It's the end of another summer, which means I'm coming to the end of my Hijack This Blog! experiment. I'll have more to reflect on about my summer campaign as well as a look at some of the changes I'm pondering for the future of Tossing It Out, but you'll have to come back next Friday for those thoughts. Before that though we'll be closing with a bang with special Hijack! posts from Stephen Tremp on Monday and Captain Alex J Cavanaugh on Wednesday. I still have a few more guest posts coming in October and November, but mostly it will be back to good ol' me.
Today's post is an expansion of a comment I left on a blog a couple weeks ago. It's nothing new. In fact this post relates to an oft-cited problem that's been around since people decided they needed to be writers. I'm talking about that age old problem of "Writer's Block". I've written about the topic before and so have many of you. But I guess it's a subject that never really gets old and the blog post that inspired my comment just got me kind of fired up. I hear this unnecessary lament so often and I don't know why.
Some of you will go through those dry periods that you label "Writer's Block", but really now, there's no good reason to be crying this excuse when it comes to blogging. Here's my reply to those who try to justify some other problem with the lame claim of not knowing what to write about.
An Open Letter to Bloggers Who Don't Know
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| The discouraged Nenene suffering from writer's block continues to lament the disappearance of Yomiko (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Lacking inspiration eh? Hmmm--you call yourself a writer in training so why not just write about anything. Topics are everywhere. Once I was trying to think of something to write about on my blog so I just looked at my desk to write about the first thing I saw.
I ended up writing a post about my stapler. I started coming up with so much content I eventually had to stop writing about it. What I did was studied the stapler and started writing about everything my mind free-associated with about that common office supply product--how it felt, what it could be used for, where it was made, the name of the company that made it, and so on.
You likewise should just write. What's your day like? Who was an interesting person you've met or known in your life? Do you have any hobbies?--talk about one of them. Topics are everywhere and you don't have to write very long posts about them. Just write something pithy that you can try to relate to something meaningful, but if you don't, no matter. Blogging makes for great writing experimentation for any writer in training.
If you are a writer at heart, once you start writing it will probably be more of an issue of getting you to shut up. Then it will too late. You will no longer be "in training". You will be a real bonafide writer.
And don't forget to read other blogs and leave comments. I've gotten some great training by leaving comments and I'm writing when I do it. Plus I get ideas for my own blog posts by reading other blogs and commenting on them.
Sorry for this ramble, but I can't help it. I'm a writer and I want to see you attain your dreams. If you want to write, I want to see you write. When I see you write, I want to be inspired to write more. Writing inspiration should never dry up. Your mind is like a muscle that must be exercised to stay in shape.
If you're going to blog, then be consistent and crank out content. Blogging is not the same as writing a book, but it's good training for writing a book. Blogging can be good training for writing just about anything. You might think of it like those essay questions on high school or college exams. To make a decent grade you have to come up with content in the best presentable way you can muster. No teacher or professor is going to accept the excuse of "Writer's Block". And I don't think it's an acceptable excuse for any blogger.
Whether you call it "Writer's Block" or just say you don't know what to write about, please don't ever use that excuse as a blog post entry. If you truly want to write, then you will write. If you don't feel like writing then that's something else that doesn't have a whole lot to do with your ability to write. Just come out and admit that you don't feel like writing for the time being. Go for a walk, watch television, sleep, read, or whatever helps you feel better.
Then, after you've taken your break, you should have something to write about. If you don't, then maybe writing is not really something you want to do.
Do you think "writer's block" is a good excuse for bloggers to use? Have you ever written a blog post telling about how you didn't have anything to write about? What are some things that provide inspiration for your blog posts?
