Sometimes (and lately more often than not) I come to my “command” place on my blogging control panel, hit the “New Post” button and just sit and stare, just as I did for a good twenty minutes before beginning this post. I have a million things that cross my mind during the day that I want to post about, but by the time I have a chance to sit at my desk to blog, they’ve been lost in the noise of the day. I always kick myself when I realize I’ve forgotten these ideas, swear to write them down in a small notebook immediately as they pop in my head in the future, and then repeat the cycle again and again because I can’t remember to get the small notebook.
There are also other times I definitely have something in mind to write about, only to talk myself out of writing about it. A small but loud inner critic has taken up residence within the past few months inside my brain, and she usually talks me out of a good post for a myriad of reasons. Someone I know in my offline life might read it. It would take too long to type out or I would never be able to explain my points well enough to even justify making the post in the first place. Maybe the topic has already been discussed ad nauseum in the blogosphere or maybe it might offend a reader. Maybe I’d just come off looking like an idiot for voicing my opinion.
I overthink. I over-analyze.
So I end up posting something “safe”, even though it’s not what I intentionally started out writing. Not that I want to spew forth scathing words on controversial topics or anything like that, it’s just that I read a lot of blogs and I start comparing my writing to other bloggers I enjoy reading. I’m not an expert on anything. I’m not a social media maven. However, I read enough blogs to know that the best way to drive away an audience is to not offer them anything of value to take away from your writing. Otherwise, their time is wasted.
Then I snap out of my daze and think to myself, “It’s just a blog.
Or is that all it really is?
Do you ever feel so uninspired about your writing? Are there practices you implement to work through these types of writing stumbling blocks? Do you have an inner critic that rears his/her ugly head? What do you do?
Oh, hunny, you could be talking about me! I used to be a good writer. I used to think up posts in my brain and write them out with such love and detail that they became the length of a book chapter. LOL But something happened when it I started noticing people getting trashed for stating their opinions…or asking for help with their grief.
Who can forget what was done to poor Shellie after Bryson’s death? It was horrible and all she asked for was prayer. People on the internet are mean. It sucks, but it’s true. I have tons of things I want to write about, but then I get scared that it will inflame my cyberstalkers and I will get bashed again.
But then again, I am approaching 40 fast and starting to think, who the hell cares? It’s MY blog. I built it. I make it what I want it to be, damn all the haters. I don’t think I will let myself be silenced anymore. I didn’t get almost 11k visitors per month by being “safe”. LMAO
ALL THE TIME! lol It hits me right after the holiday rush. I think part of it is from sheer exhaustion of surviving the holidays in real life and posting about it on the blog. Whenever I feel like this I try a few techniques to jump start the writing.
1-Take a photo of something random I find interesting around the house or town then post and write about it.
2-Get cooking or crafting. I usually have several recipes or craft projects in several stages of completion. I’ll post a recipe or craft tute which usually gets my creative juices flowing again.
3-I’ll pick a topic about our family to post about…being a trucker’s wife, having an autistic son, challenges living in a rural area, etc.
Finally, I remind myself I don’t HAVE to post every single day and cut myself some slack and post a notice to my readers telling them I’m taking a break to rejuvenate!
You’re not alone! Good luck with the creative juices. (oh, you might want to consider using your cell phone to text or tweet yourself those fab ideas so you won’t have to worry about a notebook! ;D