Do you want to know what I did last month? I’d sit down in front of my computer, opened my blog and before I knew it I’d spent the last 3 hours scrolling through the newest Poshmark listings. I couldn’t connect with anything I jotted down and after a few sentences, I would hit the backspace button and the page would be blank.
For a woman who when she speaks you wonder how she is taking breaths in between, I became silent as I stared at the screen. My mind races with different scenarios and topics, such as the “Top Restaurants in Boston” or How to Style Your Hair Ten Different Ways”. The common topics we see smeared all over Pinterest, that steer us to think that we too need to post exactly that. I mean why not, these other individuals did and oh look, it has been clicked on over a million times, so I NEED to do that too.
In which this got me thinking. Do I want to create copycat content that interests people or create original content that inspires people? Sure I could write 10 different posts about how to make a custom photo collage for each special holiday, birthday, celebration etc. It may get thousands of saves and clicks but does it tell who I am? Does it make different? Then I had an epiphany as to why I was suffering from a bad case of writer’s block. I’m sharing something original, something that can’t be copied cat and doesn’t have data how it will work out.
I’m sharing my words, thoughts, and feelings with the world and to be honest, that is a scary thing to do
Figuring out what was holding me back, the words started to pour out of my fingers and those drafts turned into posts. Heading to my computer isn’t a burden and I don’t feel discouraged when I shut it down for the night. There are still times where my own insecurities start to come back and I don’t feel like writing. Yet instead of before where I would dodge those feelings and do something else I write them down. It isn’t clean paragraphs or even sentences but it’s real and in the moment. It takes raw emotions and turns it into content that I can share because, for the most part, we are all the same. We have fears, hopes, dreams, struggles and we all want someone who can relate to us, that we can share these emotions with.
So what can I share with you? How can I help you get over the dreaded writer’s block? I can share my story and offer words of wisdom. Most importantly I can remind you that when you find your fears arising to know it’s natural and real. Take those emotions and turn them into something amazing!
Since my goal is to connect with others and inspire, I wanted to share some helpful tips for when you find yourself avoiding your laptop.
The most important thing is to not get discouraged. We can do this by making sure we aren’t overwhelming ourselves. Speaking for myself I know that in a given day I would list at least 5 things I wanted to do. I’m going to write 5 blogs, take new photos for my social accounts, create 3 newsletters, plan out my Instagram posts for the next week and join a new Facebook group. Before I’d know it, the clock was tick-tocking to 6 pm and I had hardly accomplished anything. In closing, stay genuine, organize yourself, write what is true to you, encourage yourself and take a deep breath.
I needed this! I have been struggling with coming up with content for my own blog and feeling like I was just doing the same as others. Thanks for the tips!
Great tips here. I can testify to the write it down, even if it’s messy, method. There are ideas and thoughts all around us. We just have to capture it. Happy writing.
Thanks for the tips. I’ll bookmark this for when I get writers block!