So, I have had no inspiration at all to write in the past two weeks. The motivation had completely left my system. I didn’t know what to write about. Of course you guys continued to get weekly blog posts because I batch write for the most part for reasons such as this. When I lose my inspiration to write it can LAST. This blog post was not written well in advance. In fact, I’ll probably be doing some batch writing soon so that I can get back into the game, but this experience actually gave me something to write about.
I know that I am not the only blogger out there who has had writer’s block and lost all motivation to write. It doesn’t mean you don’t still love writing and it is no longer your passion. it just means you are having a mental block of some sort. So, I decided to share how I got past writer’s block and hopefully that will help some of you writers and bloggers out there get past it too! So, let’s get into it then!
How To Get Past Writer’s Block
Acknowledge where the block is coming from. I realized pretty quickly that the source of my writer’s block was depression. I wasn’t in a good place mentally and therefore I couldn’t be in a good space to write anything. My motivation was dwindling and I had a lot going on. Not to mention that I am currently doing Vlogmas on our couple’s channel, not to mention keeping up with content on my own channel and all that editing and planning content has taken a lot out of me. I am always a pretty busy girl which i am okay with, but when depression hits, that productivity drops significantly and writing was the first thing to dwindle. However, there are lots of different reasons that you could be having writer’s block. You could be having some fears and doubts about your writing. You could be just burned out because you were writing so much. It is important to know where your writer’s block is coming from because a lot of times that could be what guides you towards your solution.
Write about your writer’s block. One thing that I did while my mind wasn’t producing content ideas was write about it. I treated my googledocs like a journal and just started writing down everything that was going on in my head. I wrote down the fact that I couldn’t come up with any ideas and how frustrating it was making me feel. I wrote about everything that does fill my head when I am trying to write. I just kept writing until I felt like I had unloaded all of my emotions and thoughts. It is very freeing and therapeutic. For me, free-writing was exactly what showed me why I was having my writer’s block in the first place because the negative emotions became so evident on the pages. So, try just writing every thought that comes to your mind even if it seem sot be random. Vent to your computer.
Get moving. Exercise is a really great way to get your creative juices flowing. I read somewhere that when you have writer’s block you should go for a run… but I don’t run. So, I tried the kind of exercise I do like. Yoga. I love yoga. It relaxes me and works out my body at the same time. I am focused on the physical actions of my body and not the frustration of my non-flowing brain. If you have never done yoga, I would urge you to try it. If Yoga isn’t for you, that’s okay. Try whatever workout you feel most comfortable with! The more your body flows, the more your creativity will!
Read. I am subscribed to quite a few other bloggers out there and one thing that helps inspire me to write is reading other writer’s work in the same niche as me. I like to see other people’s ideas and sometimes something I read will spark an idea in my own head. Don’t go ripping off people’s ideas, but someone else’s creativity can give your own a boost! So try reading some content in your niche and see what jumps out at you!
Clear your mind. Like I said, one of the reasons I stopped having the motivation to write was because of just how much was going on in my head already. So i took some time to meditate and just clear my mind. I didn’t necessarily want to write right away, but I did feel an immediate release of pressure. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t write that I just blocked my mind even further with negative emotion about not writing. It was a vicious cycle that needed to be broken. Try clearing your mind and allowing your brain to not be on overdrive for awhile. By the time you are ready to pick back up the pen, you’ll feel clear headed and ready to go.
STOP WRITING AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. One of the biggest reasons for writer’s block is just the need to take a break. I stopped writing for a couple weeks. I had enough blog posts to schedule up until now and so I took advantage of that. I didn’t need to force myself to do something that I had no motivation to do. When I took the break I felt relieved and then after awhile, I discovered that I was beginning to miss writing. I wanted to get back to doing what I love because I loved to do it. Writing is a passion of mine. It isn’t something that I have to do, but something that I want to do and love to do. If you force yourself to write when you don’t really want to, you can lose your passion for it and nothing can be more heartbreaking than that. So, if you find that you just don’t want to write, then take a break. Give yourself a writing vacation! And during this vacation do ALL of the self-care you can! A lot of times, self-care is the reason we aren’t able to write. We haven’t been treating ourselves right. So make sure you are taking care of you.
Have some extra writings prepared. In order to do the previous tip, you should probably be prepared for it. During the times that you are feeling motivated and eager to write, write more than you need to. Do some batch writing and scheduling so that when times like this hits, you can take the necessary break and not feel as if you’re letting down your readers. Now, if I didn’t have any blogs prepared the past couple of weeks for you guys… nothing probably would have been posted because my mental health comes first. I cannot give from an empty cup, but because I love this blog so much, whenever I am feeling motivated to write, I will write 2-3 blog posts in a week (I only post once a week… considering posting more but I don’t know..thoughts?). It keeps me feeling prepared and ahead of the game and it allows me to take my mental space breaks necessary.
This is how I handled my writer’s block. I am really not sure how others handle it or if there was a better or quicker way to do so. But this worked for me and now I am back to feeling a little bit more like myself and ready to produce more content for you guys! Being a blogger AND freelance writer can mean that I spend a lot of time outlining and writing blog posts which means I can get a little overwhelmed and run out of ideas, but I make sure to do a whole lot of self-care and self-love so that I can give you guys my very best. I love you too much not to give anything but my best.
This method could actually work for any type of creative, but it was what worked for me specifically for writing.
Do you ever get writer’s block? What’s something that helps you get through it? Comment your thoughts down below!