Have you ever had a time when you had to write, wanted to write, but you have just spent the last hour staring at your screen and the english language has seems to have failed you. I go through that every couple of months. Sometimes a good night sleep helps, other times it takes more than a good night sleep to get back into a creative mode. For this month's edition of A note to creatives, I thought I will share a few ways I get past the writers (and idea) block.
Change environment. When I have idea/writers' block I change my environment. I head to a coffee shop or to the park laptop in hand. Other times, I leave the laptop and blogging note pad at home and head out to the mall, dinner, or museum. Being in a different space or environment helps clear my head, reset and I am able to get back to blogging.
Switch up the content. Step away from your niche. As a travel blogger, one post about my skincare favorites or favorite cake recipe will not send my readers running for the hills. Switching things up is what launched this series. I was hitting a wall with travel posts and decided to share something I found helpful for my creative process. If you are hitting a wall with ideas or writing, try sharing something outside of your niche and you may be surprised what happens.
Look through your photo bank. When I photograph my travels I avoid capturing snapshots for blog purposes. I try to capture moments. Photographing moments makes me to be a better blogger. I can go through my photographs and memories of a moment is triggered. That becomes something that is worth sharing on the blog. When I wrote the "guide to DUMBO" post, I was looking through my NYC picture in preparation for launch of my print shop. I discovered I had captured great moments and scenes from DUMBO. Seeing those pictures inspired the guide to DUMBO. I may have missed out on some of my favorite DUMBO moments if I explored DUMBO with only the potential blog post as motivation.
Take a break. It feels like you cannot take a break from your creative endevour. You think if you take a break everything will go to hell. Trust me, it won't. I took a three month hiatus last year and it was the best thing that happened to me (and the blog). During the hiatus, I was reminded of why I do this and realized I really enjoy this blogging process and wanted to continue whether I had one reader or a hundred readers. The time away from the blog gave me the creative jolt I needed.
Look through my post idea log. On the notes app on my phone I keep a list of post ideas. As I go through my day, I "write" down ideas for the blog and I circle back to the list when I find myself in need to inspiration.
Be Inspired by Other Creatives. It is okay to be inspired by another creative. Just make sure to give them credit for it. This post was inspired by a 2014 post by Tamira Jarrel which really resonated with me. When I was coming up with topics for this series, I knew this was a topic I wanted to explore further. You can read her post here. Sometimes scrolling through my instagram feed or pintrest boards can also help jumpstart the creative process.
Your turn - what are some ways you find inspiration for blogging ?
