Take A Break To Fall In Love With Writing Once More

There are many ways to get inspired when it comes to writing. There are endless guides and blog posts telling you about mind-maps, doodling, writing a dabble to get the trash words out first and then the proper text. Writing a different type of post, reading other people's works to gain ideas or write a response. Listen to music to get you into the mood. Or maybe write on the train, write using paper while sitting in the woods in your underwear! Now that's going to lead to a masterpiece! 

For all of those things to work there needs to be a little bit of motivation, a small spark that you can nurse and turn into a wildfire - be careful with that when you sit in the woods only wearing your underwear. However, what is there to be done when writing has become so second nature to you that the spark is gone.

You end up sitting in front of your laptop and type the wanted blog post. Okay, it's not the best you've ever written, but it's okay. People are going to be content. You don't particularly hate the result but neither do you really like it. You're happy that it's finished in time and people have something to read, the odd comment brings a smile on your face but somehow it's just not the same anymore.

Are you bored? No, not really. Instead, writing starts to feel bland and numb. Then your traditional blog post tells you to try new ideas, but you're too tired to try that and even think about one! Maybe it doesn't fit quite into your niche. Are you really supposed to open a new blog and abandon the small child you nourished for years.

This happens now and then, usually it's just one post when you really did not have the time to draft something proper. That's okay. Life does get in the way, there are stressful period and so you're going to write a simpler post. Even simple posts can be popular and fun.

However, what are you going to when writing has become this task like scrubbing the loo since the last few weeks ...

I've had this issue for a while. Has this lack of  "sparky-ness" shown? Well, my stats would suggest that it has not. However, my mood had suggested that it had. I would take hours trying desperately to craft the perfect post for three likes and no comment. Then I'd be upset because I spend up to three hours to make this!

"This is hard work, ladies and gentleman!" I'd scream at the screen. At this point I was no longer writing for myself. Being happy with my work and extra happy with people loving it too took a step back and was replaced by wanting "payment" for my work. The payment would be clicks and likes.

This in turn put me under a lot of pressure and I tried to do it better.

What did I do to get out of this vicious circle? 

One of the few things I am very strict with is that when I go on holiday, so do my blogs. Very keen readers may have noticed the lack of posts for two weeks. Yep, I was on holiday.

During this period my brain could completely re-charge. I was no longer worried about clicks, likes and that I really do need a topic!!! because I did not need one. I was on holiday, the rules were different, stress and deadlines were thrown into the bin. The only thoughts on my mind was how much Rosé I can stomach and if I really won the table football championship - I did - and more importantly how I did it?!

Then when I came back to the laptop I could sit down and write when I wanted to, not because I had to.

I could write about my road trip without any pressure, and I could consider topics in peace and quiet if I really wanted to. Almost all of the pre-planned topics for after the holiday were ditched because they were just "meh."

Then I wrote a post and I did not check the clicks two hours later. I was no longer obsessed with the stats. Naturally, I still check them where they're important and when something doesn't work out as planned I check what I can do to change it instead of getting upset.

Oddly enough I liked all the newer posts and did not really care how they're received. Somehow this turned into them being received well ...

All of this just highlights that sometimes taking a break can help you a lot more than when you try to force something. Athletes have cool down periods, every employee takes holidays and so do pupils. Why should this be any different for writers?

New way to get inspired? Don't write.