The time comes for all writers where you’re fresh out of ideas and you’re suffering from the dreaded writers block. It can feel isolating and really discouraging going through this as a writer, and especially if your writing is your job and income. The pressure builds and the stress heightens and before you know it you’re in a bad mood. Running out of ideas as a blogger is something I have been going through recently. I’ve been blogging now for nearly 2 years. I’ve published 310 posts (including this one) in the last 18 months. 310 fresh new ideas…my brain is tired!
Thankfully these periods of lack of ideas don’t stay forever but they still are very annoying and bothersome. It’s not easy overcoming writers block and its something I have spoken about before. I really wanted to share some real truths and insights into what I do when I feel like I have nothing left to write about.
FIND INSPIRATION FROM YOUR OLD CONTENT
If you’ve been writing for a while, then you probably have posts you wrote right at the beginning of your writing career that you’ve forgotten about. I sometimes scroll back to my old content and re-read it and get inspired from my own work. I even have removed the old posts and re-written and uploaded them again as new. Theres no rule book here to say you cant do that!
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WRITE ABOUT REAL LIFE
I have often said this on my blog, that alot of my posts I actually see like diary entries into my life. I won’t ever directly talk about my own personal life, but if there’s a particular season I’m going through or situation… I’ll write about it. There really is inspiration all around us, we just need to be looking for it. And often times its right in front of us without us realising.
REMOVE ANY DISTRACTIONS
Making sure you have a clear mind and mental state is so important when it comes to writing. I feel like if your space and mind are cluttered, it makes it even harder to be able to write. Distractions can come in many forms. Maybe its your surroundings. Are they tidy and free of mess? Do you have a comfortable, peaceful place to write? Or maybe there are many people around you. For me, I cant write listening to music or having anybody around me. Figure out what works best for you.
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DON’T OVERTHINK IT
It’s easier said than done when someone tells you to just not overthink. But hear me out. Usually before we sink into the pit of spiralling thoughts there’s usually a build up. You can feel it coming. If you’re out of ideas and you’re stressing and can feel yourself starting to overthink it. Stop it in its tracks and focus on something else. Distracting your mind onto something positive and uplifting will make a great distraction for you and stop you from reaching a point of no return.
What do you do when you’re out of ideas? Do you struggle to create content? What tips can you share with us?
Remember to go easy on yourself. Running out of ideas isn’t the end of the world!
Not overthinking really does help. I write much better when I enter a somewhat of a ‘tongue-in-cheek mode’. In fact, I can actually feel the difference in output from that state, versus when I try to be all serious and stuff. Anyway, thanks for this post!
Thats so true, being relaxed about writing can really help! Thanks so much for reading
Thanks for this, it is so helpful. I find your posts about blog ideas pretty helpful, they always come in the right time for me.
Aw thank you so much. I’m so glad to hear that!
So many great thing!
Danielle | thereluctantblogger.co.uk
I take breaks ever so often and that usually jump starts my creativity.
great points. over 300 posts 😲
keep up the great work
do you use templates of any sort to generate ideas?
I am always full of ideas. I maintain a list of them and constantly add to it. My issue is that the words don’t always make it from my head to the page so smoothly. When I get stuck, I go back to the list and try for another idea. I also get stuck when the research or SEO slows me down. I am going to reverse my process somewhat. I’ll still keep adding to my list, but more as a mind dump/ brainstorming practice. Then I’ll have a second list that will entail the ideas that made it through the SEO/ research gauntlet. That way I’ll be writing more warm leads than trying to do something with the cold ones. We’ll see how that goes. Thank you for sharing your method as well.
I agree with these suggestions. I sometimes overthink and it doesn’t get me far.
Lovely post.
These are great tips! If I run out of ideas for writing, I tend to use a SEO keyword research tool and use that to spark ideas for posts 🙂