10 STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH WRITER'S BLOCK

In the past year or so since I started blogging, I've hit a few rough patches. There are times when I sit down to write and nothing seems to come out. Sometimes my brain just shuts down and other times I get down on myself for not being better or more creative or this or that. When this happens I need something to help me climb out of it all. I need a strategy. Well my friends, these are some of the strategies that I've relied on over time to help myself along in the creative process (and yes, I do feel like a douche saying creative process).

1. Look to your most successful or your most enjoyed posts.
Is there a common theme in what makes some posts successful? Is there a topic in a similar vein you could post about? Is there a detail in one of your posts that you could expand on?

2. Look to your blogging inspirations.
What is it that makes the content of your favourite bloggers so good? See if you can get your creative juices flowing by reading their work.

3. Pull inspiration from outside of blogging.
On the other hand, as much as I love the blogging community, we have a tendency to over-influence each other and get stuck in a bubble. Look for creative inspiration from outside of the blogging world. Look to nature or art books to inspire creative FOTDs. Look to music to inspire conversation about society. There's so much creativity around us. We just need to find a way to mold it into something we can articulate.

4. Ask your friends or readers what they would want to see a post about.
What may seem obvious to you might not be obvious to everyone else.

5. Identify if there's a time of day/week when you're most creative.
Oddly, sometimes when I'm tired I find it easier to write. I over-think things less and simply let the words flow. Some of you might like writing first thing in the morning when you're feeling fresh and renewed. Don't force your writing if you can avoid it. It pays to wait.

6. Work outside your niche.
Just because you may be a beauty or a fashion blogger doesn't mean you can't write about whatever else you want. Sometimes I don't give a flying cuss about beauty. I'm not in a place that I can think about it. Take that opportunity to open up to your readers about your other interests.

7. Share the skills that you possess.
Everyone of you knows how to do something that I don't. You might know how to build a kick ass coffee table. You might know how to program a beautiful widget. You might know how to bake the best damn lemon cake known to man kind. Sharing your skills is one of the best ways to grow your blog.

8. Catch us up on who you are.
Posts about your personal life don't always get the most likes or shares, but they do connect you to your readers. The times that I've emotionally opened up to you guys have always been incredibly rewarding. We've talked to one another and found similarities in our struggles. It's made me feel truly like part of a community.

9. Learn and share.
Have you read an exceptional article or book lately? Did it change your view on things? Tell us about it.

10. Make recurring post series.
If you're fresh out of ideas, give yourself a helping hand. Make recurring series, such as monthly favourites, FOTDs, budget buys or haul posts that you can always fall back on.