Writing doesn’t always come easy.
There are times when I can sit in front of a blank Word document for what seems like hours, and know that it’s just NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.
It can be frustrating, but I try no to force myself to write. I’m trying to apply this whole slow-living thing to blogging, too.
I don’t usually batch-write my content, either. I love blogging, but I don’t want it to feel like a chore- it kind of sucks the fun out of it. At the same time, if I do go a day or two without writing, it feels…… weird. I kind of feel lost and disoriented because this blog has become such a huge part of my life and daily routine.
There is so much more to blogging than just writing, creating content and hitting publish. On those days when I don’t write, I always make sure to do something productive for my blog anyway.
Important to note though: for me, content will always be my main “concern”. I think that I’ve lost sight of that over the last couple of months and my focus was scattered amongst other things; like engaging on Instagram or growing my Pinterest account. I came to a conclusion that while I love both outlets, it’s blogging, writing, photography that bring me joy. It’s that, which helped me come out of depression- finding a passion, a hobby, having something to look forward to, every single day. Learning new things and discovering small talents or interests I never new I had. I can honestly say that blogging changed my life.
Sometimes you just can’t. There are days when if I sit in front of that blank page long enough, words just start coming. But it doesn’t always work that way.
So.. what do you do?
UPDATE YOUR OLD BLOG POSTS
Go through your archives and update your older content- this is something I like to do when writer’s block hits, because even though I don’t necessarily create any new content, I’m still doing something productive and improving my blog. Check your links, update them where needed, update your photos and re-share the content. I do this especially with some of my most popular posts- which also happen to be quite old. My writing style has changed over the years, so I like to go back once in a while and re-format those posts, maybe update some photos here and there. Go through some of those popular posts, and link to newer, relevant content.
If you have published a lot of posts don’t try to do this all at once. You’ll be SO overwhelmed. Focus on the content that is most popular.
WORK ON IMPROVING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
If, like me, you don’t have much time to be present on Twitter– automate your tweets. Share your archived posts every couple of hours by having your tweets go out automatically. Pinterest is huge for me because it brings tens of thousands of visits to my blog every week. Instagram is definitely my favorite social media outlet and the community is extremely supportive, I think it’s a great place to connect with not just other bloggers and brands, but your readers as well. As I mentioned above, I want to shift most of my focus to creating content, but social media presence is important too if you want to interact with your audience. It’s also something you can easily work on growing, when you don’t feel like writing.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
There’s always some room left for improvement, amiright? Whether it be reading up on Photography, SEO or branding- you can always find something new to learn, something that will help you grow your blog and create better content. I personally love watching Photoshop tutorials or reading up on things I eventually plan on doing with my blog.
TAKE A BREAK
Sometimes, this is all you need to feel better. Step away from your blog for a day or two. Having such a creative outlet means that you depend on…well… your creativity. If you don’t go out and read new books, try new things, go for a walk, try new products- whatever it is that you blog about- then you’ll have no stories to tell. I work in an office where most of the work I do, is done independently. I then come home and after doing a few things around the house, I sit in front of my computer and do “blog work”. It can get a little dull (not that I don’t mind TOO much since I’m a bit of a creature of habit), but stepping away from the blog has often given me some of the best ideas I’ve had. So there’s that.
As my blog grows, I’m starting to entertain the idea of content-batching, but daily writing is something I’m not willing to give up just yet. This means that I have to put up with occasional writer’s block. How about you guys?
What do you like to work on when that writer’s block hits? Do you ever feel guilty about not posting, when you don’t feel like writing?