This is not an unusual thing. Actually, it happens to the best among us. It happened to me. You get what is called A ‘Blogger’s Block.’ Surprised? No need to be. You are blogging all along, everything seem to be going smoothly. Some days, there is a ‘miss’ but most days, you are a ‘huge sensation.’ Your topic is right on target, you punctuate with all of the key words that sync with the theme of your Blog. And then, all of a sudden, there is nothing! I mean absolutely, nothing! You are tone deaf!! You can’t think of anything to write about. You feel like you’ve reached the end and there is nothing left to say.
It’s like being on the beach on a sunny day, you are surfing, riding the high waves as you relish every moment of it. Then without a warning you are knocked over and then churned like the weed to the bottom of the ocean. Fear grips you. Death eye balls you! Darkness is all around you at this time.
Meanwhile, the lifeguard couch, watching your every move all this time comes to your rescue. He lays you flat on the sand and he begin to resuscitate you. You gasp for air, then another gasp. Mouth to mouth, one breath after another until finally, you are breathing freely on your own again. You look into each others’ eyes, and then the muscles across your cheek bones contract with beautiful smiles – because in both of your minds, you knew, right then, you are alive with hope again. At last, like the icing on the cake, he lets out a soft whisper into your ear, ‘I’ve been there, and someone had to rescue me back then before I matured and mastered the art that I could now rescue you.’
Blogger’s block – Why me, why you?
At some point in time, reality is going to hit and you and I have got to be prepared to face it. We can make one of two choices, use that ‘negative’ and turn it into a small success story about your own life, or you can allow the ‘negative’ to cause you to spiral into a rapid head dive where you become buried into the sand until finally you are completely out of the blogger market.
According to Ste’ Kerwer, he said, “blogging is a creative endeavour and anyone who relies on creativity to succeed suffers through periods where they are blocked. Even the most proficient, award-winning authors experience Writer’s Block – frequently – and they always recover.”
I often put myself in the place of the reader/s – firstly, to empathize and then to analyze whether or not I am on target with writing that which would leave a lasting impact on their life – to motivate and inspire others to change for the better, to help others through my writing to pursue their own dream and passion in life, to encourage others to maximize their God-given potential, and
to serve others with love of what God laid on my heart and that which has transformed my own life.
And most recently, since moving up the ladder in my organization and becoming part of the core team of leaders and managers to lead change and to manage the change we envision, I have found myself navigating more towards applying character-based leadership principles in what I say and do so that I am able to make an even greater positive impact in my sphere of influence.
The thing is, the accolades may be great yeah, but no matter what level you are at – a serious seasoned blogger, blogging to impact change while you generate an income, an author or an untrained writer who’s just blogging as a hobby, do not quit when you get a dose of ‘A Blogger’s Block.’ Do not panic, do not jump the ship and abandon your blog. Hold on, for the best is yet to come!
My best suggestions for overcoming ‘A Blogger’s Block’
1.) Surrender yourself into silent retreat when that time comes- it is a form of empowerment and it is in that quietness, confidence and hope in God that you find your strength once again.
2.) At least once per year, take a vacation from your blog. It is common courtesy to let your readers know what you are doing, they will be more appreciative when you communicate it than if you just ‘disappear’ without being heard from again or until a long while later.
3.) Find your ideal time/hour to write – your thoughts flow much better, and it is much easier to write what your heart is saying.
4.) Have a pen and a notepad handy at all times – write down every though, every idea, a word, a phrase or even a sentence as it comes to your mind. Later on you can filter through them and carefully select only that which is most applicable. Do not discard the rest, save it for another time.
5.) Pace yourself – write in advance of the scheduled time of publication.
6.) Draw on the strength of others and use comments and quotes of others as inspiration to yourself and readers.
7.) Partner with other bloggers. Read their blog/s and participate in the discussion. At some point in time they will reciprocate.
8.) To be a great writer, you’ve got to be even greater at reading – use every opportunity to stimulate your mind.
9.) Find your unique voice, master it an use every form of social media to let it be heard. Every keyboard have black and white keys and no two keys plays the same note/tune.
10.) Avoid judging the success of your blog by how much comments or the amount of traffic that flows to your site on a daily basis – it will wear you out thin and can often lead to periods of frustration. Deep within your heart just believe there will always be that one person whose life is being transformed through your blog, but the glory is not yours to take, the glory belongs to God.
11.) Re-define, re-align your goals and your strategies. Don’t be afraid to launch out into the deep ie. do something on your blog you’ve not done before. Change your blog environment.
12.) Open your blog to guest writers and contributors – you thrive best in an atmosphere of openness and transparency – you do not know everything and someone else is doing it better and can say it much better than you can.
13.) Every now an then, do nothing, take a back seat and promote other bloggers/blogs – it will surprise you the difference it makes. This comes from a basic biblical principle – more blessed to give than to receive. More blessed to promote others, than to promote yourself.
Final Thoughts
I am not sure about you, or at least I hope this is what you are doing also, but I am constantly seeking for ways to be creative with my blog. I am far from perfect with it. There are many things I would like to add and/or do differently and meanwhile, I receive kindly with a spirit of meekness the feedback I receive from others, both directly through comments or emails and indirectly through what they share on their blog/s, then I act accordingly.
So what are your thoughts on ‘A Blogger’s Block?’ Have you ever experienced it? Tell us about it and let’s learn from each other. Knowledge is power, shared knowledge is empowerment!
photo of Treebones Resort is courtesy of TripAdvisor
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Kingdom Ambassadors Empowerment Network 
Great post and good ideas to overcome writer’s block. Sharing this to everyone.
Thanks Ikechi. Glad you found this post helpful. I really appreciate you sharing it as well. I am certain there are many others who can benefit from it. Cheers! 🙂
Hi Michelle, the experience for me with “A Bloggers' Block' was not a pleasant one, but certainly a time of learning. Initially I was a bit embarrassed by it, that i could find nothing to write. It was not until I did some research that many persons go through it, just that they may not tell others about it.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Great information! I'm bookmarking this and keeping handy for myself and fellow blogger friends who struggle with this same thing from time to time. I've forced myself to take mini-vacations from the blogosphere at least once a quarter. Pre-planning my posts and having them scheduled helps with not leaving my readers in a lurch. Also, I'm all for partnering with other bloggers for guest posts and support when I hit that block. Thank you!!!