Have you stared at a blank page wondering what you’re going to write for your next blog post? It happens far too often and worse, when you have nothing to draw your ideas from, writing becomes a chore.
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I’ve been blogging since 2009 and I have found several things that keep me from running out of ideas. I find it easy to beat writer’s block. You’ll find blogs, articles and books telling new writers that it doesn’t exist–-that writer’s block is an excuse to quite writing. Writer’s block exists, but it’s how we deal with it that determines our success.
In today’s episode:
1. Invest in yourself. I’ve talked to several writers who think that they shouldn’t take the time to read too much. Don’t read books in the genre you’re writing in. Don’t mimic someone else’s style. To be honest, these are just someone’s opinion. Do what you feel is best to help you along this journey of writing the best content you can.
One of the best things you can do as a writer is to be a reader. If you don’t invest into your knowledge base, you won’t have any resources in the well to draw upon. I am constantly reading. Truth to tell, I read more than I write. In other words, writers are readers first. Take the time to comb through what you’ve read and draw from that well to fuel your next project.
2. Look through your archives. If you’re a blogger, you have a plethora of resources to rely on. Take the time to comb through the past articles on your website. Use these as inspiration to craft a new post, or simply update and republish. I guarantee if you do this one thing, you’ll have weeks worth of content to curate.
3. Take a break and do something else. If all else fails stop what you’re doing and fold your laundry. Do something to take your mind off your writing project. It’s so easy to become frustrated and give up. But if we take the time to walk away for a short while, the idea will come flooding back. Today’s episode is one of those times. I had to stop thinking, so I watched a movie, returned and now this post is being written.
4. Re-write someone else’s blog post. A word of caution, be careful with this one. I don’t want anyone coming back to me saying I said to create full blog posts based on this method of crushing writer’s block. I didn’t.
When I feel trapped by my in cohesive thoughts, I need someone to guide me. This is when I turn to my favorite blogs. I comb through their material, I read and then I take one of their posts and re-write it. I make it my own.
The reason I say to be careful on this, is simply because of plagiarism. I don’t want people plagiarizing other’s works. But use this as an exercise to create original work. If anything, it’s an exercise to get those brain cells going again.
5. Use an Anecdote. People love stories. I mentioned this in a previous blog post. You can find it here jbsisam.com/writers-block. No one can tell a personal story like you. It’s something you can use to draw out life lessons. You can use it to encourage your audience to be better. Inspire through your personal life. Let people see you for who you are.
Whether you’re stuck writing that next book or blog post, there’s something everyone can do to crush the dreaded writer’s block. It will happen to you. But it’s how you deal with it that will ultimately determine your success as a writer.
[reminder]How do you handle writer’s block? Share one story of how you overcame and began to write.[/reminder]
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Jason (J.B.) Sisam. Best-selling Amazon author of the Christian Early Reader book, 
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