Thursday, March 8, 2012

Let Your Blog Flow!


It’s one of those days. You wake up with a slight headache, and groan about the tasks that need to be done. First up, you read a depressing message from a friend. Oops. Wish you could take that back and start over, right?

However, what you’re dreading most is writing that blog post. Your brain is blank. You turn on music to stimulate it. For once, it’s not working. What to do?

This situation happened to a current client of mine who just started blogging. We wrote part of the first post together. She IS a good writer, so that’s not the issue. It was typing it and making it real that was the issue.

She wrote the second one completely on her own and we went through the steps on formatting it, adding labels, photos, etc. It was interesting and I couldn’t wait to see the third one. Then I got the email. She didn’t want to do it. I called and encouraged her. And she said that the topics she wanted to discuss had changed. I explained that the first two were actually important and spoke to that, since she had set the scene. I pointed out all the directions she could venture into, based on what she had already written. And she was energized by that!

What I’m saying here is let it flow!

My client has a lot to say and has already inspired a few people by her first two posts. Is that a reason to continue? Absolutely.

Take a step back and think about why you are blogging. That may include:

A desire to inspire others
Furthering your reputation by displaying your knowledge
Creating greater awareness for your product or service
Being one of the first for getting hot topics out there quickly
Sharing personal thoughts / reflection
Sharing a strong opinion
You want to practice writing often to better your skills
You want to have an audience to bounce ideas off of
Journaling

And so on and so on. Everyone has a combination of reasons. I didn’t mentioning make money here because that’s a separate subject in itself.

So, what to do on those days when you’re stumped? Go out of the box and let that river run downstream! Back in January, it was slow going for me. I suddenly found myself basking in the sun in the afternoon with a book and a notepad and some music playing. So, I decided to write about it, even though it’s not about my main subject. That post can be found here.  We all need to take a quick breath sometimes! So be it.

Back to blogging: When you’re going off the usual subject matter, as long as it’s written in your usual prose it will likely strike a chord with your readers. After all, they need a break too, right? And it demonstrates your abilities to think beyond the usual. So, no more constraints…let it flow!

Going outside now with a book and a notepad. Here’s a #1 song from 1976 that talks about love flowing; that includes the love of expressing your thoughts and ideas, right? Click here for that tune.





4 comments:

Shannon Grissom said...

Like a mountain stream :O) I love the way you let it flow Gerry. You are inspiring!

Unknown said...

I'd love to let it flow in the sunshine with a notepad and music. But it's pouring rain and cold.

BUT, I will improvise - fireplace, music and flow...not a bad threesome.

Thanks for the inspiration Gerry!

Cheers
Gayle

Gerry Wendel said...

Thanks! This was one of the fastest writes for a blog ever...funny how that works!

Gerry Wendel said...

I'm lucky to live in such a beautiful climate, however, fireplaces and good music are wonderful things, Gayle!