Bloggers Block! Help!

stuartSan · Jul 24, 2006

Hey all. I have a blog in Friendster, which is just for fun. The problem is, even my 'for fun' writing takes so much effort now, apart from the assignments I have to do from writersbureau.com (which is pretty tough).

My blog is about my daily life, documented in a short story way, to make it more interesting. It was waiterrant.net that inspired me to document my daily life with a creative twist.

I'd appreciate tips for style, and also getting more readership for http://stuartsan.blogs.friendster.com/think/, but the real problem nowadays is me not being able to write!

I sit down, open up my blog, write a line of a topic that inspired me, and that's it! I get stuck, I worry about style, my content goes out the window, and I just stare at the screen, wondering why I wanted to write this topic in the first place.

I don't understand how you guys write a fast first draft because I ALWAYS have the tendency to think properly, or edit my first draft, before completing it.

I don't even know what to write about nowadays or how to get into a topic well. This is also affecting my non-fiction writing assignments I have due (which has already been months). Sorry for the whining, had to let off some steam. Any help regarding having things to write about would be appreciated.

Thanks!

KellyC · Jul 24, 2006

Hello Stuart - that can be a difficult problem to overcome.

I participate in games or memes, Wordless Wednesday is one, Thursday Thirteen is another. Go to my website to see examples. Dawno also starts a Monday Meme periodically. The games give me topics I don't have to think of on my own, yet I always seem to find a wya to relate it to my own blog theme. I see a lot of bloggers use lists and do a lot with that.

Hope you figure things out!

Stephanie · Jul 24, 2006

I ghostwrite a company blog and coming up with daily slants that are entertaining can be a struggle. I scan a lot of headlines from different sources by rss feed: news, press releases, health, etc., and usually get something from that.

razibahmed · Jul 25, 2006

I think that you can try Stephanie's way of reading some rss feeds daily. This can help a lot. Well, you can do another thing. You can find interesting articles in the blogosphere and link them. Many bloggers do it very successfully.

Bamponang · Jul 26, 2006

I also use holidays and observances to generate topical stories for my blog. I created a second calendar on my outlook, which I use for easy reference when I run out of ideas.

If the observance is related to some social issue, there are usually a number of government institutions and non-profits sending out media releases on their planned activities, which I also link to in addition to my commentary.

Some of the observances are easy to relate to [tomorrow is global forgiveness day) while others are strange and/fun [I've written about Rat Catcher's Day)

Good luck.

Marilyn Braun · Jul 26, 2006

razibahmed said:
I think that you can try Stephanie's way of reading some rss feeds daily. This can help a lot. Well, you can do another thing. You can find interesting articles in the blogosphere and link them. Many bloggers do it very successfully.

I've tried this myself and I find that it has worked for me. Sometimes I'll find an interesting news piece or come across a weird royal item on eBay and be able to write about it. The thing I try to ask myself whenever I read an article is "why is this interesting?" and usually things flow from there. I've come up with a few interesting takes as a result.

stuartSan · Jul 26, 2006

Thanks for the support guys. Be careful what you wish for, because I now find myself with tons of topics. The most outstanding incident would be me getting a ticket the other day for not wearing my seatbelt - while the officer was trying to talk me into bribing him.

I opened my blog and typed "It was a busy day and the road was filled with cars." Somehow I couldn't continue.

Do you guys have first drafts for your blog? Or do you just post it up after you're done with writing (since it's not really formal). If yes, how do you guys go around writing your first draft?

Do you deliberately write a bad one, as long as you complete a story, and edit later? Or are you guys like me, unable to put words down unless it sounds good? Thanks again in advance!

Marilyn Braun · Jul 26, 2006

I have at least 20 drafts of articles which I can't finish, they stare me in the face everytime I open up Blogger! However, sometimes I'm able to finish one of them - I had one article which was in my drafts and it wasn't until months later that I was actually inspired to finish it and post. Sometimes I just can't find the right words or phrase and until I do I have a hard time with posting it.

I don't think having a lot of drafts is necessarily a bad thing, it's a good way to flesh out ideas. Even if the idea I started with doesn't initially work, sometimes I can look at a draft and see the potential for another article later on.

Bloggers Block! Help!

stuartSan

KellyC

wearer of many hats

Stephanie

razibahmed

AW Addict

Bamponang

Marilyn Braun

Royal Bibliomaniac

stuartSan

Marilyn Braun

Royal Bibliomaniac