Sometimes a breather is all you need. We live in a fast paced world, and it doesn’t exhibit any signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Internet takes the gold in this never ending race. There is always something new and exciting going on, and keeping up with it all is both impossible and impractical. Nevertheless, we try to stay in the loop, following RSS feeds, actively participating in Social Media and the list goes on. Now, don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with this. I am an avid supporter of online activity. But, when this insane race takes over your life, growing out of proportion to a degree that leaves you incapable of doing anything else, something has to be done.
Lately I’ve been stumbling upon too many posts on blogger frustration. We’ve all been there at some point – staring at the blank screen, concentrating on the blinking cursor while feeling our brain flat lining in an effort to come up with that elusive topic. Even the most talented and experienced writers face the same from time to time, and trust me when I say that no blogger is immune.
What can be done to prevent these occurrences of “blogger’s block”, and how can one get over them if preventive measures fail?
To be perfectly honest, I believe there is absolutely nothing we can do to will make us 100% safe from the aforementioned frustration. Creative writing is a funny thing. Sometimes it seems as if words are flowing unassisted from under your fingertips, while at other times it feels like you’re trying to write in an unfamiliar language on an obscure subject. Some recommend keeping up with the current events and recent developments around your chosen subject. That way you should always have something fresh to try and elaborate upon, or to describe your own take on the given matter. But that does not work for an already frustrated blogger who has neither drive nor passion left.
However insignificant my personal experience may be, I have learned one thing that many others understand after decades of dealing with these frustration hurdles time after time.
I say – take a breather.
A blogger without passion is a Chef who can neither smell nor taste his culinary creation. The result might not be an awful one, but the side effects are simply not worth it. Writing without the necessary drive is not an impossible task, but it is not the pleasant process that it should be. If you keep it up long enough you will end up with too much of a load to drag. At that point, when writing is no longer associated with joy and creativity but with suffering that remind us most of a detested chore, most bloggers quit writing altogether.
Taking a break at the right time is crucial if you wish to avoid the frustration that could make you wish you had never started blogging in the first place. Take a walk or a swim. Take a trip or a hike. Get out of the house/office and do whatever makes you feel good, but don’t forget to take a little notebook and a pen to scribble some stuff down in case you suddenly feel an idea coming to a slow boil. You never know when that muse might strike you again, and when it does (it always strikes, eventually) you will be ready.