My Thoughts at 12:39

by Jeff 3/20/2008 12:49:00 AM

Writer's block. It is an inevitable reality for all bloggers. What do you do when you can't think of anything to write about? I know that I need a good post in order to maintain the momentum of my blog. I just can't think of anything to write. So I think I am going to try something a little different. Its called a stream of consciousness. If you're familiar with characters like Holden Caulfield or Sal Paradise (aka Jack Kerouac), then you know what I'm talking about. I am just going to write what I am thinking. When you get hooked into this whole blogging thing, you're always thinking about it, right? So why not just write what you are thinking?

So the thing that is on my mind now is pretty obvious - what to write about. Here I am at my blog. I realize that the reason I have writer's block is because I am stuck in a perpetual state of repetativeness. I am sure many of you can agree with me that
    - all my traffic comes from either EntreCard or StumbleUpon
    - everyone around me is doing nothing but contests
    - a wake up everyday and do the same thing. Check my email, check my comments, visit the same blogs, and drop a few entrecards.

How can I possibly expect anything different to happen when I just do the same thing everyday? Does that mean I am going to jump on the bandwagon and do a contest too? No. But I think it is time to - dare I say it - think outside the box. In order to make in this blog world, especially when you are in a competitive niche like anything to do with money, affiliate or SEO, you've got to find a way to be different. BloggerNood is a perfect example with his Domain Tournament. Great idea. Another example is Daniel Scocco's Blogger Face-Off over at DailyBlogTips.com. These guys found something different and creative and it helped them to stick out from the rest. To make your blog successful, you've got to find something unique, creative, and something so totally different than anything thats been done before to separate yourself from the crowd.

Wow! This is so refreshing! I can not explain to you the feeling of just letting my thoughts flow through my keyboard. I started this post at 12:39 and it is now 12:47. What normally takes me 1 1/2 to 2 hours, I just did in 8 minutes. I don't think my blog will last very long if all my posts are like this. But this was definitely a great exercise. I strongly suggest you try it. Even if you don't publish what comes out of you, just let your mind type. It could be a great way to get past that writer's block and let some enlightening thoughts that others might find interesting come to surface.

Have a great night.

Jeff

ps - this whole post was a true stream of concsiousness. It was done in 10 minutes and I didn't even proof read. I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors. I normally try to be very careful about that because I believe it reflects poorly on me and my writing. I will go back later and add links to those who deserve them.

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Comments

3/20/2008 4:04:45 PM

Dude! Been there..done that! Sometimes you just gotta put stuff out there to keep it flowing. If you start missing days people lose interest. As long as there is at least new content..it really doesn't matter too much..just as long as any follow up posts actually do have pertinent and relevant information.

I totally understand the stream of consciousness writing..here it is..4:05am..Thursday morning! I should be in bed!

Gnite..gmorning..whatever! LOL

TheBoBo

3/20/2008 6:02:42 PM

Don't hate me, but I don't get writer's block anymore. I found a sure cure for it. And its turned out to be so poplular that the traffic generated beats stumbleupon and entrecard. (Held a contest once...never again, well maybe not never but not soon) So, I invite you to stop by, take a look at what I'm doing, the Series is called Remarkable Bloggers©, and the first post in the series and why I do it are here: www.lagniappemarketing.net/remarkable-bloggers/
I've been working on this now for a little more than a month, publicly and the series has now threatened to become a site of its own...go figure.

debbie

3/20/2008 6:15:06 PM

Excellent idea Debbie! That is a perfect example of what I meant by coming up with your own "thing" to make you stand out from the crowd.

The motivation for your series is very similar to my Weekly Buzz. I just wanted to give back to the community and help out my fellow blogger. Check it out if you haven't already.
www.buzzmyblog.com/post/2008/02/weeklybuzz.aspx

Jeff

3/20/2008 6:45:42 PM

Only difference as I see it, is that I don't require input from visitors unless they want to reccomend someone. Sometimes, the blog they reccomend IS remarkable and I put it in my regular reading list and it will come to the top if it really is. If its not too special, or just one or two articles are special, I find another way to link to them. It works well for me. I will tell you that since starting this series (and joining bloggeries, go figure) my traffic has exponentially increased. So much so that this past monday, I was literally watching the traffic flow waiting for a server shut down. Amazing? not really, it just depends on how you approach it. I'm trying not to brag here, but I'm also trying to get a point across to your readers who may not have a clue or know how to drive traffic. Mind you, the series was NOT started to drive traffic. But the effects are very interesting. Ok, I've rambled long enough. Thanks for your post and reply. Come to Visit Bird On A Wire sometime soon.

debbit

3/20/2008 6:53:48 PM

I'm sure there are plenty of differences. I just thought our original motivations where similar.

Thanks for sharing!

Jeff

3/20/2008 8:47:46 PM

I do know how you feel. I've struggled with this myself. I think I've suffered from blogger's block because I have so much else going on now. When I started my blog I was relatively free in my evenings...Now I have tons of freelance writing work going on and my site is on the back burner.

I try to post every other day. Sometimes I've been so busy nothing has happened between my last post and the upcoming one, so I have to improvise. I create something and hope it doesn't suck. lol.

I do offer a Post Idea item through Entrecard. Go figure...I can help others think of something to write about but not myself.

Jason Boom

3/20/2008 8:49:40 PM

Hi Jeff, another idea is to write a multi-part series. Instead of trying to publish one post about one topic, spread it out over several days. I just started a multi-part series today, so I won't have writer's block for at least a week now

Keep up the great work!

Mark Givens

3/20/2008 8:59:47 PM

Jay - I hear you. I try to post every other day too. Unfortunately, not every one is a magnificent work of art.

Mark - That is a great idea. Another idea is a recurring post feature. My "Ask A Pro" feature gets some good results so I plan to do it every month or so.

Thanks for your comments guys!

Jeff

3/21/2008 9:20:00 PM

Great to see the human touch once in a while, Jeff. I know what you mean, stream of consciousness can be very effective when perfectionism is sapping your will to write.

I haven't tried Entrecard, I found your blog the old fashioned way -- comments you left on Jason Boom's site. Which I found through an RSS feed someone shared with me. Stuff gets around!

Luke

3/22/2008 12:19:34 AM

Hey Luke. Thanks for the comments. I think the human touch is important. People need to realize that real people are behind these blogs. If there was one blog that I'm glad you found me through, its Jason's.

Jeff