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December 17, 2007

Holiday Bloggers’ Block — What to Get to Let Ideas Come to You!!

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:48 am

Get Out of Your Head!

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When people speak of writer’s block, often what they mean is that they don’t know what to write about. Without that goal, they can’t get started. It happens to bloggers too.

Whether we’re writing a single blog post or setting out to start a new blog, we have to know what we’re planning to communicate and the direction we want that communication to go.

In other words, we need something to say.

Get some help . . . by letting the ideas come to you.

  • Get out of your head and away from your computer. Ideas form and grow in our subconscious — quit thinking. The harder we try to access ideas the less likely we are to get through.
  • Get moving. Physical movement — walking, taking a shower, unpacking boxes, cleaning the refrigerator — gets our thinking mildly distracted by tasks we know how to do. That releases our subconscious — the proverbial back burner — to use the information we already have to think something new.
  • Get some input. Call a friend. Read a book. Go to a movie. Immerse yourself in something rich with thoughts, story, and color. Leave the quest for ideas back with your computer.
  • Get some perspective. Go back to read your archives, even if your blog is only one month old. You’ll see how you’ve grown and while you’re reading, you’ll remember what sort of ideas draw you in.
  • Get some sleep. Take a 20-minute power nap. Don’t sleep longer. It’s not an escape. It’s a task. Before you close your eyes, ask yourself to have a passel of ideas when you awake.

Ideas tend to hide when we try to hunt them. Those we find seem shallow and less than appealing. Ideas and people have that one huge thing in common. They’re easier to work with when they come to you.

Get it? Good.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Related
Don’t Hunt IDEAS — Be an Idea Magnet
Got the Idea. Now What Do I Do with It?
Finding Ideas Outside the Box
Eye-Deas 1: Have You Started Seeing Things?

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15 Comments to “Holiday Bloggers’ Block — What to Get to Let Ideas Come to You!!”

  1. December 17th, 2007 at 11:37 am
    Mother Earth said

    thought of you yesterday as I sat for a good 3 hours in the hancock while my daughter and friends went shopping — i did not have writers block - I could have written for days - how fun and how wonderful the view and sunset was and how cool it is to have something to say

    Mother Earth aka Karen Hanrahan
    http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

  2. December 17th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
    Business Marketing said

    Another great article! Keep up the good work, and happy holidays :)

  3. December 17th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
    Jennifer Mannion said

    Hey Liz,
    You named a bunch of my faves! Taking a walk and calling a friend being 2 of them. I also try to pre-empt writer’s block by subscribing to topics on “law of attraction health” in bloglines and in my spare time save interesting articles to google docs so when I am at a loss I can open it up and hopefully find some inspiration. Sometimes it is just a title that gets my mind racing and sometimes it is a news article that I want to give a different perspective on. GREAT suggestions and I will definitely be adding a few to my list next time writer’s block strikes! Love the nap idea! Hmmm — it is an hour before my son gets home! : ) Gratefully, Jenny

  4. December 17th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
      Overcoming Writers and Bloggers Block by Jagdu said

    […] are a few great tips from Liz about overcoming writers […]

  5. December 17th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
    Rick Mahn said

    Thanks for the ideas Liz! One thing I’ve been trying to do lately too is to carry a small notepad with me wherever I go. When I have an idea that’d be great for a post, I jot it down along with any other thoughts to go with it.

    Sometimes I can make something out of these notes, sometimes not. But it is still one thing more to try.

    Regards,
    Rick

  6. December 17th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
    Ricardo Bueno said

    What gets me moving is some good music! (Lately I’ve been stuck on Cirque du Soleil tunes…does that count?)

    Otherwise I might take the power nap too.

  7. December 17th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey you guys!
    I have no idea why these comments didn’t make it through to my brain. So sorry. I’ve been fighting a cold since I got back from the UK.

    Mother Earth!
    That sounds delicious. A whole block of time to write and think. Woo! What I could do with that. :)

  8. December 17th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey Business Marketing,
    Thank you!
    Hope your holidays are filled with wishes that come true. :)

  9. December 17th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Jennifer!
    Welcome and great to see you!
    Yeah that nap thing, once you get the hang of it, is a wonder. :)

  10. December 17th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Rick!
    How great for you to stop by.
    I’ve been reading after your links on Twitter . . . keep passing them on please. :)

    Moleskines has a wonderful little notebook that comes in packs of three for $7.50. They fit perfectly in the back pocket of a pair of blue jeans. They’re the cahier notebooks. I think that’s what they’re called. I like the brown ones. :)

  11. December 17th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Ricardo!
    I often listen to music when I want to get inspired. It’s kind of fun to see how I’ll think one piece of music will lead me somewhere, and it always seems to take me in another direction. :)

  12. December 18th, 2007 at 5:50 am
    Jonathan Fields said

    Hey Liz,

    Great advice, I like to combine getting out and getting active, say going for a trail run. The combo always seems to leave me much more inspired and ideas just “come” to me!

  13. December 18th, 2007 at 8:24 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Jonathan,
    I think of you every time I dance around my living room. :)

    Getting active, yeah. Ideas just come. Keep the trail. I tend to fall down. :)

  14. December 22nd, 2007 at 8:18 pm
    Alex Shalman said

    I notice I get some amazing ideas when I’m driving. So I keep a voice recorder and moleskin by my side.

    I’m not sure if I completely agree that you can’t hunt out a good idea. I have sat down for brainstorming sessions, and the first 20 or so points I start to see some real gems come out.

  15. December 22nd, 2007 at 8:41 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Alex!
    Driving is a great place to get ideas. Great practice to keep a way to track them!

    Real ideas are worth keeping. :)

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