10 tips for conquering writer's block on your blog
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Image by hannahspanna.
- Sketch out some ideas on paper. Whether it's some bulletpoints for a new post or you're planning a series of related posts, writing things down on paper can be a good way to get creative. It's also good to take a break from your computer.
- Break from your usual style. Always writing structured posts? Write a free-format post. Sick of writing with headers everywhere? Put it in a list. From time to time, you've got to mix it up a bit. It helps to keep your writing fresh.
- Guest post for another blog. Writing for someone else's blog can be very stimulating, especially if you get some comments. You could also invite guest bloggers to post on your blog. They might come up with topics you hadn't thought of, or you could give them a post title you haven't been able to finish. This can help you to look at your posts in a new light.
- Write a follow-up to an earlier post. Was there a post that your readers loved? Why not write a follow-up? You could also write a continuation of a post that hasn't had much exposure, as it is good promotion for the old post as well as a good subject for a new post. Or you could write an alternative viewpoint.
- Try a new layout. For some reason, it helps me! Every time I have a new design on one of my blogs, I feel compelled to write new content.
- Reply to a commenter in a new post. Sometimes, comments go further than the post itself. Why not develop a reader comment into a post?
- Read other sites for inspiration. Perhaps they've written about a topic you haven't featured yet. Make sure you take the topic and add your own thoughts - don't copy someone else's post.
- Promote an old post. I covered this in #4 above, but this is more to do with promoting an old post than writing a follow-up post. Find one of your least viewed or least commented posts, and share the link to get new comments and insights. Not everyone will have seen it the first time around.
- Clean up your categories. If you've got a few similar but very specific categories, why not combine them and give the category a new name? This might spur on a few new post ideas. Blogging Observations is my latest example of this.
- Start another blog. This depends on how much time you have to spare, and you can only run so many different blogs, but you don't have to update all of them daily. Each week, I usually have a few new posts across some of my blogs. I currently have six blogs - they aren't all updated regularly, but they are all active. Writing multiple blogs allows you to move from one blog to the next if you get bored. This can really help with writer's block, and allows you to revisit the other blogs once you've regained your motivation.
Do you get writer's block? How do you handle it?
Comments on 10 tips for conquering writer's block on your blog
2
1 and 8 are my favorites. Most of times, I read reader's comments and usually, I find a question or two in them.
Then, I answer the question. Also, I look around forums to see what people ask often and answer that in post!
3
When I'm out and about visiting places and doing touristy things, I pick up pamphlets which I go through later for ideas. Reading a magazine on my topics often helps too.
4
I think the term 'writer's block' doesn't necessarily apply to bloggers. I mean, I am a real life writer (for school publications and stuffs), and I have a good comparison to give.
Blogging is somehow easier, if only you know the good places to look, ideas are easier to grab. You can write about virtually everything as long as it relates to the niche.
Just browsing along article directories or fellow blogs, it's more than enough to give insipration :D
5
For me, writer's block is rarely about lack of ideas because ideas are always abundant. Most of the time it is simply an unwillingness to break from other tasks and sit down to write. Amongst writers there is a common term, "BIC - or Butt In Chair" and for the most part, writer's block is a lack of BIC.
Obviously then, the solution is to sit down and begin.
Once you've committed to starting the blog post will follow. I love the tips you've offered for changing up the way you approach blogging. If the writing isn't coming easily it definitely helps to approach the task from a different point of view.
Another tip would be to browse photographs. Posts that use images often adds reward for readers but the images can also spark new ideas for a blogger. If a picture is worth 1000 words it stands to reason that one might give you a few hundred words that equates to a blog post. :-)
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I stop trying so hard. Go for a shower and I end up with ten ideas by the time I'm looking at my face in the steamy mirror. Take a bus ride across town, bring pen and paper. Sit in the shopping mall with a coffee and people watch. When your mind isn't trying to get ideas it always seems they come in floods.