration for a blog post. Whether you are just starting a new blog, or you are a seasoned writer, sometimes blogging is just hard. There are endless possibilities to write about, yet there are times when your words just don’t flow. Here are five ways to fight bloggers block and get back to writing!
Get Creative
If you are just starting a blog all of your content will be fresh and new but for bloggers who have been at it for a while the ideas can start to taper off. This is when you need to get creative with your posts. Accepting guest articles is a creative way to take a break from writing and also get a new perspective on your blog. Not only do guest writers contribute content but they can also promote your blog through SEO.
Also engaging with your audience is a great way to come into fun content ideas. If you have an engaging audience they can post ideas they want to read about or ask questions about another post that you can follow up on. This will encourage people to keep reading and let them know that you acknowledge their presence, and take their comments and questions into consideration.
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Don’t Overthink
That kind of defeats the purpose right. Sometimes when trying to think of something to write about the good ideas just become more distant. One method to try out is to just start typing. Chances are once you start typing an idea will come to you, and if not, then you know you need to take a break and step back for a while until you find some inspiration. Sometimes clearing your mind is a better solution than thinking of too many things at once. The simple answer is to go for a walk, or even take a nap, when you get back to writing, the words will write themselves.
Write about what you love
Pick something you love to do, maybe a hobby or a sport, and write about it. You can reflect on an experience you had when you were playing that sport, or if you are a baseball player write about baseball is better than hockey.
If you draw from personal experiences the writing comes a little more easily because you have done it before! Also if you write about something that you really love, it comes across to readers as being more genuine and heartfelt. It doesn’t have to be sappy but if you write from an honest place people will relate and connect to it. Writing about what you know is a quick and easy solution to bloggers block that anyone can do.
Read Other Blogs
By checking out different blogs you can see what other bloggers are posting about, and you can see what articles readers tend to enjoy more. The goal of this is not to take any content from another blogger, but you can totally check out their posts and see what others thought of their article. This is a good method for catching up on trending posts and creating fresh ideas from existing posts and other social media trends.
Even if you don’t get any inspiration from other bloggers, at least you stopped over analyzing your own blog for the time being. Hopefully after browsing you can get back to your writing and have more confidence in your own ideas then when you left it.
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Write It Down
One proactive way to decrease the problem of bloggers block is to write down possible topics, titles, and inspiration when it comes to you. Sometimes sitting at a computer can be daunting and make it harder to come up with ideas. So next time when you are out and about in daily life, and a possible article idea comes to mind, take a mental note, or text it to yourself so you can build up your idea arsenal for later. Not all of these ideas may work for you blog but it is a good way to store ideas so you don’t forget them, and when you do have bloggers block you can check out something you came up with before and see if you can make it fit for your blog.
Everyone has different ways of coming into new ideas. The goal is to find what is right for you. Experiment with some of these methods for fighting bloggers block if you need to, and if these methods don’t work then use these concepts to expand and find the best way for YOU to get new ideas. Bloggers block happens to the best so don’t worry about it holding you back and just start writing!
About the author: McKinley is a 22 year old recent graduate from The College of Idaho. She is a freelance journalist who enjoys hanging out with her cat Meeko. She enjoys snowboarding, blogging and playing Mario Kart. You can usually find McKinley out with friends or on the couch watching 300 (her favorite movie). twitter | facebook