What Stops you from Writing?

Most bloggers know the importance of writing, but, to actually write as much as we would like can be difficult. It is not just about writing for our own blog; we should also try to occasionally write for other blogs or ezines. The more we can write, the more we can help our blog to grow.

These are some of the common Stumbling blocks to writing and what we can do to overcome them:

1. Procrastination.

Procrastination is easy on the internet. We have countless RSS feeds to read, forums to visit, blogs to comment on, youtube videos to watch…, the list is endless. If we are not careful hours can pass by and we haven’t actually achieved anything. If you find yourself procrastinating, you are not alone, but you do need to try and keep it under control.

• Give writing the highest priority. Write an article, then allow yourself a bit of surfing. Don’t do it the other way round.
• Set time aside for writing. E.g: Mondays 9-11am, I set aside only for writing.
• Get away from the internet. My most productive writing periods are usually in airport lounges or on trains.

2. What to Write About?

Thinking of a title can often be the most difficult part of writing. We want something interesting, relevant and preferably not done too many times before. If you get stuck at this point, there’s a couple of things you can do:

• Write and think of a title later.
• Check Statistics. Look at the keywords which bring people to your site. Expand on these keywords aiming to get more longtail traffic. E.g. if people come through searching about “writing tips”, try articles like: “writing tips for beginners” “writing tips for the lazy writer” e.t.c.
• Look at your niche from a completely different angle. Cash in on popular trends like “what can harry potter teach you about blogging?” (don’t overdo this one, but its good to have a break from run of the mill posts.)
• What would you like to know about? My best posts come from trying to answer one of my own questions. For example, I always wanted to know when to use a comma, so I read about it and then wrote an article. At least I benefited, even if no one read the article.

3. Don’t Have Enough Time.

This seems to be a cry of modern life. We never have enough time, or at least lack of time is always a good excuse. In many ways this point is closely linked to number 1 on procrastination.

• Everybody has enough time it is just that we need to prioritise. By getting rid of less important tasks we can create time for writing.
• Set aside a certain number of hours, even if this means not checking your statistics and email 17 times a day.

4. I’m Not a Good Writer.

Who is a good writer? If you wait until you are an expert writer, your blog will never take off. Start from where you are and just write. The more you write the better you will get.

“I have written a great many stories and I still don’t know how to go about it except to write it and take my chances.”

— John Steinbeck

Don’t worry about achieving perfection or what other people may say. Keep practising and overtime you will find writing becomes easier and more productive.