Hi!
I've always been a bit dismissive of those people that complain of writer's block. I mean, how hard can it be to pick up your pen and jot some ideas down? Even if you don't crank out a few hundred pages of a new novella, or a paragraph or two of your dissertation - at least you can write something, surely?
So why has it been so long since I last wrote this blog?
My journal (which I write almost daily btw) is full of to-do lists, and always somewhere on that list is "write new blog post". I know I want to - it's not like I don't enjoy writing! I LOVE writing!
So I go to my blog page, and have a look at my last few posts. I weep silently for a few moments at how few page views my stats report, but console myself with knowing they're genuine views and not just bot-produced junk,
And then I think... "What shall I write about today?"
And then...
Hmm...
What shall I write about today? (Taps pen against pad reflectively)
What. Shall. I. Write? (Looks out of window. I spy with my little eye something beginning with...)
OK, Maybe I'll get some inspiration from my trusty Pinterest?
(Lots of pretty pictures, a few TED talks I've earmarked for later, random adverts for food...)
OK, I admit, there is a genuine case for writer's block!
The thing that always seems to trip me up is wondering "What will my readers want to read?"
I worry that my subject will be boring, uninformative, not very funny. I spend so long trying to think of a riveting subject, I forget that the joy of writing is to just write.
I always sit down and write my posts straight to the site. I don't make notes, I don't sit on a draft post and go back to it later - I just write a post in one go - and maybe that's where i go wrong?
A friend who also writes tends to have several draft posts on the go, and also makes notes about things she sees or experiences during the day, going back to her drafts and edits them regularly before she publishes.
I think I'll try and follow her advice for a bit, and see if I can't improve my own blog writing, and banish the dreaded writer's block for good!
Wish me luck!
