Not really sure what to write about right now but figure it’s best to get a blog post out before I take my second GMAT practice test.
I have been missing in action lately, at least in the blogging world. Have been paralyzed by writers’ block and therefore have avoided any writing on here. I’m always active on social media, especially Twitter, considering now I participate in many more Twitter chats than before.
I use writers’ block as an excuse for the lack of blog posts when in reality I know that I have a lot to write about: I just don’t know where to start or where to focus. If you have been following my blog for some time, you remember how I spent a period of time last year blogging about career-related topics, such as the job hunt, handling conflict at the workplace, and so forth. Then, these past two years I have also taken interest in writing about local Denver companies/brands and what I love about them.
I want to continue to write about local businesses, but in terms of other topics (the career one included), I just find myself getting stuck. What do I want to be known for? Career advice? Social media? A smorgasbord of topics?
Maybe I am just putting myself into a box and doing more harm than good. I’m not sure; what are your thoughts?
2 replies on “Looking to find my blogging voice”
A couple of thoughts, since you asked. And because you asked, I would ask you to really think about these. Really ponder them, rather than “yeah, but…” them. Give it a shot.
Are you paying attention to what drives you? Are you listening to your body, mind and emotions when something excites you or something feel negative? A lot of us (myself included until more recently) are pretty bad about this. We worry about what others, the world, our audiences (and yes, blogging audiences are part of that) will think rather than what drives us. Really pay attention to how you feel about the things that you want, think you want, and know and don’t know you don’t want. If your first reaction is “I’m good at doing that,” I would challenge you that you might not be, or aren’t practicing it enough.
Are you concerned about an image more than what matters to you? When you say in your post “What do I want to be known for?” I get a little concerned. It seems like you are asking two different questions, what do I want and what does the world want / expect. Sometimes those are the same thing, sometimes they are not.
Here is something I would like you to try. Go buy a new comp book, the cheapest one you can find. Grab a pen and put a few scribbles on the first few pages. Ruin those pages, do it quickly. Then start writing anything. Here is a great jumping off point: “I don’t know what to write. I have writers block.” Then write anything that comes after that. Write how that makes you feel, write how frustrating it is, write for as long as you can. Don’t look at your phone (leave it at home or in another room if you can), don’t have any computers, just write by hand. No audience, no one to see what you write. It can be about anything.
See how you feel about it. See if there is some truth that comes out. Don’t worry about spelling, editing, anything.
Oh, and writers block may not be your problem. You might have a ton of things to write, but not things that are blog posts. Just like getting a book deal and writing are two different things, publishing blog posts and writing can be two very different things.
Often, when I feel like I have so much to write about, I have a hard time getting started writing anything because i don’t know where to start! Not a very helpful way to feel, but that’s how it is!