Let’s be honest, okay? This happens to all of us. We might not call it writer’s block, but the truth is that we all have our off days.
But what if I were to tell you that there are certain strategies that you can use whenever you have no idea what to write about.
Interested?
Read on.
Great artists’ steal…
I’m just going to be extremely honest: the novice wants to be original and brilliant so bad that he often fails to realize that he only got kind of good by imitating others.
Good artists copy, great artists steal.
I am not advising you to plagiarize other bloggers, I am simply telling you to see the information to acquire differently. Like Jordan so nicely put it, everything you read, see, or hear is food for your creativity.
Now, here’s what you can do with someone else’s content:
- Curate content. Go to your ten favorite blogs, and then find your favorite post on each of them. Publish a post listing these top ten posts, and explain why you like them. You don’t even have to think about being creative, and everyone you feature there will appreciate it.
- Ask friends for ideas. Reach out to your friends, and ask them what they’d like you to write about. Do a bit of brainstorming with online friends as well.
- Ask your readers. Yup. When you have no idea what to write about on your blog you can write a “what would you like me to write about” post
- Do an interview. It’s a lot easier to write a few interview questions than it is to write an entire post! Plus, it can be a great way to connect with really interesting people.
- Ask for a few guest posts. This is a great source of content, and it’s easier than most people think – find a few blogs that are your size or smaller, whose content you really like, and invite them to write a guest post for you. That’s about it.
- Write a review. A movie, a book, a TV show, or a product that you’d be happy to endorse. No need to get too creative, just explain what you like about it, and why. And then write what you don’t like about it, and why.
- Link to old posts. Write a short list of your old favorite posts that newer readers probably haven’t read. You can even do a quick deconstruction, and explain what you were thinking when you wrote the posts, what worked, and what didn’t, what would you do differently.
Use two unrelated dots and force yourself to connect them
Okay, so maybe you do want to come up with a great original idea to write about, but it just isn’t happening.
In that case, try to take two unrelated things and force them together into a really interesting post.
Connect dots that are far apart from each other. Yes, one of them has to be about something your readers would like to read about, and the other one can be something unrelated, but still familiar to your audience.
What you end up with are posts that kind of go like this:
Are you starting to see the pattern?
Sometimes inspiration does not have to find your working
Stop trying to work. Just stop. Don’t force your brain to come up with words and ideas. Do the following instead:
- Go for a walk. Or a run. Getting your heart rate up is a great way to grow your brain. And meditate. And, yeah, exercise actually does make your brain bigger.
- Take a shower. Relax your body, and your mind will follow. Cliche? Perhaps. But if it works, who cares?
- Watch a movie/read a book/listen to music. Just going to say it again: feed your brain. I use the three mediums daily (read information, listen to it, and watch it) in order to stay inspired and come up with ideas to blog on.
When you do have ideas… write like crazy
When you feel inspired, write as much as you can. Write blog posts and save them as drafts to be used specifically when you have no idea what to blog about.
Which of these methods have you tried? Which one would you try?
Let me know in the comments section below.
There’s something you need to know, and I’m afraid you’re not going to like it.
So. You sit at your desk, ready to punch those damn keys until a blog post will appear on your screen.
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about blogging 
The blank page tends to scare people into a state of inactivity. The possibilities are endless, the desire to create perfection so intense that it is easier to do anything else.
The first rule of writing anything worth reading?
You can tell. Just after reading the first few sentences, you know. Reading that blog post is going to change you.
Be honest. You spend a lot more time on your WordPress Dashboard than you should. And most of that time is spent wondering why those stats are so low, why aren’t readers flocking to your blog, and why aren’t people liking, commenting, and sharing your content.