It happens to the best of us. One week you’re publishing and planning posts like no other and the next a single idea won’t come into your head.
It’s frustrating and annoying and it can drive you crazy. Blogger burnout, writer’s block, the end of the world – call it whatever you want. If you’re stuck in a rut and can’t think of any ideas or find the words to put them out there, here’s a few things you can do:
- Take a break – Taking a break is okay. Just let your readers know that you won’t be posting for a while, and they’ll understand. Step away from all things writing and reading related for as long as you need, and hopefully it’ll refresh your head.
- Reevaluate – Think back to why you started doing what you’re doing. Was it because you wanted to write? To share your love of beauty? To inspire others? Remind yourself why you clicked that “create account” button.
- Get reading – I can’t remember who, but someone said that you cannot write if you do not read. So dust off some books, buy some magazines, look at articles online. Explore different types of writing you haven’t tried before. Even try reading back on some of your old work and see what you think. Look at other people’s work that you admire and see how you can make it your own (without copying, of course).
- Look for inspiration – Inspiration can be found literally everywhere. You just have to keep an eye out for it. Train your mind to see ideas in everything. Once you do that, you’ll always have things to write about. The best ideas are often right in front of you. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is a brilliant book about creativity and inspiration. It totally changed my perception on how the creative parts of my mind work – I’d really recommend it.
- Put pen to paper – Or fingers to keyboard, whichever you prefer. Sit yourself down and write whatever words come into your head. They might not make sense, but just keep going. Get your creative juices flowing, and listen to the ideas that come to mind. You just might not be able to stop.
Whatever field of writing you’re in, hopefully these tips might help you. I find that as a blogger, we can put ourselves under a lot of pressure to pump out content all of the time. That’s great when you’re enjoying it, but when it becomes a chore it’s time to take a step back and have a look at what you’re doing and where you’re at.
What do you do when you run out of ideas?