As a blogger it is vital to keep the posts coming regularly; the more often you post the better. Search engines and their algorithms rank active blogs in search results higher than those that are rarely updated. So, we need to avoid writers’ block as far as possible.
But let’s be frank here, being creative 24/7 is a near-impossible feat. Creativeness has a nasty habit of appearing all of a sudden and overwhelming you with ideas of what to write, what kind of photographs to take, etc. And then, just as suddenly, it disappears and you are left with a period of emptiness; a complete writers’ block and an absolute incapability to come up with any subject worth writing about.
Sound familiar?
We all have different ways to deal with the sudden peaks and lows of creativity. Some write notes and make schedules, others just get to work, open a document and start spewing words onto it hoping that something will appear that sparks inspiration. And some just grab their camera and run outside to look for scenes and things to capture.
I’m that person who needs to record ideas somewhere immediately when they appear. It can be anything from a sight worth photographing to a subject I want to discuss, or just one sentence that I find worth elaborating on.
Inspiration can sometimes be found in the weirdest places. For example J. K. Rowling got the idea for the Harry Potter books on a train. But, to be honest, I don’t usually come up with blog post ideas while rummaging around in a supermarket.
Inspiration for me takes a calm place, preferably a place with a view, where I can literally sit myself in front of the empty page and think “what do I have to say today“. And there’s nothing wrong with a quick search on Google. Sometimes it only takes one word or a picture to find inspiration. This post is a great example: I saw the word ‘inspiration’ and it got me thinking. And here we are.
Then again, there always comes a low period, when coming up with blog post ideas is hard. Like really hard. For me winter is an incredibly challenging period. Overall, but especially creativity-wise.
There’s not much head-space for creativity between November and March up here in the darkness, which brings great challenges to people who, for example, blog for a living. But I’ve got a trick in my sleeve for those periods.
Even though creativity is a tricky friend there are ways to nurture it and thus get the most out of the creative peaks as well as the lows. Here are my creativity-hacks that I have found very helpful:
How To Avoid Writers’ Block and Enhance Creativity?
Always keep means about you for writing down notes
As mentioned before inspiration might come in the most surprising of places. So, always keep a tiny notebook with you, into which you can write down ideas.
Another handy tool to avoid writers’ block is obviously that smart phone of yours. There are plenty of apps to download, I’m sure, but I find the Memo-application in my Android quite sufficient. There you can choose between writing or voice recordings. What more would you need?
As an organizing freak I have made separate files in the Memo app, such as Blog post titles, Posting schedule and Useful links and ideas.
When you hit the stride go for it hard
Use the creative periods to your full advantage and write as much as you can. That way you end up creating multiple posts per week, which you can save as drafts to be finalized and published later. Perhaps when you are having another one of those writers’ blocks.
This is the reason I have a file called ‘Posting schedule‘. There are actual Social Media scheduling programs and apps, but they are mostly meant for big businesses and are costly. Again, the Memo app in my phone has been perfectly adequate.
There you can easily keep track of all your drafts by choosing Tasks and listing the dates when you want to publish which post. And every time you publish a post you can mark that task as ‘Done’. Simple and tidy.
Take photos all the time
Blog posts with good pictures tend to get more visibility on Google and Pinterest for an obvious reason. So it really pays off to put a bit of effort into your photography. And there is no such thing as too many photos. There will always be a post for which those landscape pictures from last March suit perfectly.
Since outfit photos taken in the bedroom tend to get a bit boring, it’s good to get out and about. Last year I was finally able to hire a photographer: I meet up with her once a month and we get 200-400 photos shot within couple of hours.
I, of course, pay for her service. And am happy to do so because the quality of her photography is beyond anything I could ever reach.
Since there are so many photos taken at different spots around the city, it doesn’t matter that I have the same outfit in all of them. I tend to use photos from one batch for multiple blog posts, because they’re all honestly so good, and would otherwise go to waste. Do you think this is okay?
Do some research
Inspiration and creativity aren’t just some things that appear in our lives. They need nurturing and stimulus, so get out there to the never-ending world of Internet and find that inspiration!
For example, I joined Bloglovin‘ just for the sake of research and seriously, it turned out a treasure trove. I follow multiple inspiring fashion and lifestyle blogs there and, in addition to inspiration, find things done differently that are worth trying in my blog as well.
If signing up for another page, like Bloglovin’, seems like too much admin, there is the basic Google or Pinterest search with search words “xx blog post ideas” (I do that almost daily).
Recently I also found out about Quora, which is platform where people ask and answer questions on all matters. That’s a brilliant place to figure out what people want to find answers for in your field. And then all you need to do is to provide the content with the answers.
Sometimes it’s good to just take a break
I have noticed that when you feel uninspired and can’t force yourself to think of one thing to write about, it’s best to just have a break. Allow yourself the “time off” and concentrate on something else for a change.
This always works for your benefit when the ’creative muscle’ eventually returns rested and you find yourself coming up with an abundance of content ideas.
Summer is the most inspiring of all seasons so I’m literally hoarding blog posts into my archive. That way I’ll have enough material to keep posting regularly when the darkness arrives in October and puts me into the involuntary sleep for months to go.
What’s your recipe to avoid writers’ block? Are there some useful tips I’ve possibly missed? Please let me know in the comments! ♥
Follow me on Instagram and use #styleoutlandish to showcase your style! I’m always on the lookout for outfit inspiration.
