It happens to all of us at some point. No matter how passionate we are about the topic at hand and no matter how many ideas we have swirling around in our heads…we will inevitably draw a blank. We will have no idea what to write about. We will feel uninspired. We will worry that our lives must be terribly boring if we can’t even manage to post something. Whatever the reason, at some point, all of us will experience blogger’s block.
So what’s a health blogger (or really ANY blogger) to do? If you have nothing interesting to say, should you post anyway to keep drawing readers to your page? Or should you wait it out since your readers are (mostly) intelligent folks who will see that you’re just tossing something up onto your site for the sake of pageviews? The way I see it, we have a few options.
1. Write Through It. Since I’m a health and fitness blogger, I figured I’d use an analogy involving working out. You know when you’ve done some really intense strength training and your muscles hurt like you got hit by a truck? As a trainer and an experienced gym-goer, I know that the best thing to do is to get some light cardio in to break up that lactic acid. As a real human being, I know that sometimes I don’t want to set foot in the gym, even if I know it will loosen me up.
The same goes for blogging. If you think you have a slight case of writer’s block, your best bet might be to just get moving to see what happens. You might have to compose some less-than-stellar posts in order to break up that blockage and get back to your usually amazing post quality. In these cases, I like to remember Anne Lamott’s essay, “Shitty First Drafts.” (Not exactly about blogging, but it’s the same basic idea.) Just put something on paper (or on WordPress)! Your next post will be much better, and your readers won’t be left hanging.
2. Wait It Out. Here’s another exercise analogy for you: you started getting sick last week, and you kept working out through it. And none of that “easy cardio just to sweat out the toxins” stuff. No, you decided to run at least four hard, fast miles every day, and you just had to do your circuit training. And all this time, your little head cold started to turn into bronchitis. So should you keep working out? I hope the answer is a big, fat, obvious NO for you, but if not… then NO. Same goes for blogging. If you have absolutely no idea what to write about, so you just ramble on post after post about nothing important or pertinent at all, then you are making your blog worse. You are slowly decreasing your average post quality and probably losing a few readers along the way, because they notice that you aren’t getting any better. Your blog is getting sicker.
In this case, you need to give it a rest so that you can come back stronger than ever. After all, you don’t want the sniffles-turned-upper-respiratory-infection to become full-blown pneumonia and land you in the hospital because you refused to take a (much needed) breather. You can even put up a “gone fishin’” post to explain that you’re taking a week off from blogging — and you don’t have to give a lot of details as to why.
3. Redirect the Spotlight. So you don’t have anything interesting to say? You know that a ton of other health bloggers do, so go ahead and dedicate a post to highlighting the great things your peers are writing about. Your readers will see that you’re still posting – so they’ll keep coming back – but they won’t wonder why you’re writing about your running route and what you packed for lunch every single day for the past three weeks. You’ll continue to get hits, your readers won’t be bored, other bloggers will benefit, and you’ll be able to take the time to bust through that blogger’s block.
4. Plan ahead. When you’re in the mood to write, write…and then save those drafts for a rainy day. Keep a notebook with you to write down post ideas when you have them. Keep it simple and think about what makes you an expert. These tips can really inspire you when you’re staring at a blank computer screen.
Have you ever experienced blogger’s block? How do you deal with it?
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There are no rules that say as bloggers we have to write every day or several times a day. I can usually think of something to post about but honestly there are days I just have a “funk” and don’t want to. That’s ok.
Another tip for getting over the Writer’s Block: open up your local newspaper and randomly pick some event that’s going on. Summertime is a great time to try a festival, local art/food fair, etc. Try something new, join a class, drop in on a class you’ve always wanted to try–and then write about it!
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