Sometimes your mind goes blank — like a busted laptop. Don't let that stop you. (Photo by winjohn @ stock.xchng - http://www.sxc.hu/photo/529107)
It happened to me this week. I was cruising along, had a good list of blog post ideas and had written four of seven posts for the week. But I knew I had some very busy days coming up, and I needed to get three more written to meet my self-imposed quota of posts for the week. And I got blocked.
None of my blog post ideas seemed interesting. Or the ones that were interesting seemed too challenging — I wasn’t sure I knew enough to credibly write about the topic. Or I could write about the topic, but it would take too long, and I was tired. In other words, I was blocked. Call it blogger’s block or writer’s block, it happens to all of us from time to time.
But for bloggers, who rely on the ability to consistently publish new content, this can be fatal. It can murder your momentum, drown your enthusiasm and kill your creativity. However, I’ve been getting paid to string words together for almost 20 years. I’ve faced this demon before, I know a few tricks to get past him.
1. Write partial posts. Instead of trying to put together perfectly formed posts, open up your text editor, word processor or blogging software and write partial posts. Write in bullet points and just put down a few key ideas. Do this for two or three different post ideas, and often something will light your interest and get those blogging fires burning again.
2. Write something that you promise yourself you won’t publish. Don’t worry about whether it’s any good, just write it. You can change your mind later if it turns out it’s worth sharing. If it’s not, you can trash it.
3. Write a links post. Go out and find half a dozen really good links to stuff other people have written or created, and write a links post. For each link hammer out a couple of sentences about why you like it. This is a low creativity task, but it’ll give you a blog post you can use, and the discipline of writing this sort of thing is good for you.
4. Use a different writing tool. If you normally type up your blog posts on your computer, try writing one by hand on paper. If you normally write in your blogging software’s built-in editor, try using Word, or a text editor, or Google Docs instead. You could even try recording it instead of writing it.
5. Take a photo, shoot a video or record a podcast. I admit, I’m very focused on text. I’ve always been a writer who wrote for print, and I love the power of words well put together. But if you have the ability, you might want to try a different kind of content. So maybe that means shooting a photo or a video, or recording a short podcast. It could even mean a slide show you publish with Slideshare.
6. Write in a different place. I usually write at my desk at home. But if that’s not working, I might move to another room or even sit outside (if weather allows). Anything that gets me out of my habitual, unconscious patterns habits might also shake loose a little creativity.
7. Write about something totally different. This blog is generally about topics related to social media, blogging and online marketing. But what if I took a break from that and instead wrote about the earthquake in Haiti, or my challenges in balancing a number of volunteer activities on top of my job and family, or something else entirely? Maybe you’ll publish this entirely different post, maybe you won’t. But maybe it’ll loosen up your writing muscles enough to get some more content created.
8. Just push through. Sometimes the best way to overcome the demon of writer’s block is to just push on through. Ignore those voices in your head telling you your ideas aren’t good enough, or not interesting enough, or that you’re not qualified, or that you don’t have enough energy. Write anyway. Just put some words down. This was ultimately the tactic I picked this week – and I got two more blog posts out of it. I’ve faced this demon before, and I know that sometimes I just need to shove him aside, keep on moving and ignore his taunts and insults.
If you’ve got tips for overcoming writer’s block, please share them in the comments below. (Hey, a comment can be just a couple sentences — it doesn’t need to be War and Peace. Push on through that resistance and tell me what you think.)
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In no particular order, I'm a writer, MBA, ex-journalist, blogger, geek, strategic communications pro, father, struggling novelist 
