6 Ways to Break Out of Blogger’s Block
August 21, 2008 11:39 am Social Media
Bloggers, seasoned and new, often find themselves in an idea rut. They stare at blank post pages wondering what to write about. Many go through the same “type a sentence and delete it” process. Bloggers are committed to their readers and subscribers, so they consistently and desperately rummage through the idea boxes stored in their minds for that thought-provoking and mind-shattering post. Unfortunately, they usually find a lack of remarkable material. The first alternatives are to settle on recycling an old topic discussed months ago, or just wait to publish a post – for weeks or even months.
Why do some bloggers find themselves in this predicament? Busy schedules are often the culprit. They find themselves living in virtual bubbles where their exposure to the thoughts of others is limited.
So what’s the remedy? I personally find myself in this situation often. I’ve brainstormed ways to break out of “bloggger’s block” that I’ve found helpful and would like to share them.
Read other blogs
In order to get out of your virtual bubble, read other bloggers’ opinions. Reading blogs outside your niche will introduce you to many new concepts and ideas. Additionally, if you read a post that you agree or disagree with, publish your opinion and support it with personal experiences. Provide attribution to the original and invite the blogger to a friendly debate about the topic at hand.
Read a variety of books
Although we are in the Web 2.0 era where most of our reading happens online, it is still a good idea to purchase or borrow books that discuss topics outside your expertise. Get out of your comfort zone and read books that don’t directly relate to your interests. This will help inspire new ideas. You can reference concepts learned and tie them in with the core themes of your blog. For example, if you are a mommy blogger, it isn’t far-fetched to relate the topic back to a sociology concept you’ve studied. You can even discuss how a key character in a non-fictional novel corresponds to the specific topic you are discussing.
Write down your ideas
One of the best investments I have made is buying a moleskine. I carry it with me everywhere I go and write down all my ideas, regardless of how good or bad I think they are. It is important to carry with you a notebook to document your ideas, before you forget them. Also, if you are confused or have questions about a specific topic, write it down as an idea. There is a strong possibility that there are several other people pondering on the same questions. When you look back at your ideas, you will start flushing out the main points you will discuss in the post.
Conversations with other people
While hanging out with your friends, pay attention to your conversations. They are often the source of really interesting points that could fit very well into your blog. Ask your buddies questions about their thoughts on a specific topic and what direction they would take if faced with XYZ.
Interviews or Guest Bloggers
It is common to meet people you respect or whose points of view you enjoy. Ask them to guest blog for you or request a short interview. When interviewing these individuals, you provide your readers with unique perspectives and expert opinions. You can also add your own commentary or save it for later posts.
Use traditional media to your advantage
You may find inspiration in news stories you read in you favorite newspaper. You can either reference the news story as an example in your post, or just discuss it in general. Many readers connect with current issues and actively seek different perspectives.
Thanks to Cayusa for the image.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I like ideas 2, 3, and 4 - they don’t get mentioned often enough.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I think books and magazines are an awesome way to get thinking about stuff - I love it when my new edition of Wired gets in - I flag the pages when I see something I find interesting or funny.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Great ideas. I use books as starters then build around those concepts. I also use situations I get asked about as ideas. If one person needs the information maybe others will too.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Great advice…I definitely find inspiration from reading quality print publications because they have such a high standard for quality and such flexibility with layouts and graphics…it definitely can help raise the bar and the standards for our own content.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I’m a big advocate of reading blogs outside your field, as it’s very easy to get absorbed within our own little world. It’s always important to seek out a fresh perspective and broaden your horizon to keep the creative juices flowing.
Keep up the good work.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Great topic here Reem, I like utilizing the comments in blogs, which sometimes takes me twice as long to read as the post if there are a lot! Comments motivate me because I can potentially find common themes or trends the community within the community.
August 21st, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Hey,
Writer’s (”blogger’s”) block can sure be a pain. I feel the best way to fight writer’s block is to just write mindlessly on paper till you can’t write no more.
Just write about anything that comes to your mind — that usually helps.
As far as topics go, you need to stay ahead of the game by, making a huge list of ideas before you get writer’s block — so when you first start to write and are still blazing with topics keep a list.
Doing this buys you time, so when writer’s block does hit, you can improvise.
Great tips!
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 am
Just as Luis stated, it’s key to maintain some sort of log for ideas as they come to you for your little ‘grab bag of ideas’ for the times when inspiration is lacking. I keep a folder in my inbox for published and unpublished stories which I email to myself as I find them.
Mainstream media is a great source of inspiration for me — it might even only be a photo that gives me an idea for a story. And as odd as it might sound, when I’m searching for images to use for posts, I sometimes come across photos that inspire me for a future story which get saved in my ‘goodies’ folder.
I know that I’m not alone in the fact that I sometimes dream of blogging. C’mon peeps admit it, I’m sure many of you do as well. But by the time I get up and mobile, I’ve usually forgotten what that great idea was that I had been dreaming of writing.
In fact, I had a killer one just last night, and it’s driving me crazy that I can’t remember what the topic was. At least it was really hot in my dream, and I was very pumped about it
I really need to put a notepad beside my bed to write these things down when I wake up.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:45 am
Great ideas. Sometimes I just start writing about anything and once I get into a groove I usually end up writing about a completely different topic.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:44 am
I hope I won’t get chastised for saying this, but how about social media spam?
Let’s face it in a lot of cases blog spam could contain original ideas but these bloggers didn’t really put any effort in it and just submit it to a social site. They languish at the bottom with a couple stumbles, diggs, reddits…etc. It could be a top 10 list with only one sentence each, or one measly paragraph. With no pictures, nothing that stirs conversation. All of us seen such scenarios. How about taking that idea, improve it, and put effort in it and make it blossom?
I guess that goes under #1
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:21 am
I’m with Luis above. Just start writing about anything.
Another place to get inspired; movies! I usually get have all kinds of things to say after watching a “good” movie.
Great post.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:32 am
Great post! I often get Bloggers Block… Probably because I have my hands dipped into about 6 blogs and it’s hard to keep them all updated accordingly. If I was wise, I’d just stick with one blog… but, I don’t think I’m that wise!
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:55 am
Great post Reem … I think its something most of us encounter at one time or another. Great tips!
September 25th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Another handy tip is to catch public transport one day, it really opens up your eyes and gives you a lot of inspiration.
Fat people who take up all of the space and are extremely rude on trains for example gave me inspiration to write a post titled “Fat people on public transport suck”
I also find that when I’m in the shower things come to me as well because it’s so calm and stuff.
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:14 am
I personally use news as a great place for inspiration, or things I hear on the radio. All I need now is to actually find time to blog about those things
October 26th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
I agree that reading actual books can help tremendously. I always come up with a few post ideas especially when I read non-fiction books.
Guest posting is also a great way to find some new ideas and help another blogger out at the same time.