Blog writing is an easy way to showcase your credibility within your field. It is also an excellent way to keep the words flowing on a day to day basis. But how much do you know about writing a blog? What do you do when the words stop flowing? Obviously you don’t want to lose your momentum as a professional. So, what do you do? Back to basics.
What Should I Write About?:
Coming up with a topic to write about can sometimes be problematic for a writer. We all get writer’s block sometimes. The best way to snap out of it is to write about your current predicament. Advising others what they should be doing if their online presence was the same as yours will provide you insight as to what you need to talk about. Sometimes giving others advise is how we learn for ourselves. Our brains often have information saved that we might not be consciously aware of. Think about what you would advise someone else in your shoes to do and then aim one or two steps ahead of that spot in order to push yourself a little bit. Once you’ve come up with a few of those topics to chat about, just start writing and don’t look back to criticize your work. Even if you feel it is terrible, sometimes it is just better to get it out and worry about fixing it and editing the content later. I’ve even seen people start to nod off while trying to get started. Getting in the groove is more important than being in high gear. It is more important that the car is in gear than it is to have in flying down the road at top speed. Get going first and worry about the rest later. Who knows, the struggle may even lead you to write something amazing in response.
Come Up With A Title:
Once you have narrowed down your topic, you need to come up with a possible title. This title will help you stay focused as you begin to write about the topic you came up with. It will also help train you to respond properly when writer’s block occurs in the future (making it a lot less common over time).
Come up with a few bullet points:
Break down your topic into at least three ideas you would like to discuss and then continue to expand using those ideas. Generally I would aim for 3-8 bullet points to discuss unless there is a specific reason to do more or less. These bullet points typically would be your written advise to yourself given your current professional situation. Try and stretch yourself and push yourself, but most importantly, keep writing no matter what. Remember, the goal is to get the cobwebs OUT of your system.
For Example: Sometimes after a big meal we may not be in peak athletic condition and may need to ‘work off’ the meal (and the belly). That is what writer’s block is, but in word form. Just keep moving and eventually, the verbal ability will come back and the mental ‘indigestion’ clears up. Remember that the more you stretch yourself in different directions, the more your jumping off point you regain as ability to flow between topics returns. After you have knocked the clutter out of your head, you will feel a lot closer to your normal self.
Add a unique point or two:
Think of one or two bullet points that are very loosely connected to your topic and then practice tying them back in. The better you get at finding the connections between seemingly unrelated topics, the better you will get at avoiding writer’s block. Writer’s block is just an illusion. Your ability to write well and come up with great ideas is still there. Your just being too hard on yourself when in reality you are overwhelmed and trying to say too many things at once. Clear it all up by getting back to basics and retraining yourself to find the underlying value in each idea. Find the unique angle that brings life to your idea and adds something a little different. Come up with advice that may be a bit arbitrary to others or may need explaining and then justify it. You will then quickly realize that the writer’s block is fading away. For example: Write a blog about writing press releases and include style as a bullet point and then explain. Write a blog about S.E.O. and include a bullet point about S.E.O. usage in live interviews. Write a blog about writers block and include a section on editing. A unique one off idea can really help to get your brain going again.
Editing:
Now that you have written your blog and gotten the brain firing again, you have the ability to go back and edit. Give your blog the ups and downs that make a story interesting. You the writing done, the words are out. Now you just have to clean it up. Edit your writing so that it stays clear, succinct, and on topic. It is a great exercise to prevent writers block in the first place because you will realize you can fix ANYTHING. When you know anything can be polished into something of quality, it makes it easier to simplify and focus on generating content when writer’s block leaves you scrambled.
S.E.O.:
Your writing is done, your topic is clear, and your flow has been repaired. Now comes S.E.O. and its ability to help you come up with new ways to relate your writing back to the world around you and get reconnected. S.E.O. adds the pizzaz that makes your writing interesting. Find commonly searched for words that are more interesting or more succinct ways to say what you have said in your blog. Now begin editing your content top to bottom like you are rewriting it with S.E.O. as your primary goal. Think about what others like you would like to know and the words they are using to search for that information. By the time you are done, you will see that everything that you have written is relatable and why it is exactly what your audience needs from you right now. You’ve turned writer’s block into persuasive motivation.
Bringing it into perspective:
As always, at the end of a blog you need to remind your audience what you just told them. Simplify it. Create a succinct summary and explain briefly why what you just told them is important. In the case of writers block, you are reminding yourself why this article matters and how it is helping you. What made this topic pop into your head now?
Summary:
Writer’s block can take a lot out of us. We can slowly feel the day tick by with no results. Rather than lose momentum, the best thing you can do is to refocus on the basics. Just write no matter how simple the idea is and just let it out. Once the writing starts to flow again your mental congestion will begin to disappear. By the time you are done, you will have found a productive way to move past your writer’s block.
Take care.
Matthew P. Dunnam
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