Akin to writer’s block is blogger’s block. We all know the symptoms: you sit at the compter staring in to a blank new post window. What will you write? How will you start? Oh, wait a minute, I haven’t checked my email in the last 15 minutes. I really must do that first. And what about Twitter, perhaps a friend made a new comment. And let’s not forget my FaceBook page, really should check that too before I get started. Perhaps an old friend just found me. Well what do you know? My coffee mug is empty. I’ll go get coffee and get started when I get back… and on it goes. An amalgam of procrastination, lack of genuine stimulus and boredom.
Well, how do you tackle these situations? Most important of all, I make sure you have a few ideas bouncing around in my head before sitting down at the PC. In addition, I make sure my drinking cup or mug is full before sitting down and that all browser windows and apps are closed other than the word processor. Removing distractions is a must.
If you are struggling to find ideas for posts then I recommend the following:
- follow a news source daily (the BBC, Reuters, CNN etc.);
- use Google blog search to start a random walk through blogs in your niche. See what others are blogging about in your niche;
- tap out or scribble down some ideas no matter what they are and see where they take you; sometimes the hardest part is getting that first sentence out;
- follow one or more forums that center around your niche. There is often a lot of good information to be gleaned from the input of many on forums;
- read offline material regularly; newspapers and magazines offer great material for bloggers.
